Hothifa Smair, known for iCity and iCars, has released iCrowds — a full-featured crowd simulation system for Blender 4.5 and newer. The add-on targets film, games, architectural visualisation, and urban design, offering seven integrated systems for both static placement and dynamic movement of thousands of autonomous agents.

Seven Systems for Every Scenario

iCrowds divides its toolkit into static and dynamic subsystems.
The static systems provide surface, curve, vertex, and structured venue distribution.
The dynamic systems introduce motion, pathfinding, and crowd intelligence.

The core modules are:

• On Ground System: Scatters agents across terrain surfaces using vertex group masking, density gradients, and natural variation noise. Supports both single agents and cluster formations.
• On Curve System: Generates linear distributions along user-defined paths with width control, automatic orientation, and curve radius–based density scaling.
• On Vertex System: Enables precision placement on mesh vertices for architectural and design layouts, supporting weight painting and group-based patterning.
• Stadium System: Builds structured seating or audience arrangements, with grid controls for rows and columns, and alignment parameters for rotation and orientation.
• Walkers System: Simulates organised pedestrian flows along curves with bidirectional traffic, lane control, and personal-space handling.
• Fluid System: Adds real-time dynamic behaviour with physics-based attraction, repulsion, and path following. Agents react to scene elements and adjustable flow fields, suitable for events or evacuation simulations.
• City System: A full urban AI layer inspired by games like The Sims. Agents respond to internal needs—hunger, rest, fun, or bladder—and navigate to context-appropriate locations (restaurants, homes, toilets). Debug tools permit real-time inspection of individual agent states.

Performance and Scalability

The developer states that iCrowds supports up to 100,000 agents, depending on hardware and scene complexity. It includes LOD (Level of Detail) options for real-time performance, and baking tools to commit simulations for render-heavy scenes. The add-on uses efficient memory management for scaling from architectural previews to large film visualisations.

Characters and Customisation

The package provides 10 human base models in high- and low-poly variants, available in multiple outfits. Clothing options include formal, casual, and accessory combinations such as hats and glasses. Each model can be randomised for diversity in background and mid-distance crowd shots.

Workflow and Pipeline Integration

iCrowds fits into Blender’s standard workflow:

1. Artists select a static distribution system.
2. Density and masking are refined via vertex groups or curves.
3. Static layouts are imported into dynamic systems such as Fluid or City for movement simulation.
4. Final adjustments include variation, physics tuning, and performance baking.

Systems can be mixed for specific production needs:
Urban environments benefit from combining City and Fluid systems; structured events can merge Walkers and Stadium; architectural projects may pair On Vertex with Fluid.

Use Cases Across Industries

The toolset is aimed at multidisciplinary users:

• Architecture & Visualisation: Quickly populate renders, simulate building capacity, and contextualise scenes with human scale.
• Game Development: Populate open worlds, generate background NPCs, and run behavioural simulations for day/night cycles.
• Film & Animation: Animate large background crowds and pre-visualise crowd movement in sequences.
• Urban Planning: Test pedestrian flow, space usage, and crowd density during design studies.

Price and Availability

iCrowds is available for $19 per licence on Superhive Market. The add-on supports Blender 4.5 and above on all major operating systems.

Stability Reminder

While iCrowds appears production-ready and technically mature, artists should verify performance and reliability in their own pipelines before integrating it into ongoing projects. Stability, agent count limits, and render compatibility may vary by system configuration.

The post City Life for Crowds: iCrowds Lands in Blender first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Software developer SideFX has announced its first global “How To Houdini Tutorial Contest,” inviting artists and educators to create learning content based on the new features in Houdini 21. The contest celebrates the teaching side of the Houdini community and aims to expand the library of free, production-relevant learning materials available to users.

According to the company’s official announcement, the contest opened on 1 October 2025. Submissions must be centerered by 33 December 2025. Voting takes place in January 2026, and winners will be announced in February. Because of the inconsistent deadline reporting, entrants are advised to check the official SideFX contest page before uploading their lessons.

We are excited to announce the first-ever How To Houdini Tutorial Contest! To enter, submit your tutorial through your profile on the SideFX website. Tutorials created in Houdini 21 and submitted by December 30, 2025, will be automatically entered. https://t.co/hQOgHEXZak pic.twitter.com/SmdCng58JS

— SideFX (@sidefx) October 6, 2025

How to enter and what counts

To participate, artists must create and publish a tutorial built in Houdini 21 and upload it to their SideFX user profile. A corresponding submission form completes the entry. Tutorials can be text-based or video-based, though video lessons must total at least ten minutes. All titles must start with “How to…” and demonstrate a reproducible workflow leading to a finished result, such as a beauty render, turntable, or real-time capture.

