Automatic Pre Roll Generation for CFX

One of the most valuable part in this training series discusses Automatic Pre Roll Generation. For years this has been a Manual Human process. We're going to discover how we can procedurally generate and adjust this with simple sliders. In addition to learning how to retarget animation from differently proportioned characters to any asset, we're going to learn how to start our simulation from any part of the animation using the Automatically Computed Best Rest Pose, Ramp up, and Pre-Animation Momentum. This means if you have a shot that's 2000 frames long, you can now start at any point and choose where, how, and what body parts to blend in your simulation throughout the whole shot. We'll also discuss Neutralizing and Restoring Locomotion to fix Super-Hero-like movement that moves too far and too fast over the course of our timeline. The best part is this network can be used for Cloth, Hair, or any of your Character Effects needs.

Studio Level Pipeline and Simulation Workflow

In the climax of this series We'll set up an efficient, reusable pipeline including large networks with multiple file checkpoints so you can easily jump in at any point along the way. We're going to look at the advantages and situations where we can leverage Franken-Muscles and Multi-Muscle setups and create a switch so we can easily blend between them. We're going to discuss how we can use only the mesh surface of our asset to procedurally generate the Tissue and Skin volumes underneath and learn efficient ways to store data so we can easily change topology or point count order any time we like. We'll learn all about tuning muscle behavior: How to flex, inflate, and jiggle exactly the way we want. Then we'll discuss how we can procedurally create masks to blend our simulation back onto only specific parts of our character. Then We'll dive into topics that bring this workflow from Independent Artist to Studio level. We'll cover SubNets, Automated TOPNetworks, FileCaching, Wedging, and Logging with User notification. Lastly, we'll look at Optimizing our Simulation Speed by integrating Deadline Renderfarm submission and support to take advantage of all the computing power at our fingertips. We'll look at solutions to possible problems, pitfalls, and errors so you don't have to waste time solving them yourself.

While this training series primarily focuses on muscle simulation, we're going to cover foundational Houdini knowledge and concepts useful to Everyone. This is a valuable introduction series to programming and tooling in Houdini covering Python, Vex, VOPs, HScript, and UI Design. At the end of this training series, you'll be able to simulate any Animation from any Part of the Animation with the Click of a Button.