Houdini, Maya and Nuke Tutorial

Epic Environments for Movies
Get ready for an exciting tutorial where we'll dive into the world inspired by The Creator.
Instructor:
William Fiorentini
duration:
2 hr 19 min
Start Date:
Instant Access! Start learning immediately.
Starts from
$85
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get inspired & create

Welcome to the EPIC ENVIRONMENTS FOR MOVIES tutorial hosted by William Fiorentini, an Generalist at Industrial Light & Magic!

Introducing William Fiorentini, a seasoned Generalist artist with a passion for pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling since his teenage years. William's journey into the world of VFX started during his studies at ESMA in Toulouse, France, where he laid the groundwork for his 3D artistry skills.

Fast forward to September 2021, William took his first professional steps as a Modeler at Framestore. Immersed in the creative process, he found himself drawn to every aspect of production, from texture and look development to lighting. This curiosity led him to broaden his horizons, eventually landing a role as an Environment TD artist at DNEG.

Now, William invites you to join him on an exciting journey in his tutorial. Together, you'll dive into a world inspired by The Creator, exploring the basics of 3D environment design. Using an existing project breakdown, William will guide you through each step, leveraging industry-standard tools like Houdini and V-Ray to bring your ideas to life.

During the class, you'll learn vital techniques like layout, texturing, look development, lighting, and compositing. By the end, you'll create your own virtual landscapes and cityscapes with William's expert guidance.

ENROLL NOWRegister Now
START DATE
Instant Access! Start learning immediately.
SKILL LEVEL
Intermediate
duration
2 hr 19 min
FORMAT
Detailed Overview
Q&A
24/7 DISCORD
LECTURE TYPE
PRE-RECORDED
A certificate is available upon completion of the workshop.
Lifetime access.
Due each week. Expect to spend 3-5 hrs/wk viewing lectures, Q&A, and time on assignments.
ASSIGNMENT
Upon successful completion of this workshop you'll receive an official doublejump Certificate to prove you've mastered Film FX
CERTIFICATE
Houdini,MAYA & Nuke.
PROGRAMS
Houdini & Nuke.
PROGRAMS
november 2,2022
100 % full
Instant Access! Start learning immediately.
opens 2.2.2024

ENROLL

We aim to strike a balance between offering affordable education and ensuring that instructors receive sufficient income from workshops.
This way, they can continue teaching and creating new workshops in the future.

Standard Edition

$85
2hr Tutorial
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Lifetime Access

Access the workshop/masterclass for life, including future updates. Keep your skills up-to-date with rapidly evolving features.

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Get personalized guidance from DJA Academy mentors to take your skills to new levels.

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Together with your instructor, you can build an entire project, add it to your portfolio, and get hired.

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Regular Updates

Regular updates ensure you stay ahead of the curve with the latest features (even years from now).

Private Community

Get an exclusive invitation to join our private community, learn from like-minded artists, and grow together.

FX That We Will Reverse Engineer

OBSCURUS FX

This masterful magical effect is all about control. We will learn to manipulate particles, volumes and geometry with completely custom VEX code that can help you achieve any look.

BUBBLE BOMB

In this effect I will show you how to break down a complex, layered effect into simple setups and how to maintain that all important sense of scale and explosive timing this epic shot requires.

DISINTEGRATION FX

One of the most common magical FX but difficult to get right. Together we’ll unpack how to spread decay maps naturally and how to use this to drive an eye-catching disintegration FX that feels weighty and believable.

*We don't own the footage in these clips. We are using them as reference material for the workshop.

What You'll Learn

Our teaching approach is hands-on & project-based.
We cover the theory and put it into practice so you can learn how to think like an artist.

REFERENCES

First and basic step but the most important one, we’ll dive into real life world references and use them in order to build our own.

TEXTURES / LOOKDEV

We’ll work everything procedurally, no need to unwrap UVs or do any manual work. All the materials will be done from mixed textures.

LIGHTING

You’ll learn how to create realistic and believable lighting using basic methods to drive our composition and mood.

MODELING

You’ll see how to build simple geo with simple shapes without worrying about topology or UVs, we’ll start in Maya or your own preferred software and then jump into Houdini to add detail procedurally.

