After having the prey design revamped and sort of locked, I stress tested the system and corrected many issues that came up when trying to assemble it into an HDA. Additionally, I updated the look a bit to give the creature some directionality. Once it was packaged into a Houdini Digital Asset, I created top level user controllers in order to be able to put the creature in place, scale it, and art direct it in general.
Prey HDA Demonstration
Like the Hunters, these creatures are stackable. Each node representing an individual creature that can be customized. Additionally, the HDA has an internal KineFX-based self rig.
KineFX Rig Demo
Initially with the original version of this variant, I envisioned it having some amount of peach fuzz on them, but it proved to be inviable due to efficiency. Thanks to professor Fowler’s suggestion, the peach fuzz was replaced by sheen which in the end provides a similar surface effect.
Creature Variations Examples
With the creatures assembled into HDAs and in a good place, moving on to the next stage of this project is around the corner: giving (procecural) life to the creatures.
