Muscle Simulation in Houdini

Built an arm muscle rig for a human character in in Houdini following a procedural workflow. Studied the anatomical structure of the human arm and placed muscles accordingly.

The first step of this process was to animate the limbs in Maya, displaying the natural range of motion for a human arm. Muscles were placed using Houdini’s muscle tools; the structure and placement of these muscles were a simplified version of the anatomically correct human arm structure. Named all nodes according to technical specifications given.

Created muscle flex, muscle dynamics, and muscle displacement. As the character moves, the muscles tighten and stretch depending on movement, jiggle upon impact, and slide along with the geometry. Lastly, a simulation of tissue dynamics was performed to fill in spaces between muscles and mimic human flesh.