COMPOSITING

We’ll dive into the basic setup of compositing with a little bit of 2.5D workflow to add more background details as well as creating fog in Nuke.

doublejump skill System

What we will learn together in

2 hr 19 min

WEEK 1

Project Concept and R&D

What we will cover:

• Picking references, collecting and organizing assets, project schema, workflows

WEEK 2

Custom Meta Humans Blueprint

What we will cover:

• Costumes, face scan and texture improvements

WEEK 3

Environment Blocking

What we will cover:

• Virtual location scouting in a basic environment
• Creating temp sets for visualising each location on the mocap stage

WEEK 4

Planning a Mocap Shoot

What we will cover:

• Shot list, camera placement, actor blocking, etc

WEEK 5

Prepping Mocap Data

What we will cover:

• Ingesting and organizing Mocap and Pcap data for editing
• Retargeting to skeletons
• Syncing audio, face, and body data
• Using Metahuman Animator to solve facial performance

WEEK 6

Editing and Blocking

What we will cover:

• Choosing animation takes, setting up shots, temp cameras
•Assembly edit using UE’s Sequencer

WEEK 7

Virtual Camera

What we will cover:

• Choosing animation takes, setting up shot
• Setting up virtual camera rig to IOS device using Live Link
• Streaming UE environment to IOS screen
• Recording camera takes, best practices, and manual adjustments• Finalising edit

WEEK 8

Animation

What we will cover:

• Using UE’s Control Rig to tweak face and body performance
• Importing alembics for bespoke animations (cloth, RBD, etc)

WEEK 9

Shot Design

What we will cover:

• Shot composition and lighting
• Set dec, prop scatter, BG crowds
• Adjusting per sequence and per shot

WEEK 10

MRQ Rendering and Nuke Compositing

What we will cover:

• Using Cryptomattes to grade and compositie, 2D VFX elements to compliment UE’s effects
• Final polish, optical artifacts
doublejump skill System

What we will learn together in

2 hr 19 min

WEEK 1

Procedural Bridge: Getting Started & Modeling

What we will cover:

Transfer data from Houdini To Unreal via Houdini Engine, Create their first Houdini Digital Asset(HDA) for Unreal, and learn the foundations of procedural modeling.

WEEK 2

Procedural Bridge:Texturing, Vellum Simulations, & Alembic Workflows

What we will cover:

Learn how you can harvest the power of houdini to help create materials for unreal, set up a cohesive Vellum simulation, and get a simulation integrated to Unreal.

WEEK 3

Procedural Destruction From Houdini To Unreal

What we will cover:

Create our own advanced fracture setup, set up Physics in Unreal from Houdini Attributes, and dive into Blueprinting in Unreal.

WEEK 4

Procedural Infection Part 1: Growth Algorithm And Mesh Creation

What we will cover:

Dive deep into creating a growth algorithm Inside Houdini, learning how to utilize For-Loops and Vex To a high potential.

WEEK 5

Procedural Infection Part 2: Unreal Engine Advanced Material Setup

What we will cover:

Use our tool in Unreal and create a beautiful Ethereal Material, Creating Tri-Planar & Screen Space Projections for a sci-fi/fantasy feeling.

WEEK 6

Modular Pipe Generation

What we will cover:

Learn the foundations for setting up modular asset placement procedurally, look at 3D path generation inside Houdini.

WEEK 7

Presenting Work Through Environment Creation: Foundations And Lighting

What we will cover:

• Choosing animation takes, setting up shot
• SSet up an interior environment in Unreal to showcase your tools complete with lighting, camera setups, & foliage placement.

WEEK 8

Presenting Work Through Environment Creation: Polish And Rendering

What we will cover:

Polish up the environment with decal placement, Color correction (Inside Unreals Camera), & Rendering.
doublejump skill System

What we will learn together in

2 hr 19 min

WEEK 1

Blender/Unreal Engine

What we will cover:

• Data Preparation.
• Scale Units.
• Model Axis Orientation.
• Wheels Camber.
• Model splitting (Body, wheels etc.).
• Normal orientation.
• Unreal Engine Project Setup.
• Import to Unreal Engine.

WEEK 2

Unreal Engine

What we will cover:

• Adjusting Model Pivots (UE Modeling Tools).
• Automotive Materials Pack description.
• UE Materials Workflow.
• Car Shading.
• High precision tangent basis (important setting which must be enabled).
• Car Rig Assembly, wheels, brake callipers etc. (Car Rig blueprint provided).
• Car Rig adjustments. Wheel offset, body height, camber.
• Placing Car Rig in the scene, static functions overview. (Wheel turn, body lean).
• Brake Lights/Headlights blueprinting and preparing for animation – blueprinting in Car Rig.

