I Made a Stranger Things Gate in Houdini!

Описание: Project file: https://adamhogan.gumroad.com/l/mbldx

Can we recreate the Upside Down in Houdini?

In this breakdown, I’m sharing the key lessons I learned while building a "Stranger Things" style gate. From procedural modelling to look dev and compositing.
As a 3D artist, I wanted to challenge myself to move beyond simple shapes and dive deep into complex procedural modelling and organic simulations.

We’ll break down the three main pillars of this effect:
Building the shape of gate, which drive everything else
The Webbing: The Goo-ey webbing from a Vellum Simulation
The Vines: Projecting curves and using a detangle logic to make them creep and crawl over each other.
The Wall: Using noise-driven masks to tear a hole through the wall into another dimension.

I also dive into my Solaris/Karma look dev workflow, showing how to balance transmission and subsurface scattering to get that gross, fleshy texture, and how to use light passes in After Effects to add the final cinematic flicker and lens grit.

I hope this look into my process helps your own creative journey


Website: https://www.adamhogan.com.au
Twitter: https://x.com/MotionByAdam
Instagram:   / adam.cinematic.universe  

Timestamps:
00:00 || Let's make a Gate to the Upside Down!
00:15 || The Three Core Components
00:26 || Building the Gate Base Shape
00:41 || Creating the Webbing: Points & Mirroring
01:14 || Connection Logic & Color-Coded Cleanup
01:34 || Refining Webbing Density & Distribution
02:11 || Simulation: Smoothing, Fusing, & Pinning
02:59 || The Glue Setup & Organic Motion
03:37 || Final Webbing Tweaks: Density & Thickness
03:51 || Constructing the Wall & Portal Hole
04:13 || Generating the Fleshy Vines
04:57 || Detangling the Vines with Iteration
05:28 || Lighting
06:25 || Texturing the Webbing: Transmission & Subsurface
07:05 || Advanced Vine Texturing: Noise & Fleshy Colors
08:13 || Creating the Procedural Veins
10:09 || Compositing: Light Passes & Flicker Animation
10:59 || Final Lens Effects: Bloom, Grain, & Distortion
11:46 || Final Result