Koceila Bladehane - Student Demoreel

Astropop

This was one of my first and most challenging projects. As a beginner in Houdini, I had to learn quickly and be able to start understanding the inner workings of the software and pop simulations. But at the end I was able to translate my idea into a render which was very satisfying and motivating for the rest.

This was my first real experience with Houdini, I dived in to a pop simulation using VEX for the first time and realized the potential that could be unlocked with this new tool. 

The simulation uses volume velocities that advect the particles and a custom code for the emissive ones.

Desert Storm

This project expanded my knowledge of the software because I started using optimization techniques to be able to cache a 400m dust storm. I also used heightfields for the first time and that was a challenge too. The simulation itself was very fun to do and to tinker with until I got the desired result both in viewport and render.

Overall, this one gave me more confidence for what was coming next.

Razor Crest

By far the most challenging project to date. As a student, sometimes you get a boost of confidence from your last project and charge into the next one on a high. Flip simulations quickly brought me down to earth. It was humbling and amazing at the same time. My inspiration was from the mandalorian as I'm a big fan of Star Wars.

I managed to make the simulation work at the size I wanted and used almost every trick in the book to make it happen pre and post render.

I fell in love with this ship after seeing it in The Mandalorian series and had a bit of fun doing some test renders with it before starting the project.

The simulation was made using a wave tank and the ship as a collider. I pushed my hardware to its limits with this one. The tank was 100x150 and the particle separation was at 0.012. The render doesn't do the fluid mesh justice, so I also uploaded a clay render so you can see every detail of it. There will be more iterations of this project in the future with an ocean extension.

Whitewater was also an issue, but I managed to make something of it. This was definitely my most ambitious project.

The Holdo Maneuver

This project was very fun to do, I was inspired by the Holdo maneuver in The Last Jedi to make this scene. By this stage of my VFX course, I was slowly getting comfortable with Houdini enough to take on this idea. The end result I was looking for depended immensely on very specific lighting techniques and compositing tricks.

It was a great feeling to be able to create something from my favorite saga with a decent result.

The RBD simulation was challenging because I wanted very specific fractures within the ship and the forces had to be realistic for a deep space environment. The lighting was an artistic choice that I felt complimented the mood of the scene well. The collision also happened within a range of 3 frames, so it was necessary to have a high amount of substeps for this.

Thank you !