Background Image

The Alters

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
  • Role: 3D Generalist / Technical Artist | Ionart Studios
  • Core Stack: Houdini, Redshift, Maya, HDA Development
  • Main Focus: Maya to Houdini Ingest Pipeline, Project Specific HDA Creation, Lookdev, Set Dressing and Rendering

This project was a 120 second cinematic announcement trailer for a high-profile video game client.
Operating under strict, industry-standard visual expectations but with a reasonable deadline, the production relied on a Maya and Houdini pipeline.
My role focused on supporting the asset ingest and layout workflow. Working within Houdini’s OBJ context and rendering with Redshift, I built custom digital assets (HDAs) to bridge the gap between Maya animations and Houdini, took charge of lookdev and set dressing for various environments, and managed the technical render outputs for the compositing team.

MY TASKS
  • Pipeline Tool Development (HDAs): To streamline the layout and animation transfer from Maya to Houdini, I developed multiple custom Houdini Digital Assets (HDAs). These tools automated the ingest and alignment of animation caches and layout data, significantly reducing manual setup time.
  • Asset Ingest and Lookdev: I was responsible for importing 3D assets from external software into Houdini, reconstructing their material networks, and performing lookdevelopment specifically optimized for the Redshift render engine to maintain the trailer's premium visual quality.
  • Set Dressing, Scene Assembly Working within Houdini's OBJ context, I assembled and dressed several environments for the cinematic, positioning assets according to the established art direction and preparing the scenes for lighting.
  • Render Management I set up the final render parameters and optimization in Redshift.
    I structured the render passes and generated comprehensive utility AOVs, ensuring the compositors had all the necessary layers for precise final adjustments.
Previous View All Next