Submissions must focus on practical workflows rather than demonstrations of pre-built scenes or results. Free assets from platforms such as PolyHaven or KitBash are allowed, provided the licensing terms permit free educational use. Distribution of restricted or paywalled assets is prohibited.

Lesson types and eligible topics

Each tutorial must fall under one of four “Lesson Types.” A Beginner Lesson introduces new users to Houdini’s procedural approach. A Node Reference Lesson explains a specific node or feature. Gamedev & Realtime Lessons cover workflows for game-engine or real-time contexts. Finally, Production Workflow Lessons focus on intermediate or advanced, production-ready methods.

The contest’s topic categories include VFX (such as pyro, destruction, and fluids), World Building (terrain and foliage), Lookdev (USD, Solaris, Karma), Characters (rigging, CFX, crowds), Modeling (procedural techniques), Gamedev/Realtime (engine export, shaders), and Pipeline/AI (PDG, Python, or VEX).

Prizes and recognition

The Grand Prize winner will receive a one-year Houdini FX licence, official SideFX merchandise, a copy of VFX Made Easy with Houdini by Alasgar Hasanov, and three months of access to Houdini.school. Each Lesson Type Winner will receive a one-year Houdini Indie licence, the same book, merchandise, and three months of Houdini.school access.

Full contest rules

According to SideFX’s official guidelines PDF, the contest is open worldwide to individuals aged 18 or older, excluding SideFX staff and contractors. The tutorial must be created and published within the contest window using Houdini 21. Entrants retain copyright over their content but grant SideFX a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, and distribute the submitted lessons. In addition, the Houdini community is granted a non-exclusive licence to adapt and publicly perform the tutorial, though redistribution or resale is forbidden.

Only one submission per Lesson Type is allowed, and an entrant can win only once. Tutorials must be in English, and all content must comply with fair-use and software licensing terms. The judging panel will evaluate entries based on production clarity, relevance to Houdini 21 features, instructional quality, and reproducibility of results. Judges’ decisions are final, and prizes are non-transferable.

Why it matters

The contest gives production artists a structured opportunity to share expertise while gaining visibility among peers and the SideFX team. For studios and educators, it provides a curated window into practical workflows for the latest Houdini release. For SideFX, the initiative deepens community engagement while expanding its ecosystem of educational content.

How To Houdini Tutorial Contest – SideFX

The post SideFX launches “How To Houdini” contest for Houdini 21 first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Milk VFX’s work on Heads of State opens with a high‑octane “La Tomatina” sequence dominated by CG mayhem. VFX Supervisor David Sadler‑Coppard – IMDb | LinkedIn led his team through a shoot‑interruption due to strikes, transforming a modest placeholder‑tomato setup into an extensive, fully digital fruit fight.

DP: So, I heard there was a Food Fight at Milk VFX … 

David Sadler-Coppard: I was assigned as VFX Supervisor for Heads of State at Milk when we were first awarded the show. Initially, we were bidding on several sequences, with the La Tomatina Festival scene being relatively modest in scope. The festival is a real thing, by the way. However, after the production went on hiatus for about a year due to the strikes, we reviewed the first assemblies and quickly realised the sequence needed far more work.

We were basically briefed to replace all of the tomato ‘matts’ practical placeholder red matts used on set which didn’t really hold up in camera with CG tomatoes, tomato pulp and tomato liquid, also to add additional flying tomatoes and tomato splats and additional texture to walls/buildings as needed. While there was other work in the Tomatina sequence, the tomatoes were the star, and they had to be convincing without distracting from the action, especially since this was the film’s opening scene.

What began as a seemingly simple brief grew into a complex undertaking as post progressed, from intricate simulations and crowd integration to the careful management of ongoing feedback. We had a schedule from around July to November, which ended up extending into January. At peak I think we were around 30 artists.

DP: The Tomatina sequence is a tomato lover’s nightmare and a VFX artist’s dream (or possibly the other way around). What were your first thoughts when you saw the plates?

