Hi everyone,
This R&D project explores how techniques commonly used in shaders (GLSL/HLSL) can be implemented directly inside Houdini 21 using VEX.
The goal is to bridge procedural workflows with low-level shader logic and demonstrate how powerful this combination can be.
In this first showcase, I present eight different experiments:
1 - A basic recreation of the Houdini logo using a circular radial system.
2 - An extension of this idea by introducing procedural noise.
3 - An implementation of the smooth_min() function by Inigo Quilez in Houdini.
4 - A procedural cliff generator using advanced noise functions such as Curl and Turbulent noise.
5 - A full Voronoi algorithm built from scratch in VEX.
6 - An implementation of the escape-time algorithm based on Mandelbrot/Julia fractal model.
7 - Cross-Hatching and Texture Processing R&D.
8 - Recursive fractal algorithm.
This is only the beginning of the series, I plan to keep adding new examples progressively, exploring more advanced techniques and creative applications.
You can find my ressources for this RnD here:
https://thebookofshaders.com/
https://iquilezles.org/articles/
https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtofCodeIsCool
https://www.youtube.com/@SuboptimalEng
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotting_algorithms_for_the_Mandelbrot_set
1 - Houdini logo recreation
2 - Shape creation R&D
3 - smooth_min() overview
3 - smooth_min() implementation
4 - Shader Cliffs Generator
4 - Cliffs Generator overview
5 - Voronoi with VEX
5 - Voronoi noise implementation
6 - Escape fractal algorithm
6 - Escape fractal implementation
7 - Cross-Hatching R&D
7 - Texture Processing R&D
8 - Recursive fractal algorithm
8 - Recursive fractal setup