Are you a pipeline developer who wants to learn USD? Join this talk for a step-by-step guide on how to make the switch to USD in no time! We’ll explore fundamental concepts through practical examples and typical production scenarios. We’ll also discuss how to build efficient Houdini LOPs HDAs, as well as how to keep performance and scalability in mind while designing a USD pipeline to best fit your needs. If you’re a small to mid-size studio looking to adopt USD, this talk will help you jumpstart the process! More info at lucascheller.github.io/VFX-UsdSurvivalGuide
00:00 Presentation
03:30 Guide Structure
05:09 Basis Building Blocks of USD
6:03 API Overview
07:47 Paths
08:56 Data Containers (Prims & Properties)
12:06 Data Types/Roles
13:38 Schemas
16:00 Metadata
18:36 Layers / Stages
22:07 Stages
22:25 Animations/Time Varying Data
22:44 Loading Mechanisms
23:27 Traversing Data
24:59 Plugin System
26:48 Asset Resolver
31:00 Stage Query Caches
31:40 Solaris
33:37 Geometry Hierarchy Size
34:33 Geometry Prim Path Evaluation Order
35:23 SOPs to LOPs - Export Settings
36:23 Asset Resolver (Context)
40:17 Points/Particles
42:45 Point Instancers - Copy To Points
47:10 Rigid Body Dynamics (RBD)
48:50 HDAs in LOPs
52:15 Composition in Houdini
55:33 Key Takeaways
56:41 Q&A
Luca Scheller is a Senior Pipeline TD at RISE | Visual Effects Studios. He loves improving and designing workflows together with artists to streamline day-to-day work and make it easier to deliver those pretty pixels faster. He’s also a big fan of open source software and contributing knowledge back to the community through articles, video tutorials and workshops.