OpenVDB to Softimage

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OpenVDB ICEAuthor: Oleg Bliznuk
This is a Softimage ICE integration of the OpenVDB suite, Dreamworks Animation's volumetrics toolset which has been built around a new data structure for efficient storage and manipulation of big volumes. See openvdb_dreamworks.pdf for slides of a OpenVDB feature presentation.

Oleg Bliznuk, author of Exocortex's Implosia FX and Explosia FX has created this ICE adapter. His fluid simulator »Explosia FX« (free as a noncommercial version) can be used to create VDB files. OpenVDB ICE covers the essential features of the OpenVDB suite:

Mental Ray/Arnold shaders included: VDBGridReaderScalar VDBGridReaderVec3 VDBGridReaderInt VDBVolumeShaderSimple VDBBlackbody

Compounds included: Voxelize Geometry Voxelize Particles Get VDB Grid Set VDB Grid File Grid IO Add Noise Fogvolume Filter LevelSet Boolean Operations LevelSet Morphology VolumeFog Boolean Operations Advection Get Value at Coordinate Set Value at Coordinate Grid To Mesh Mesh To Grid Get Grid Data Particles To Grid Grid IO Fill Box Grid Change Grid Class Noise Advect Level Set Morphological Filters Rebuild LevelSet Resample Grid Transform Platonic Create Grid CSG Deep Copy Grid Morpher Polygonize Grid Solidify Level Set Create Velocity Field Display Grid Info Platonic Sphere Resize Container to Active Volume Visualize Grid Slice Visualize Scalar Grid Visualize Scalar Grid Slice Visualize Vector Grid Visualize Vector Grid Slice

For feedback and questions, visit the si-community thread. There's also some info there on how to interoperate with emFluid. Here is a demo video by the author and another video from the thread, created by Rob Chapman using only OpenVDB ICE nodes and rendered using the included openVDB arnold shaders. Requirements: Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable Package (x64)

local backup: OpenVDB_to_Softimage_v0.8.rar

caledonian_tartan
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by caledonian_tartan » 14 Jan 2014, 13:29

seems like "Kernell32.dll" is 32bit, which is not supposed to be working on 64bit softimage... but correct me if i'm wrong
SI 2015 @ WIN7-64

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Mr.Core
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by Mr.Core » 14 Jan 2014, 13:40

Hi Ben,
Which version of Visual studio you are using ? according to some info in web VS2012 uses runtime lib features not available on XP.
http://forums.codeguru.com/showthread.p ... -statement

benmalartre
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by benmalartre » 14 Jan 2014, 23:02

I'm using visual studio 2008...
Which version of VS are you using?

I definitely should update my setup, I know.
Since then I never had encountered such problem,
but also never used lib whith so much dependencies...

thanks for the link, I'll look at it.

reaver
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by reaver » 08 Mar 2014, 07:44

Ok Oleg, so I've got the plugin up and running, and everything works great! Except for one thing.......how on earth do you get the cloud fx files in houdini to save to a vdb file?? This is driving me nuts, as I can't find ANYTHING on the internet on how to do this??

luceric
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by luceric » 08 Mar 2014, 08:34

benmalartre wrote:First of all, great work Oleg!

But I have a problem though:
I'm on a windows xp 64 bits machine and I can't figure how to install properly the addon.
With DependencyWalker I have an unresolved symbol : InitializeCriticalSectionEx in Kernell32.dll
Do you think it's even possible? Or the plugin has to be compiled on a xp machine?
That's an API that's only from Windows Vista and up.

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Mr.Core
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by Mr.Core » 08 Mar 2014, 14:50

reaver wrote:Ok Oleg, so I've got the plugin up and running, and everything works great! Except for one thing.......how on earth do you get the cloud fx files in houdini to save to a vdb file?? This is driving me nuts, as I can't find ANYTHING on the internet on how to do this??
you should find some houdini guy and force him to open his secret :) Seriously, i got my files from friend who is experienced with houdini. And this question is pretty actual as you are one from many who asked on how to export these .vdb.

reaver
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by reaver » 08 Mar 2014, 16:12

Well, I guess its a good thing I have some technical smarts then, since I figured out how to at least get one frame out, and was able to load that into SI. I'm not too worried about an animation at this point as the project I'm currently working on involves a plane flying through some clouds.

I'll post how I did it once I get a better workflow going.

ronaldomiranda
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by ronaldomiranda » 28 Mar 2014, 03:26

Hey Mr. Core, thats just so amazing! i could not believe in my eyes.
I have been studying houdini for some time, so thats so cool!

Btw, would be great to know if there is a manual or kind of some help on this great plug in?

I tried to open some VDB meshes that are on the OpenVDB site. they open in HOudini.

So wondering if the OpenVDB can exchange much more than fluids (smoke), is a kinda of alembic? but that exports all?

Can i import and export OpenVDB meshes from your plug-in? is it easy?

Oh man, sorry for so many questions, but i got to excited about this!