WEEK 3

Unreal Engine

What we will cover:

• Placing Car Rig in the scene.
• Suspension settings overview.
• Drawing spline path.
• Attaching car to spline.
• Multiple Spline/Multiple Cars usage.
• Sequencer Basics, preparing for animation.
• Adding cars to sequencer.
• Animate driving, stopping, turning.
• CineCamera actor overview.
• Adding Cameras and animating cameras.
• Camera Shakes/Sporty style of camera animation.
• Car Ramp Jump.

WEEK 4

Environment Creation

What we will cover:

• Environment Light Object description.
• Environment Light Mixer Window.
• Setting directional light/skylight.
• Using HDRI, HDRI Limitations in Unreal Engine.
• Overview of Free Unreal Engine Marketplace assets and environments.
• Using Free Assets from Quixel Bridge.
• Creating Simple Minimalistic Environment (using basic shapes and Quixel Bridge Assets).
• Light setup and Post Processing Volume effects/exposure settings.

WEEK 5

Rendering

What we will cover:

• Create car animation sequence within our created environment.
• Types of Render in Unreal Engine (Lumen vs Path Tracing).
• Lumen + Ray Tracing description and limitations.
• Movie Render Queue Overview.
• Color Profile ACES (for movies or Photoshop).
• Setting up render in Lumen only + Lumen and Ray Tracing.
• Setting up Render in Path Tracing.
• Importing in DaVinci Resolve for color grade.
• Colour space transform in DaVinci Resolve for correct display.
• Render with Cryptomatte.
• Importing EXR with Cryptomatte masks for Photoshop retouch.
• Using Cryptomatte in DaVinci Resolve with React plugin

Firmware

Watch full short film. Watch full short film
See The Difference

What Our Students Created

Sükrü Cengil
Art Director >> Head of Design Visualization Volkswagen AG
Sheldon Schwartz
Steve Jones
Motion Graphics Lead
Sükrü Cengil
Art Director >> Head of Design Visualization Volkswagen AG
Luca Goury
Automotive CGI | Visualisation Artist
Luca Goury
Automotive CGI | Visualisation Artist
Sükrü Cengil
Art Director >> Head of Design Visualization Volkswagen AG
Steve Jones
Motion Graphics Lead
Sükrü Cengil
Art Director >> Head of Design Visualization Volkswagen AG
Luca Goury
Automotive CGI | Visualisation Artist
Sükrü Cengil
Art Director >> Head of Design Visualization Volkswagen AG
Sükrü Cengil
Art Director >> Head of Design Visualization Volkswagen AG
Steve Jones
Motion Graphics Lead
Luca Goury
Automotive CGI | Visualisation Artist
Enroll Now

Ready To Master Filmmaking in UE?

Standard Edition
$465
Full 10 Week Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Legendary Edition
$735
Includes everything from Standard Edition and:
Animation Mocap Library
Nuke - Discounted Student License
Firmware Art Package ( Includes some assets, stills, film script, shoot notes, Firmware OST, Digital Poster, etc)
Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor.
Limited edition T-Shirt. (Design TBA)
Supremium Edition
$985
Includes everything from Legendary Edition and:
Private call with Instructor
Supremium Discord
Extra T-shirt
Enroll Now

Ready To Learn Houdini for Games in UE?

Strandard Edition
$465
Full 8 Week Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Legendary Edition
$735
Includes everything from Standard Edition and:
Procedural Scaffolding HDA
Nuke - Discounted Student License
Houdini - Discounted Student License
GridMarkets 10 Free Credits + 10% Extra credits on every purchase
Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor.
Limited edition T-Shirt. (Design TBA)
Supremium Edition
$985
Includes everything from Legendary Edition and:
Private call with Instructor
Supremium Discord
Extra T-shirt
Live Community Webinar

Need more info?

Register Now
Enroll Now

Ready To Master automotive in UE?

Strandard Edition
$815
Full 5 Week Workshop
Advanced Custom Car Rig Blueprint
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Legendary Edition
$935
Includes everything from Standard Edition and:
Unreal Engine Race Track Environment
Nuke - Discounted Student License
Houdini - Discounted Student License
GridMarkets 10 Free Credits + 10% Extra credits on every purchase
Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor.
Limited edition T-Shirt.
Supremium Edition
$1,195
Includes everything from Legendary Edition and:
Private call with Instructor
Supremium Discord
Extra T-shirt
INCLUDED IN THE LEGENDARY

Animation Library

We are collaborating with Griffin Animation Academy to provide you with the highest quality animation assets online.