David Sadler-Coppard: It became clear very quickly that La Tomatina needed a lot of help from VFX. Almost every shot had either a few red matts on the ground or nothing at all and thus required tomatoes. There was also lots of stunt, rig and wire work that needed to be brought together and integrated well. For me seeing some of the wide shots with hundreds of people running around on an empty plaza and being briefed to add tomatoes underneath them.. That was quite a challenge.

DP: What were the plates from the set like? Was it at least wet and glistening, or did they just throw around some red fabric?

David Sadler-Coppard: The production was very organised and Milk was provided with plenty of shoot information such as clean plates, HDRIS, Lidar and 3D assets if applicable and anything we needed really to get things going. 

Some shots featured placeholder tomato matts on the ground, though these often caused more problems than they solved, as they tended to “slide” and interfere with shadows or contact points with the crowd. Other shots had nothing at all, while certain close-ups included a scattering of real tomatoes. In the end, we often replaced even the practical ones, as it was ultimately easier and gave us more control over consistency and integration.

A lot of the stunts and setpieces were filmed or partially filmed practically like the explosions and Milk usually just ‘enhanced’ or extended and further integrated these set pieces together. Originally the crowd work was larger in scope and we had bid to do more 3d crowd extension work but in the end we only ended up using them in a few shots, it’s just how the edit came out. They were only meant to be used to fill out the background.

DP: So, roto must have been a nightmare?

David Sadler-Coppard: Roto and paint was certainly a challenge but managed brilliantly by Ben Thomas (HOD Roto/prep –find him on LinkedIn | IMDB ). As well as all the actors and props, we also had to roto all the shadows on the ground, which we couldn’t key properly in some cases (sometimes due to the matts), to ensure seamless CG integration.

DP: Since no tomatoes were harmed in the making of this scene, you had to create them digitally. What were the big technical hurdles in making thousands of CGI tomatoes fly, splat, and interact with actors and the environment?

David Sadler-Coppard: As we had a fixed region with the Plaza we opted to create a large environment pass scattering all the pre-made CG tomato chunks, liquid and pulp everywhere. This was masterminded by the very talented Charles- Henri Vidaud, our Head of Environments (Find hiim on IMDb | LinkedIn).

It took many rounds of feedback and notes to get the overall ‘layout’ approved, essentially the coverage and boundary of the whole tomato area. Luckily shoot continuity was quite good so once all the cameras were conformed the layout was more or less in place quite quickly, although some shots had additional custom tomatoes added.  For the final section where Priyanka slides through the tomatoes on her back, we created a custom hero section with extra detail to hold up close to camera.

We also created additional texture passes across the plaza, tyre tracks, footprints, extra stains, and even a depth pass isolating the plaza’s pebble mortar, to capture the effect of tomato juice seeping into every crack and crevice. These IDs were rendered alongside the other CG passes, giving comp a safety net in case the CG alone didn’t fully achieve the desired look.

With regard to the simulations it was quite time consuming. Obviously we could not matchmove every single foot in every shot so we had to pick the ‘best’ ones that we felt would help sell interactions the best. The tomato layout area was then isolated around those feet and passed to FX where just that patch was simulated and then pass back and merged with the lighting scene. 

For hero simulations like people sliding around in the tomatoes we did full body tracking not just for the sim but also for shadow casting back onto the tomatoes. Getting that interaction working  really helped sell the CG for me and our HOD Andres Tollar oversaw all that team and their work.

The flying tomatoes consisted of simulated chunks and liquid that was randomly emitting across the whole plaza and could be enabled or disabled depending on the notes as the directive was usually to just add into the background of shot for extra chaos as needed. The shot specifically where Priyanka slides and comes to a stop in the tomato goo took about 40 versions to get just the right consistency and behaviour approved.

DP: And why were no real tomatoes used in that scene? They could have collected the pulp and put it in barrels labelled “Artisanal Ketchup”—the hipsters would buy that…

David Sadler-Coppard: As with these large vfx tasks we started simple and just grew it organically.  We thought we might be able to tackle the ground tomatoes with a procedural setup which looked good but was not very directable. We ended up creating several tomato chunks of different sizes and scattering them with some logic to that as well as a general ‘pulpy’ layer which was essentially large patches of displaced geo, randomly scattered around to fill out the square.

The advantage of this is we had lots of flexibility to move things around and generate IDs for comp, but it was very heavy to work with. We also used the lidar to hold out sections of the tomatoes to help them feel more embedded into the ground.

