The Gnomon Workshop – Vellum Hair Simulation in Houdini Free Download

The Gnomon Workshop – Vellum Hair Simulation in Houdini: Professional Hair FX Training

The Gnomon Workshop – Vellum Hair Simulation in Houdini is a comprehensive online VFX masterclass focused on production-level hair simulation using Houdini’s Vellum system. Taught by Saravmit Singh, a Character FX Lead with real-world studio experience, this workshop guides intermediate-to-advanced artists through a complete character effects workflow for creating realistic hair dynamics, groom setups, custom tools, and rendering techniques.

Official course page:
🔗 https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/workshops/vellum-hair-simulation-in-houdini

What Is This Workshop About?

This workshop focuses on hair simulation and grooming inside Houdini, specifically using the Vellum framework — a powerful system for creating dynamic, flexible, and believable hair behavior. The lessons walk you through real production techniques used in film, TV, and high-end animation pipelines.

Rather than just teaching basic simulations, the course shows how to build scalable simulation templates, create custom tools, and set up efficient automated systems that work reliably across complex scenes.

Who Teaches It

The instructor is Saravmit Singh, a veteran Character FX Lead with experience in hair, cloth, and muscle simulation on major film and animated projects such as The Flash, Aquaman and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. His industry background brings real production context to each lesson.

What You’ll Learn

This nearly 5-hour workshop (4h 56m) covers:

Production Workflows

How to set up a production-ready hair simulation template that scales from simple tests to complex character rigs.

dGroom Tool Integration

Using dGroom (by Deepak Rajan) to groom and prep hair guides efficiently, smoothing the path from design to simulation.

Custom Tools & HDAs

Build custom Houdini Digital Assets (HDAs) that let you localize behaviors, reduce common simulation issues like jitter, and reuse logic across shots.

Animation-Driven Vellum Setup

Learn how to integrate animation and dynamics so hair behaves naturally when characters move, including practical setups for pre-roll and caching.

Constraints, Controls & Automation

Design bend constraints with curve ramps, automate caching, and create systems that rerun simulations automatically when assets update.

Rendering with Karma

Two lessons are dedicated to rendering hair using Karma, Houdini’s native renderer — showing how to light, shade, and output final frames.

Why This Training Matters

Hair simulation in a production environment is one of the most complex character FX tasks because it combines grooming, dynamics, constraints, and rendering all in one pipeline. This workshop bridges the gap between basic tutorials and studio-level requirements, teaching workflows that help:

Build reusable templates for any character
Create custom tools that speed up production
Handle motion-driven changes and updates without rework
Manage caching, constraints, and render setup efficiently

This kind of training prepares artists for real world VFX jobs where simulations must be consistent, scalable, and collaborative — not just quick tests.

Typical Use Cases

Artists and studios use this skill set for:

Character hair and fur simulation in film and episodic projects
Creature FX with dynamic strands or tentacle-style movement
Animation-dependent collision setups where hair must react to motion
Integrating simulation into larger pipeline tools and render passes

Whether your work is for commercials, animated features, or high-end cinematic game trailers, mastering Vellum hair gives you a competitive edge in character FX job roles.

Workshop Format & Requirements

Duration: 4 hours 56 minutes
Format: HD 1920×1080 instructional video
Software Used: Houdini (no Blender or Maya focus — Houdini is required)
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced (familiarity with Houdini tools and concepts recommended)

Note: The premade groom used in the workshop is not included, but a project file (Chipmunk scene) is provided courtesy of SideFX for practice.

Final Thoughts

The Gnomon Workshop – Vellum Hair Simulation in Houdini is a production-oriented masterclass for visual effects artists who want to deepen their expertise in character FX, especially hair dynamics. It’s not just about making hair move — it’s about building efficient, scalable tools and workflows that studios use every day to solve real simulation challenges.