This will be an overgrowing library of animation assets and a good opportunity to collaborate with fellow Animators.

Real-Life Studio Scenario

Our students can collaborate with Griffin animation academy students to create breathtaking unique show-reel projects you will not find assets like this anywhere else.

collab with animators

This will imitate a real life studio Scenario where multiple departments collaborate together with a CG supervisor like Corbin overseeing the project.

spice up your portfolio

We're frequently asked, 'How can I make my portfolio unique?' Certainly not by displaying all your FX renders on a plain black background. This library offers unlimited creative freedom to help your FX stand out.

ENROLL NOW
Enroll Now

Ready To Master Reverse Engineering?

Disintegration FX
$325
Full 8 Week Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Bubble Bomb FX
$325
Full 8 Week Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Obscurus FX
$325
Full 8 Week Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
FilmFX Bundle
$650
Get one FX for free.
Full FilmFx Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates

Get Full FILMFX Bundle

Strandard Edition
$650
Full 24 Week Workshop
Mentoring & Support
DoubleJump Academy Certification
Lifetime Access & Updates
Legendary Edition
$760
Includes everything from Standard Edition and:
One Extra VFX chosen by community
Animation Library ( by Griffin Academy)
Nuke - Discounted Student License
Houdini - Discounted Student License
GridMarkets 10 Free Credits + 10% Extra credits on every purchase
Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor.
Limited edition T-Shirt.
Supremium Edition
$985
Includes everything from Legendary Edition and:
Private call with Instructor
Supremium Discord
Extra T-shirt

Discover the
Unreal Engine Automotive Legendary Edition

Legendary Edition Includes:

• Unreal Engine Automotive Masterclass
• Unreal Engine Race Track Environment
• Limited edition T-Shirt (Design TBA)
• Nuke Student License
• Houdini Student License
• GridMarkets 10 Free Credits + 10% Extra credits on every purchase
• Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor
discover editions
Meet your Instructor

Hi, I'm

William

Hello everyone, I'm William Fiorentini, a Generalist artist passionate about pushing visual storytelling boundaries since age 15. My journey into VFX started at ESMA in Toulouse, France, where I mastered 3D artistry basics. In September 2021, I began my industry journey as a Modeler at Framestore, drawn to every aspect of production.

This led me to become an Environment TD artist at DNEG, focusing on crafting immersive environments while prioritizing attention to detail. Now at The Mill, I embrace challenges as a Generalist artist, driven by a commitment to creativity in every project.

William
worked on projects such as

Discover the
FILMFX Legendary Edition

Legendary Edition Includes:

• FilmFx - Reverse Engineering Workshop
• Animation Library ( by Griffin Academy)
• 1 Extra VFX (chosen ycommunity)
• Limited Edition T-Shirt
• Nuke Student License
• Houdini Student License
• GridMarkets 10 Free Credits + 10% Extra credits on every purchase
• Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor
discover editions

Discover the
Houdini for Games in Unreal Engine Legendary Edition

Legendary Edition Includes:

• Houtdini for Games in Uneal Engine Workshop
• Procedural Scaffolding HDA
• Limited Edition T-Shirt (Design TBA)
• Nuke Student License
• Houdini Student License
• GridMarkets 10 Free Credits + 10% Extra credits on every purchase
• Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor
discover editions

Discover the
Master Filmmaking in Unreal Engine Legendary Edition

Legendary Edition Includes:

• Master Filmmaking in Uneal Engine Workshop
• Animation Mocap Library
• Limited Edition T-Shirt (Design TBA)
• Nuke Student License
• Firmware Art Package ( Includes some assets, stills, film script, shoot notes, Firmware OST, Digital Poster, etc)
• Access to Private Legendary Discord group with the Instructor
discover editions
what skills will you gain
Imagine yourself as a game character. In games, you complete missions, level up, and earn skill points. Similarly, in this workshop, you'll gain valuable points and skills in real life.
LVL UP!
+ 22 SKILL POINTS
+ 22 SKILL POINTS
Pre-existing skill points
Newely gained skill points
Houdini skills
Volumes
flip
Particles
Rigid Bodies
Vellum / Soft Bodies
VEX
Shading
Rendering
Compositing
Proceduralism
Pipeline
Tech Anim
artist skills
FX Dev
Speed
Lead/Supervisor
what skills will you gain
Imagine yourself as a game character. In games, you complete missions, level up, and earn skill points. Similarly, in this workshop, you'll gain valuable points and skills in real life.
LVL UP!
+ 52 SKILL POINTS
Pre-existing skill points
Newely gained skill points
Houdini skills
Volumes
flip
Particles
Rigid Bodies
Vellum / Soft Bodies
VEX
Shading
Rendering
Compositing
Proceduralism
Pipeline
Tech Anim
Artist skills
FX Dev
Speed
Lead/Supervisor
Get Started Today!

