HOUDINI TOOLS
These are examples of tools I've built in Houdini for the purpose of increasing production efficiency on common medical animation subjects. These feature simplified custom parameters, and are intended to be usable by those who have limited to no experience in Houdini. These allow alembic or FBX outputs for export into other 3D programs.
Media: Houdini, Redshift, After Effects
Date: 2022-2024
CELL CRAWLING TOOL + EPITHELIAL TOOL
This clip is a demonstration of a cell-crawling tool I created in Houdini. The animation itself features abstract cellular landscape designs inspired by underwater macro photography.
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The tool creates a cell that crawls across any terrain model, without simulation. It constrains the cell to the surface while following a curve created by the user. There are also parameters for adjusting the "feet".
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After creating this clip, I packaged the procedurally generated cell landscape into an epithelial cellscape tool which includes an optional membrane and nucleus.
LIPID MEMBRANE TOOL
This clip was created with the use of my lipid bilayer Houdini tool. This tool creates membranes that hold hero and background proteins of the user's choosing (as linked models).
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The tool has parameters controlling membrane shape, lipid motion, background poly reduction options, and protein placement. The output is an alembic with an object hierarchy, and each protein's motion is kept as transform data, so that they can be further manipulated in another 3D program.
APOPTOSIS TOOL
This is a Houdini tool that produces an apoptosis animation from any cell model.
Users are able to control the speed of apoptosis, the size and amount of blebs that are generated, the turbulence of blebs, and the surface undulations of the cell.
NEURON GROWTH TOOL
This tool is a neuron generator and includes a growth animation. It has parameters controlling the appearance of the branches, vertex color options, and animation parameters such as growth speed.
