INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Where did the Labs initiative come from, and why is it important for users?

Above: With just a few nodes from the new Tree toolset in Labs, any type of tree can be created for use in games, film and advertising

Right: Luiz Kruel, Paul Ambrosiussen and Mike Lyndon – the original Labs team. These days Ambrosiussen carries the torch at SideFX, while Kruel and Lyndon work with Houdini in Production studios

T he SideFX Labs toolset plays an essential role in artists’ ever increasing task of producing more creative content. Looking beyond just using the tools, what are they, and where do these tools come to life?

Houdini 18 released on 27 November 2019, and with it came SideFX Labs. The toolset is a collection of over 220+ tools at the time of writing, which can be found as a plugin for the main piece of tech: Houdini.  But it is not just that. It is a source-available initiative by a small but critical team inside SideFX, which aims to create higher-level production-oriented tools, examples and prototypes for users who do not have the time to develop complex pipeline components themselves. These tools get developed outside of the regular Houdini development cycle which targets one or  more large releases per year. One of the benefits of this more agile approach is quick prototypes to test workflows, examples for customers and plugin development are possible. It also allows for a more lenient support structure, which is important when development resources are more limited.