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Why Us?
1:1 Mentoring
With Industry Experts
Have questions? Need help? Stuck with the next steps? Want feedback? Ask your project mentor.

Your Special Invitation to our Private Community

Join 3,500+ VFX artists, exchange feedback, and grow together. Get access to exciting gigs and collaborate with other FX artists. Partner with fellow artists to stay focused and achieve your goals.
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// Built by VFX artist for VFX artist

Never
Learn Alone.

DoubleJump Academy offers high-quality training content and personalized feedback from professional artists to improve your skills.

You'll also have an access to a supportive, collaborative community of fellow enthusiasts.
INCLUDED IN THE LEGENDARY

THIS WORKSHOP STARTS WITH YOU.

As part of the MOVIE FX workshop, people who buy Legendary can choose between 4 FX for one Extra FX.
VOTE!

*We don't own the footage in these clips. We are using them as reference material for the workshop.

available EDITIONS
STANDARD EDITION
STANDARD EDITION INCLUDES:

EPIC ENVIRONMENTS FOR MOVIEs tutorial
LEGENDARY EDITION

1 EXTRA

PROJECT

PERSONALIZED

LIVE FEEDBACK

PROVIDED BY WILLIAM

PRIVATE

SERVER

one of a kind

T-SHIrT

1 extra

vfx

1 year

updates

private

discord

10 unique

animation assets

limited EDITION INCLUDES:

standard edition, 1 extra PROJECT (choosen by community), private discord group & LIVE FEEDBACK BY WILLIAM FIORENTINI.

IT'S FREE
GO CRAZY

Thanks to the good people from Side FX, this workshop is completely free.

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POWERED BY SIDEFX

Not
Your Average
Online School

Being a vfx artist can feel isolating, and I think it’s extremely important we prioritize connecting with other Artists and Peers.

I have worked with Urban in the Past on a workshop and with Corbin as FX supervisor during my time at ILP. They are both extremely creative, passionate and always put helping the people around them up to the for front. I couldn't imagine a better team of people to put together a school like DoubleJump. Always people and education first.

JURI BRYAN

Head of CG & Simulation MPC Adelaide

"DoubleJump Academy has an amazing amount of free workshops and high-end videos which we recommend for any Visual FX artists. And if you are a beginner, this needs to be the first resource to break into the CGI industry!"

Eddie Chew

Owner & Creative Director
Griffin Animation Studios

"William goes in depth into his workflow and approach he takes to creating large scale environments, u get to understand his thinking behind the why he does things not just the how. There is some comp tricks taught along the way in nuke as well that have been helpful to apply to my own projects to elevate them just that bit more even if environments isnt my main focus. Of course as well the huge community of DoubleJump is a bonus always ready to help when u need it with a bunch of friendly folks."

Sam Savage

Fx Artist/TD - Enrolled in: Epic Environments for Movies

SHELDON SCHWARTZ

This was done under - Unreal Engine Complete Automotive Masterclass

"Learning VFX can be a daunting task, especially when you’re not sure what sources and practices you can rely on and follow. Urban is a master of his craft and delivers high-end, quality content that you can trust to keep you on track in your professional development. I have greatly benefitted and grown as an artist from his invaluable industry knowledge, that often times can’t be found anywhere else. If you want to learn how to produce industry quality effects at the highest level you won’t want to miss anything from of Urban Bradesko."

Jesse Henning

Senior VFX Artist at Atomic Arcade

"Having worked with Urban for many years. I can strongly recommend engaging with DoubleJump. This team covers a wide range of skill-sets combined with their wide array of contacts in the Visual Effects Industry. They are striving to create a hub for beginners to experts alike. Equally strengthening various Studios toolsets and team members. In DoubleJump I entrust!"

Hudson Martins

CG Supervisor at Axis Studios

Luca Goury

This was done under - Unreal Engine Complete Automotive Masterclass

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