From there it was really nailing down the shading of everything. We did lots of work on the ‘wetness’  and spent a long time really pushing the liquid feel as much as we could not just in the lighting but well into the compositing as well. Specifically in comp, our Lead Emily Vaillincourt (find her on IMDb | LinkedIn) built a whole fake reflection system using the data passes and roto to help create the wet feeling as it was a common note and a tricky one to address.

The client was also keen on having tomatoes smushed into the cracks and gathering in corners and this is where the texture passes in comp really helped as the CG didn’t always fit exactly.

We did pick several ‘key’ shots across all the different angles and lighting conditions and worked these up first to try and find the look the director was happy with. We did have some issues getting a consistent look across all the shots, as not only did the lighting change quite significantly, we would receive quite specific notes on singular shots, and had to constantly extrapolate them across the sequence.

Creatively we found that if we had enough variation and breakup across the shots especially the wide shots within the lighting then the shots usually looked successful. We did research on the actual Tomatina Festival and the whole plaza quickly turns into a very uniform pulp which, if we had recreated perfectly, probably wouldn’t have looked as interesting compared to what we ended up with. So I suppose there was a small element of stylisation to our tomatina. 

DP: There are a lot of people in that square. How did you handle the crowds? 

David Sadler-Coppard: Honestly, the CG crowd component was significantly reduced in the final film so there isn’t a huge amount to talk about. Production did manage to shoot with a very large amount of SA’s and several larger shots used tiled plates or element plates to help fill out the square. O

ur biggest crowd shot was the drone shot showing the entire square and festival from the air and that used a crowd system within houdini using animated caches, some made in house and some using stock animations, with some logic on the layout and animations themselves. We had to match the overall density and look for the crowd with surrounding real plates so that was a little tough. 

DP: Any unexpected “aha!” moments?

David Sadler-Coppard: We had several concepts for key shots in the film that were approved on the first or second pass, which was a pleasant surprise — normally there’s a lot more back-and-forth. I suppose we got a bit lucky!

One memorable moment came when we delivered a nearly final version of a huge, complex building destruction shot, fire, smoke, the works. That’s when the VFX Supervisor told us it needed to be in HFR, meaning we had to re-simulate all the fire and smoke. The team had to find a way to preserve the overall fire composition while adjusting the frame rate, and they pulled it off brilliantly.

It wasn’t exactly an “aha” moment, but getting our first big tomato shots approved was a real relief. That was when we knew our quality level was locked in, and the finish line was in sight.

We faced plenty of technical challenges internally, though most were to do with pipeline and rendering,  not the most glamorous side of VFX. Working with heavy deep passes and at native 4K anamorphic meant we had to be extremely optimised and rely on well-structured templates in comp to keep things running smoothly.

DP: About that scene in the safe house: How many iterations on the exploding door/Claymore?

David Sadler-Coppard: We were given an offline temp for the beat of the exploded safehouse door. The concept made sense in principle, but it got me thinking about how to make it work in reality. We explored a range of angles and animation tests with our animation team and client editorial, fine-tuning timings and composition until we had approval.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the corridor needed to be built in CG, but it became obvious once we considered the specific lenses and angles the client wanted — it just wasn’t feasible to shoot practically. The exact moment when the claymore is triggered took some back-and-forth. In the end, we decided to create a proximity sensor in our CG claymore, complete with a blinking light, to guide the audience through the action.

The final version ended up quite different from v1. Initially, we worked over the supplied plates, which featured simpler camera moves. The door animation itself remained largely the same, but the cameras evolved into something far more dynamic.

DP: And, after running that through sim: Would that actually work? Or is it complete Hollywood Physics?

David Sadler-Coppard: It was a combination of research and references. The client had mentioned the Matrix elevator fire shot which was a good reference and we started with that. Essentially the explosions were all smoke simulations with a fire shader applied to them which gave us these nice undulating rolling fire shapes. We didn’t have any practical fire in camera in any shots so we were free to design it as needed.

During the initial explosion simulations, it quickly became clear they needed a fair amount of direction in terms of scale and timing to keep the action readable. The client was also keen to make them all feel very “dirty”, full of texture and detail,  even though, in reality, the blast would probably just blow out the sensor completely.

And as for the flying door… I’m almost certain it would never bounce back and forth so cleanly, but that’s Hollywood for you. We did experiment with it ricocheting around the corridor or shattering into dented fragments with a lot more impact, but it never quite looked right, and the director wasn’t a fan of those versions anyway.

