Manuel Merkle Shows How to Create a Setup That Can Smoothly Blend Between High and Low Poly Versions of the Same Model in Houdini.

Entagma shows how to create two versions of the same model in Side FX Houdini — One a smooth mesh and high resolution, while the other is low poly and faceted. In the end, both will share the same topology, which will be key to smoothly transforming one shape into the other through an animation. It is essential for both the models to have the same topology, as it enables you to blend between the two using a falloff value.

How can you create the setup? “We’ll use barycentric coordinates to interpolate the low-poly falloff values and transfer them to the high-poly mesh and then mix the positions and normal with VOPs” Merkle notes. Download all the files associated with this tutorial so that you can follow along, including the model, start and end results.