Houdini-to-Unreal Procedural Marketplace Development Blog - SCAD Final Project (Studio II)

Update Edit [2025]:

It has been a while since I have last seen these files, and I have not reviewed them as I do not currently have Houdini on the device I am using, but here they are:

StandGenerator.zip

Download ZIP • 620KB

Week 1

Project Goal: Create a tool in Houdini to assist building a festival marketplace environment in Unreal 5

Step 1: Create some concept art for visual development direction

Art:

Week 2 Goal: Create a Houdini block-out shape tool.

Week 2

I had to work on some major coding stuff, but also I learned how to pull in objects into Unreal:

Figured out the pipeline to import Houdini assets into Unreal. Interestingly, it required downloading a free license. Why isn't a free license included for free with the software?

In Houdini, I instance scattered the stand onto points in side of a circle. To make them face the center I included a point wrangle node with the input of v@N = normalize(v@P);.

Week 3

Figured out ho to make a for-loop, copying to point, to plug random variables into copied geometry parameters. I also learned that Houdini comes with example files! This method was found in one.

Week 4

Randomization has been used to create slight stand variations.

Trees were generated using the SideFX generator. My one complaint is that the branch position isn't exactly randomized, but lightly adjusted so if you par close attention to the trees they look repetitive after a while. However, beggars can't be choosers.

By using this tool it clicked in my head that... I can use tools. Available tools. To just... make nice work! The mindset has always been to make tools rather than use tools made by others so I'm very excited to enter a time period where I can use available resources to create new work.

To generate and connect the lines between the lamp posts I used the technique demonstrated in this post.

For the skinning of the wires + making them look bent I used the Labs wire generating tool. It was absolutely awesome to get a gravity effect going on the wires with such ease and convenience! A major flaw of this tool, though, is that it would not let me make the connected point have a singular (one) wire. I had to go into the tool to find a node that I could break to get a singular wire output.

I tried to find a way to have flags hang off of he wires at evenly distributed points. I tried breaking the wire generator to have it create a singular point for every segment. I tried fusing and merging points and edges, subdividing, resampling... everything.

The closest I got to consistent, evenly-spaced flags was with using the wire generator to create the tube with 3 edges per segment. Therefore there would be three points every segment. Not great for trying to get singular flags at those point bundles! My solution to this was to blast 1/3, and then 1/2 of the geometry to make singular flags appear to generate after a copytocurves node. The copytocurves made the flag orientation automatically align with the wires'.

Next, I randomized the colors of the stand tops. The inputs behind the randomization intentionally tint the generated colors to warmer and redder tones.

Not only were the colors randomized, but I figured out how to get prop randomization to occur when generating the stands. I used the random function to generate integers for a switch which would pick a random input prop upon generation. Pictured below are the initial randomized objects, either translated to the far side, front, or top of the stands. These parameters will be necessary in order to decorate the stand with props in specific areas - either in front of or on them.

Week 5

This week along with introducing object randomization I introduced lighting to the scene! The lights are instanced area light disks positioned at the points and levels of the lamp lights.

Along with introducing lights and admiring in-progress renders (Houdini Mantra) I have drafter a video sequence to demonstrate the look my generated festivals.

The objects laid out on each stand's counter are randomly colored, but also heavily tinted with the color associated with the stand.

Week 6

This week I am focusing on creating props. One of the first I created as a sign for the associated stand.

A majority of the props I've created are procedural, too. The books stack with random quantity and orientation. The toys can have any size body parts and switch between different features, and the cup/pottery generation uses randomized inputs in the taper function inside the bend deformer on a tube to generate various organic pottery shapes.

Week 7

Began the implementation of created products into stand generation.

However, no stand should just have one feature to it. Festivals are fun and crowded! Pieces need to be mixed and matched to give the generated more stand personality.

The solution to the goal of combining randomized created assets in a way where they don't overlap each other was in generation of non-overlapping categories. What does each stand need? A product, a way to advertise, and some extra décor. As long as the items created for each category don't overlap the generated stands will have many elements and more diversity across the board.

*Plan as well as additional prop ideas

Week 8

Created the categorical system for randomizing stand variation (Product, Ad, Décor). Created a preliminary render of final work. However, there was an issue with objects rendering without colors (flags, grapes) despite having colors in the viewport. The issue had to do with object instancing. The next goals are to correct this issue, add some more objects, and then render again.

Also imported generator into Unreal. My worry was that the colors would not transfer, but in fact they do!

Week 9

The coagulation of final work. At this point, scenes are set up, compositions are determined, and live combat can be witnessed in the SCAD render farm queue.

Metaphorically. The legitimate need for every SCAD student's final product to render requires extensive foresight and planning.

The queue did reach a record of 72 people. Each individual could only submit one shot to the farm at a time, the farm could only render one item at a time, and there was a max limit of two hours per render time that a project could be rendering on the farm.

Week 10

Presented at the SCAD show! See video at top of page.