DP: The shot with the two characters in the VERY small lift: Was that the easiest shot ever? Or am I missing something?

David Sadler-Coppard: This was one of the first shots we started on, and, as often happens, it became one of the last to final. The client had a clear vision for a dynamic raking light-and-shadow effect playing across the wall behind the characters, so we built the entire environment in CG to give full control. We carefully layered in details,  mortar, texture, even cobwebs, to give the space a gritty, lived-in feel.

Later, we explored adding subtle camera shake and sway to enhance the sense of atmosphere and movement. After refining it together through multiple iterations, we reached a version everyone loved, approved towards the end of the show.

DP: And, of all the 239 shots – what is your personal favourite shot?

David Sadler-Coppard: I’m incredibly proud of all the Tomatina work, and of the entire team who brought it to life. It was an emotional journey with plenty of late nights, but seeing it come together was worth every moment. Let’s just say I’ll never look at a bottle of Heinz quite the same way again.

DP: And finally, what’s next for you and the Milk team? Are you staying out of food fights for a while?

David Sadler-Coppard: Milk has several exciting projects coming up and I am nearly wrapped on The Witcher Season 4 myself. It’s an exciting, if slightly nerve-wracking time in the industry right now, but working with a talented, passionate, artistic team on such a tough but rewarding job reminds you why you love VFX in the first place. 

The post Tomato Warfare: Milk VFX on Heads of State first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

We spoke with Tibor Meliš (VFX Supervisor) and Tomáš Srovnal (VFX and Post-production Producer) about recreating wartime Bratislava in pixels, managing crowds and chaos with procedural logic, lighting bus scenes with LED walls, and what happens when a cornfield refuses to catch fire at 5 AM. Spoiler: compositing wins.

DP: What was your initial reaction to being selected as Slovakia’s Oscar entry, and how did this impact your approach to the VFX work?
Tibor Meliš: I was very happy about it. This film was a very exciting journey, as the creative core of the production was in constant contact with us, which allowed us to fully express ourselves.

DP: Your team worked across multiple offices. How did you ensure consistency in visual quality and technical approach across such a distributed pipeline?
Tibor Meliš: Our main management tool is Ftrack, to which we have developed our own engine that drives the pace :) and brings logic and structure, while communicating with all the software we use in-house. Additionally, for leadership and supervision, we have our own internal software, which is a very important tool for daily reviews, giving feedback, and also for bidding – it’s really excellent. :)

(Comment: We are working with PFX on a seprate story for that tool – stay tuned!)

DP: How did you structure asset creation and shot tracking to maintain efficiency while meeting the film’s tight deadlines?
Tibor Meliš: Shot and asset production ran in parallel, organized by sequences. Compositors focused on the straightforward shots with no heavy dependencies while tracking and asset teams built the necessary elements in the background. We broke down environments into modular kits—facades, props, street elements—and versioned them heavily in Ftrack. Assets were linked directly to scenes, so when an updated version was dropped in, it automatically propagated. That saved us tons of time and enabled rapid iteration across sequences.
Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, we have our own software that allows us to track shot continuity with excellent quality and near-instant response. That means when an artist changes something for review, it appears on the timeline within a second, and we can immediately compare multiple shots or versions.

DP: PFX is known for supporting productions that utilize tax incentives. Did this play a role in The Hungarian Dressmaker?
Tomáš Srovnal: We generally support all projects regardless of size or method of financing. By providing services across six Central European countries, we help producers in situations where a project needs to be completed in a specific country due to local spend requirements. This was also the case for this film. However, since it was a Slovak production, finishing the project through our Slovak office was naturally the first preferred choice for multiple reasons.

DP: What lessons or innovations from this project will influence your future work at PFX?
Tibor Meliš: One of the most interesting challenges was working with LED walls for the bus sequence. The technology is amazing—it can create incredibly immersive lighting and reflections in-camera—but it also demands a shift in production thinking. Not every director or DOP is fully ready for that yet. It requires decisiveness, and often that’s at odds with the natural desire to leave options open for post.

We ran into that too, but we made the most of it. We used the LED walls to generate interactive reflections and flickering light across the actors’ faces. We built a forest scene in Unreal Engine and placed the LEDs at an angle, so they not only lit the scene but also complemented the greenscreens visible through the bus windows. That kind of real-time content and lighting interaction is something we’re definitely bringing forward into other projects, but we need to be weary of the potential issues. Sometimes a simple green screen is less costly and a better option, mostly when you are working with less experienced or prepared on-set teams.

