Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Discover how to create a professional explosion shot in this workshop with Ganesh Lakshmigandan, Senior FX Technical Director at Weta FX: thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/art-directing-explosions-using-axiom-in-houdini
Start your free trial to The Gnomon Workshop training library today: thegnomonworkshop.com/subscription
CREATE A BARREL EXPLOSION USING HOUDINI, AXIOM & NUKE
In this 7.5-hour workshop, Ganesh walks you through the entire creation process of a barrel explosion, from analyzing references to completing the final composite.
Ganesh demonstrates how to use the Axiom Solver (version 3.1 or higher) in Houdini 20 to create all the pyro simulations. He teaches every pro trick in the book to achieve a realistic-looking sim, including accurate shading and lighting.
Solaris/Karma XPU is used to shade, light, and render the shot. Ganesh reveals how to use the latest karma volume shader and take advantage of the latest features to achieve visually realistic-looking volume renders. In the final stage of the workshop, you’ll then tackle the Nuke composite of all the rendered elements.
Throughout this workshop, you will learn SOP tricks to create emitters and see how to split simulations to make art-directable elements quickly and efficiently. The GPU-based Axiom Solver with Karma XPU is a professional solution for creating faster iterations in both simulation and rendering.
The project files accompanying this workshop include the background asset courtesy of Enterables on CG Trader; Ganesh has also provided his own assets for subscribers to follow along with the tutorial.
CHAPTERS:
— Analyzing References
— Prepping Assets
— Barrel Explosion: Emitter
— Barrel Explosion: Emitter — Part 2
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Initial Sim Parameters
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Combustion
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Shape Settings
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Shape Settings — Disturb
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Influence & Output Settings
— Barrel Explosion: Trail Curves
— Barrel Explosion: Pyro Bake
— Barrel Explosion Lgt: Solaris
— Barrel Explosion Lgt: Solaris — Part 2
— Pyro Center Sim: Sources
— Pyro Center Sim: Initial Sim Parameters
— Pyro Center Sim: Shape Settings
— Pyro Center Sim: Explosion Influence
— Pyro Center Sim: Second Sim SL
— Pyro Center: Post Process
— Pyro Center Lgt: Solaris
— Pyro SR Sim: Sources
— Pyro SR Sim: Combustion
— Pyro SR Sim: Shape Settings
— Pyro SR: Proxy Volumes
— Smoke SR Sim: Sources
— Smoke SR Sim: Initial Solver Settings
— Smoke SR Sim: Combustion & Shape Settings
— Pyro/Smoke SR Lgt: Solaris
— Smoke FG Sim: Sources
— Smoke FG Sim: Solver
— Smoke FG Lgt: Solaris
— Compositing
For more workshops by industry professionals that will help you take your creative skills to the next level using industry-trusted software, check out our complete video tutorial library at thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials.
Discover how to create a professional explosion shot in this workshop with Ganesh Lakshmigandan, Senior FX Technical Director at Weta FX: thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/art-directing-explosions-using-axiom-in-houdini
Start your free trial to The Gnomon Workshop training library today: thegnomonworkshop.com/subscription
CREATE A BARREL EXPLOSION USING HOUDINI, AXIOM & NUKE
In this 7.5-hour workshop, Ganesh walks you through the entire creation process of a barrel explosion, from analyzing references to completing the final composite.
Ganesh demonstrates how to use the Axiom Solver (version 3.1 or higher) in Houdini 20 to create all the pyro simulations. He teaches every pro trick in the book to achieve a realistic-looking sim, including accurate shading and lighting.
Solaris/Karma XPU is used to shade, light, and render the shot. Ganesh reveals how to use the latest karma volume shader and take advantage of the latest features to achieve visually realistic-looking volume renders. In the final stage of the workshop, you’ll then tackle the Nuke composite of all the rendered elements.
Throughout this workshop, you will learn SOP tricks to create emitters and see how to split simulations to make art-directable elements quickly and efficiently. The GPU-based Axiom Solver with Karma XPU is a professional solution for creating faster iterations in both simulation and rendering.
The project files accompanying this workshop include the background asset courtesy of Enterables on CG Trader; Ganesh has also provided his own assets for subscribers to follow along with the tutorial.
CHAPTERS:
— Analyzing References
— Prepping Assets
— Barrel Explosion: Emitter
— Barrel Explosion: Emitter — Part 2
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Initial Sim Parameters
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Combustion
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Shape Settings
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Shape Settings — Disturb
— Barrel Explosion Sim: Influence & Output Settings
— Barrel Explosion: Trail Curves
— Barrel Explosion: Pyro Bake
— Barrel Explosion Lgt: Solaris
— Barrel Explosion Lgt: Solaris — Part 2
— Pyro Center Sim: Sources
— Pyro Center Sim: Initial Sim Parameters
— Pyro Center Sim: Shape Settings
— Pyro Center Sim: Explosion Influence
— Pyro Center Sim: Second Sim SL
— Pyro Center: Post Process
— Pyro Center Lgt: Solaris
— Pyro SR Sim: Sources
— Pyro SR Sim: Combustion
— Pyro SR Sim: Shape Settings
— Pyro SR: Proxy Volumes
— Smoke SR Sim: Sources
— Smoke SR Sim: Initial Solver Settings
— Smoke SR Sim: Combustion & Shape Settings
— Pyro/Smoke SR Lgt: Solaris
— Smoke FG Sim: Sources
— Smoke FG Sim: Solver
— Smoke FG Lgt: Solaris
— Compositing
For more workshops by industry professionals that will help you take your creative skills to the next level using industry-trusted software, check out our complete video tutorial library at thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials.