And very sorry for your country, you all Ukranians have been on my prayers!

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sant0s
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by sant0s » 14 Apr 2014, 10:48

hey :)
just messing around with emfluid and openvdb - amazing!

I also run into some questions: Like on the pic, there is that green line around the .vdb. Similar to the outline, Arnold creates when there is alpha.
But how can i remove/avoid that? Is that an arnold thing or caused by openVDB?

Also I wonder, where the details are. The emfluid5 renderer has some more cauliflower details, here they are gone.

And the last, but most important question: what means "keyerror: map" ? Its caused by openVDB while trying to read and cached .vdb.
It works all till frame 66, after that I cannot read any file and in my viewport the openVDB-Cube disappears.
Could it be a filesize problem?
Its exactly on that frame, where the files become bigger than 2gb... :)

edit: also gives me the error : "Lookup Error: Cannot read grid. Grid type"

edit2: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/o ... JScvQhC9wJ
seems, that is a similar problem?
Try calling openvdb::initialize() first.
Is it possible to do that in SI?
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sant0s
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by sant0s » 14 Apr 2014, 14:44

it actually seems to be a file size problem.
Did restep with different cell size and it worked.
I ll simulate again with not so high steps (1,5) and enable the option tiled... does that mean, it tiles the file?
And if the file size is the problem, any way to fix that? :)

thx!

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Mr.Core
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by Mr.Core » 14 Apr 2014, 14:46

>>Btw, would be great to know if there is a manual or kind of some help on this great plug in?
Sorry, right now i dont have enough time to make some tutors, but that plugin is still on my plans to push it towards 1.0 stable release with some kind of intro tutors. If you have any specific questions please ask here.

>>So wondering if the OpenVDB can exchange much more than fluids (smoke), is a kinda of alembic? but that exports all?
VDB holds voxel data, that means you have native support of all voxel-based fluids, and you can also hold any geometry as a certain value across these voxels where the original polymesh has intersected it. This way you have very smoothed mesh representation, without sharp details(even if you crank up voxel counts to insane values ) so the answer is rather no than yes, you cannot transfer polymeshes via vdb.


>>I also run into some questions: Like on the pic, there is that green line around the .vdb. Similar to the outline, Arnold creates when there is alpha.
But how can i remove/avoid that? Is that an arnold thing or caused by openVDB?

this is usually is a result of negative density, try to clamp the vdb sclar reader value with min treshold 0 before put it to volume collector.

>>Its exactly on that frame, where the files become bigger than 2gb...
It may be a problem, i have "Try calling openvdb::initialize() first." called everywhere openvdb is ( and thats why you can work till 66 frame ).
Can you share please one of there >2gb vdb files ?

>>Also I wonder, where the details are. The emfluid5 renderer has some more cauliflower details, here they are gone.
Thats depend of emrendered, can it have some render-time upscale techniques ?

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sant0s
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by sant0s » 14 Apr 2014, 15:14

Hey, thx for your answer.

>>this is usually is a result of negative density, try to clamp the vdb sclar reader value with min treshold 0 before put it to volume collector.

super, will try that!
(edit: its working with the scalar change range)

>>It may be a problem, i have "Try calling openvdb::initialize() first." called everywhere openvdb is ( and thats why you can work till 66 frame ).
Can you share please one of there >2gb vdb files ?

yea, will upload a file and send the link per pm


>>Thats depend of emrendered, can it have some render-time upscale techniques ?[/quote]
dont understand that - do you need a render of the same scene rendered with emfluid5 renderer?

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Mr.Core
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by Mr.Core » 14 Apr 2014, 15:33

>>Thats depend of emrendered, can it have some render-time upscale techniques ?[/quote]
dont understand that - do you need a render of the same scene rendered with emfluid5 renderer?

i mean that emrender may add some procedural details like waveletturbulence on rendertime, while arnold renders raw low-res volume grid. But i dont know how emrender is doing its work so the real problem can be in something different.

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sant0s
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by sant0s » 14 Apr 2014, 15:48

>>i mean that emrender may add some procedural details like waveletturbulence on rendertime, while arnold renders raw low-res volume grid. But i dont know how emrender is doing its work so the real problem can be in something different.

Ah okay, going to ask that in the group.

edit: Eric wrote:
Any way, the emFluid5 renderer does not create any additional details, it renders the grids "as is".
Image

ronaldomiranda
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by ronaldomiranda » 23 Apr 2014, 20:33

Thanx Core for reply me ;)

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Mr.Core
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Re: OpenVDB to Softimage

Post by Mr.Core » 24 Apr 2014, 14:36

@sant0s

i think the emfluid preview looks like as almost solid and thus produces very sharp shadows and shapes while the arnold's render is much more "volumy" ( take a look at the borders of the mushroom ) which tends to smooth out some micro-scaled details. Try for example to crank up densities for light and camera absorbtion to see if it will result in more shaped look.

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