Apart from that during this project, we really deepened our collaboration with the grading and mastering department. While we were finalizing VFX shots, the grading team was already progressing in parallel. We kept a tight feedback loop, sharing updates frequently to make sure the VFX work aligned with the DOP’s vision and the overall tone of the grade. To make the process smoother, we developed custom scripts for DaVinci Resolve that automatically synced in the latest VFX versions and allowed for batch uploading of EXRs directly to the Barrandov office. We also tested a color pipeline to synchronize our Resolve workflow with their Baselight environment, which helped maintain consistency across departments and avoid surprises in the final master.

DP: Recreating 1940s Bratislava required detailed architecture and period accuracy. How did your team approach building the digital environments, and what were the key steps in your pipeline?
Tibor Meliš: The first step was detailed research. The director already had a large collection of references from archives, covering buildings, houses, and streets. Biskupice was particularly specific because several nationalities lived there, something many Slovaks today can’t even imagine. It was a village near Bratislava (today it’s part of the city) right on the Hungarian border, so naturally there were strong Hungarian and German influences.

We created around ten types of house assets with porches (“gánok”) and carefully studied the environment, as the porches were built mainly to shade from the sun, depending on the sun’s trajectory. Since the porches were a key visual element we wanted to emphasize, we had to adapt the lighting conditions to place them correctly relative to the camera.

The material was shot after sunset, which gave a very soft light, so the cinematographer had to lower the aperture, creating a shallow depth of field. We simulated clouds to pass the sunlight intermittently, keeping the protagonist in the shade while illuminating the houses in the background as if during daytime.

In compositing, we animated the cloud movement using P_noise to make the transition between sunlit and shaded areas feel natural. This approach also helped us highlight the Church of St. Nicholas in the distance, a landmark important to Biskupice. When viewers watch the shot, their gaze naturally moves from the actress’s face toward the brightest point – the church.

DP: Crowd simulation was a significant part of the project. Which tools or techniques did you use for this, and how did you manage the interactions between digital extras and the environment?
Tibor Meliš: Crowds are one of our long-term trademarks. Thanks to previous projects, we already had a pretty extensive internal library of Houdini-based 3D agents from this exact historical period—and already animated. So for The Hungarian Dressmaker, we just adapted and extended them to fit the new sequences. That saved us a lot of time on both modeling and rigging.

DP: The fire sequence features a long, intricate shot. Could you walk us through the preparation process for this sequence, from previsualization to final compositing?
Tibor Meliš: I would start with the production plan: we intended to create a real, controlled fire that would cover a significant part of the frame. We also had the SFX team ready to create fire elements in the third plane to help us integrate everything later.

When working with fire in a realistic film, I always try to create an atmosphere on set with smoke and strong flickering light sources that we can later match in post-production. This scene was truly massive, and since it was meant to be filmed in a single take, it became even more challenging. Unfortunately, the plan to set the cornfield ablaze in the background failed. The sequence was shot around 5 AM as the sun was rising, so we had to capture what we could, and the rest was left for post-production.

DP: The fire sequence was one of the most challenging. How did your pipeline handle simulations for such long shots, and what solutions were critical for maintaining realism without compromising render times?
Tibor Meliš: We initially planned for a lot of FX team support for this shot.
When I got the first rough cut, I started developing a preliminary lookdev myself, focusing on the timing and creating the best reference for the FX team using ActionVFX footage. Since the scene’s dramaturgy involved the fire gradually growing while the camera interacted with it, this approach seemed the quickest.

After the first version, I was surprised at how well it worked. I requested an additional burning tree asset in the background from the FX team because many objects felt too static, and with so much heat buildup, there should have been turbulence affecting twigs and grass. In Nuke, I projected the cornfield and added multiple light sources parented to the light intensity of the VFX footage, integrating them into the scene. The beauty of the shot is that when you look at such a strong light source, you must also feel it in the camera — most objects were slightly desaturated and softened, and the added mist between the actors provided great integration. In the end, a significant part of the scene was built through compositing.

DP: Do you have any recommendations for VFX artists preparing similar large-scale fire scenes?
Tibor Meliš: Definitely create smoke on set and shine light through it to achieve that strong luminous component. This will make it easier for the camera to capture the atmosphere and will greatly assist in post-production, whether for masking or optical effects.

