Amazon Hyena | The Mill | Houdini Connect

Meet Hattie the Hyena, featured in a recent holiday advert created by The Mill for Amazon.com.
In this Houdini Connect feature, The Mill's Tony Atherton (FX Supervisor) and Adam Droy (VFX Supervisor) talk about how they brought to life a photoreal hyena using Houdini to groom the character, create muscles and skin, simulate fur using vellum, shot assembly, and lighting tools.

[@purplelight2947]

That's super cool to see how Houdini becomes one tool for film production and motion design and simulations and so on.
Started to learn it for half a year and feel it a bit comfortable only now.
I am feeling like Houdini has very high threshold to start but once you used to it - The Mill becomes closer to you!))

[@AKThem06]

muscle tools tutorial when?

[@ergin3d]

Some hyenas are very cute (and goofy), this one looks wild (and dangerous). Great execution and superior realism.

[@foxman4455]

The hyenas i encountered were not nice and pretty aggressive... Never thought a hyena can be cute actually lol

[@mayyassakaji]

was the rigging and Animation done in Houdini aswell ?

[@bankitamas]

I like to learn Houdini CFX and use Houdini in the future for that, but the new features are not implemented yet and there are no tutorials too.
When do we get these?

[@lightcone3236]

dahmn. these people showed that you could literally do everything in houdini. but from my experience, learning multiple softwares is way easier than learning houdini.I gave up learning houdini multiple time but I find myself picking it up again and again because of the potential its got 😆

[@SmokeSkreenPrime]

Same here. Tried learning it on and off since H15 and finally went all in with H18. Now I do everything except comp in it. Looking back, I don't know why it took me so long to commit.

[@mannywiebe]

@@SmokeSkreenPrime you sculpt in it?

[@lightcone3236]

thought the features are limited, sculpting is not impossible in houdini. 🤔

[@mannywiebe]

@@lightcone3236 yes but there are far more equipped and specialized sculpting programs like ZBrush so it is hard to rationalize using it unless its all you have. Texture painting as well. Houdini is great at proceduralism but those other areas fall short for now. Would be cool to see revamps in those areas for future releases.

[@uzizizu]

people already use your muscle system, but you didn't make video of going thru it, every other feature is done, but not muscles?

[@user-ui4xs2zx8z]

teach me how to work in Houdini, for free and you will get the most dedicated and hardworking employee!

[@jovontowns591]

That’s not how life works. You dedicate 5 years to mastering Houdini, by any means, create a reel and land the job based on what you’ve accomplished

[@dannys_85]

@jovon 100% i agree and you need hart work and practice in this 5 years plus math like liner algebra plus programing as you can see full 5 years hehe not easy task ..
I have some videos on my other chanel about houdini (delcae) is the name