Brief
Research and Development is about storytelling through photorealistic visual effects. For this project in particular, I wanted to explore fire simulation in Houdini. Getting fire to look correct requires such acute attention to detail.
Challenge
As a newcomer to Houdini, one of the hardest softwares to use, I'm skeptical of how much I can achieve in such a short turnaround time.
Proposed Directions
Flag Burning
A recap of a science fiction alien invasion apocalypse.
I experimented with Suno's voice and music generation for the audio of this animatic.
Cozy Fire
A warm, comforting shot of a fireplace to epitomize family and the Christmas spirit.
My art director favored the Cozy Fire, as more people could relate to its visuals.
Research
In order to simulate fire, I need to break down what the physical elements of a fire are.
This fire is burning efficiently, which means very little smoke, no smoldering. Only small parts, not the entire log, are producing flame.
Embers are red hot and emit heat, but
Wood: Not all of it is burning. The burning parts are red hot, the already burnt parts turn to ash.
Development
I spent this time getting accustomed to Houdini's different types of fire simulation. Houdini can simulate fireballs, smoke clouds, fire, melting, fire spreading, etc, and narrowing down my approach was crucial.
Polycam
Since I did not have access to a fire place in person at this time, I had to rely on the information I could find. Fortunately, an up-and-coming software Polycam was a great place to look. Polycam is an app that lets you scan items in real life, taking many photos from different angles, and convert them into downloadable 3d objects. I've used this before for hybrid project that use stop motion. It also has a library, where users can upload scans that they have taken of objects. I found several scans of houses with fire places, which I brought in to Houdini for reference of scale.
Taking pictures of an object
It becomes a 3D object
Checking Polycam's library for any fireplace scans.
Model Making
I wanted to try seeing how much of the scene I could make procedurally. Working with ref and C4D sculpting, I made a piece of fire wood, the grate, the chimney, etc.
Making the Firewood: Starting with simple geometry, matching the size and feel,
Sculpting the firewood with C4D's sculpting mode
Complicating the geometry before sculpting
Sculpting the Bark
Making the Grate
Although the simulation was done in Houdini, I felt more comfortable lighting, texturing, and creating the scene in Cinema 4D
With the finished materials, I used some of Cinema 4D's default shapes with some distortion and deformations, then made an ash and ember field under the fire.
Final Deliverable
Additional rendered lookdev