Always think ahead – you can easily blend the luminous layer later based on your CG or footage fire. Lighting on set is absolutely crucial. Nowadays, creating fire digitally isn’t difficult, but making it match real set lighting perfectly – that’s the real challenge.

DP: What role did procedural workflows play in creating wear, grime, and historical imperfections in the digital assets?
Tibor Meliš: Procedural workflows played a key role in depicting wear, dirt, and imperfections in digital assets, especially in shader creation. They enabled the automated generation of realistic effects such as chipped edges, scratches, dust, and patina, giving objects an aged and well-used appearance.

This approach significantly accelerated and streamlined the texturing process and the creation of variations, while ensuring consistency and a sufficient level of detail. The workflow involved the use of various types of noise patterns and the consideration of convex and concave shapes of the assets, which allowed for the combination and layering of materials to achieve the desired look.

DP: How did you balance “dirty realism” – the lived-in look of the city – with the polished historical aesthetics required by the story?
Tibor Meliš: On Ventúrska Street, there’s a moment when someone in a CG building gently opens a window, creating a glare into the camera. These are the little moments that bring a space to life. And if you noticed, I intentionally wrote “someone” to further enhance that feeling of life. In reality, it was just the animated window. :)

DP: The film integrates subtle details like flags, uniforms, and street decor. How were these assets designed and implemented into the final shots?
Tibor Meliš: These kinds of details—like flags, signs, posters, or other ambient decor—are crucial for immersion. We knew this period would require a lot of specific details, like the banners carried by groups of people on the street. We carefully selected what reflected the society at that time and used it as inspiration for asset creation. For example, in the opening scene on Ventúrska Street, the hustle and bustle are enhanced by a parade of children pushing baby carriages, which is also edited within the shot.

When looking down either end of the street, we had to work with the crowd to make sure it wasn’t too aggressive but complemented the parade atmosphere. Most of them were Houdini-based procedural elements that helped break the static feel of the scenes, creating natural motion and realism.

DP: Achieving historical authenticity often means working with incomplete or limited references. Do you have any tips for sourcing high-quality references for similar historical projects?
Tibor Meliš: Definitely consult the city library of the relevant city. We relied heavily on archival materials!

The Hungarian Dressmaker

Director: Iveta Grofova
Producer: Zuzana Mistríková, Ondřej Trojan
DOP: Martin Strba

PFX Team
VFX Supervisor: Tibor Meliš
VFX and Post-production Producer: Tomáš Srovnal
Grading: Tomáš Chudomel

About PFX
PFX is a full-service post-production studio operating across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany. With over 250 talented artists, they provided services to film, TV, animation, and commercial creators for well over a decade.

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The post The Hungarian Dressmaker – by PFX first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

The Blender add-on Population, designed to simplify crowd simulation, has received an update. Targeted at VFX artists and animators, Population aims to streamline the creation of complex crowd animations without the need for heavyweight tools. Unlike traditional simulation software, this add-on focuses on lightweight integration directly within Blender, catering to studios and artists seeking a more agile approach to crowd management.

The latest update improves its utility across several fronts. The tool now offers a more intuitive UI, enhancing usability without requiring artists to dive into complex settings. Key new features include faster crowd dynamics computation, allowing real-time previews, and enhanced support for Blender’s geometry nodes, making customisation of crowd behaviors more flexible than before. These updates provide animators with the ability to fine-tune parameters such as speed, motion paths, and individual agent behaviors directly within the Blender interface.

Additionally, Population now supports larger-scale simulations with minimal performance impact. By leveraging Blender’s native GPU acceleration, the add-on ensures stability even during high-density crowd renders. The focus remains on simplicity, making the tool accessible to both independent creators and larger studios integrating Blender into their VFX pipelines.

However, it’s worth noting that while promising, Population should be evaluated within the context of specific project requirements. As with any emerging tool, its stability in production workflows must be assessed before adoption for critical projects.

For more information or to purchase the add-on, visit the official Population Blendermarket add-on page. The add-on is currently priced at $130.

Fact Check Reminder: As always, remember that while Population provides an innovative approach to crowd simulation, its suitability for your project will depend on pipeline compatibility and performance benchmarks.

The post Population V2 Add-on for Blender Enhances Crowd Simulation first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.