Rohan Dalvi Sows an Easy Way to Create Dissolves and Reveals on Objects Using VDB.

There is little doubt that Open VDB is a welcome addition to any DCC. Working with sparse volumetric data in 3D opens up a whole range of workflows and makes some pretty incredible things possible. For example, you can use VDB to reveal or dissolve any object in SideFX Houdini. Rohan Dalvi walks through the simple process with two short videos that show just how easy it is.

Dalvi creates a dissolve for the standard Houdini pig head and then shows how to smooth out the edges when you create a fade. Dissolving, revealing, fading, disintegration, reintegration all have various workflows in Houdini, as one might expect. Techniques range from a POP-driven no render approach, to an effect that uses an animated noise map.

Using volumes is a speedy way to get some nice looking effects.