Isaac Taracks shows how to create a pyro simulation in Houdini for an Octane render in Cinema 4D.

In this short description tutorial, Isaac Taracks works with Houdini and Cinema 4D to create an RBD pyro growth effect animation. Taracks meshes the pyro sim using vdbs, then takes the mesh and runs it through an RBD simulation which in turn gets exported to an Alembic file.

It is that Alembic file that plugs into Cinema 4D for Texture, lights, Materials, and rendering using Octane Render. There is a short version and an extended version to this tutorial, check out the longer version below.

Growth effects are a popular topic, especially with motion artists and VFXer’s in the Houdini community. There are lots of ways to create one, and a few of those ideas get a summary in this post.