Kelp Forest Complex Scene

Software: Houdini | Responsible for all aspects

The kelp forest initially was created as a simple leaf geometry (a different leaf for each species) and with tube geo for the stalk. The kelp leaves were copied using a scatter node along the tube geo to generate the main stalk. Vellum cloth simulation was then used to position the leaves in a more natural way along the tube. The simulated geometry was exported at four different frames for each of the kelp species to create two animated variations of the kelp. The cached simulations are scattered through the scene with a copy to points node and composed in the scene using grouped points.

To reduce the number of detailed models, a single frame of each of the kelp stacks was rendered out to create an alpha matte in Photoshop. This matte was brought back in with a trace node to create low-poly versions of the kelp stalks that fill in the distant areas of the scene. To add animation to these low-poly geo, a bend node with randomized timing was added to the low-poly geo.

Create Schools of Fish