Houdini has lengthy had a spot in our information to the very best 3D modelling software program, however I am nonetheless amazed at how briskly it is evolving. Developer SideFX has simply dropped a seven-minute teaser video showcasing what’s coming in Houdini 21, and the quantity of updates and new options is solely epic.
Extra shall be revealed at SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver subsequent week, however the video offers a glimpse of among the greater than 400 new options. And one specific 30-second sim has obtained everybody speaking. Simply take a look at the cookies and frappuccino sequence demonstrating Materials Level Methodology (MPM) enhancements one minute in.
Houdini 21 Sneak Peek – YouTube
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In addition to MPM enhancements, the video exhibits updates throughout most main toolsets, together with upgrades for Compositing Operators (COPs), a brand new OTiS solver for muscle and tissue and the flexibility to switch muscle and bones geometry between characters, the Otto humanoid rig, Vulkan viewport and enhancements Apex, Karma and extra.
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Customers are praising SideFX’s strategy to AI, together with to energy a low-res to high-res characteristic. However, greater than the rest, persons are entranced by that cookies and milk second. “Essentially the most epic bunch of frames I ever noticed come out of a software program,” one individual commented on YouTube.
It actually does really feel like SideFX is exhibiting of with the unbelievable realism of that sim, however then that is the purpose of a teaser like this. The selection of a Röyksopp monitor for the soundtrack makes it really feel much more cinematic.
The one criticism individuals have is that new options are being launched quicker than they will study the prevailing ones. “I want to born once more and study houdini from the model v1,” one individual commented on the video. The mountain is steep…it is progress eternal…however I need to preserve climbing,” one other individual wrote.
You may see a full listing of the Houdini 21 new options seen within the video in a submit by ILM senior FX technical director Yunus Balcioglu on the SideFX discussion board. You may study extra concerning the software program in our Houdini 20.5 evaluate and on the SideFX web site.
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