Mardini 2025

[newageretrohippie]

There is a Houdini art jam that just started today. It's every day this month. They will give you a 2 month houdini indie license, if you want. (but you can use the free version too).

Mardini 2025 | SideFX

Get Ready for the MARDINI Daily Art Challenge - your chance to compete for cool prizes by creating images or animations! With a different challenge every day during the month of March, you'll have 31 chances to enter and win. This year, each week features a different Houdini focus area – with a...

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Mardini 2025 | Forums | SideFX

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Today's theme is "Toy"

I had one of these things sitting around, so i made it... don't know what' it's called tho?

I guess it isn't totally done, but i figure i'll keep working on it. maybe. heh. art. yeah!

 

[DunkeyKong]

That looks good bro. I think that's called Kendama, japanese toy

 

[dropsmegamega]

Looks interesting but I use blender and I am too lazy to bother learning another program

 

[newageretrohippie]

Looks interesting but I use blender and I am too lazy to bother learning another program

yeah, that's why i never bother to open blender much, although i noticed the sculpting is really good. i should play with that more.

That looks good bro. I think that's called Kendama, japanese toy

I saw this japanese chick on X do 5 of them at once!

I took my kendama to the disco:

I prolly should have just made it look like a disco ball, but i didn't.... yet.

 

[DunkeyKong]

I saw this japanese chick on X do 5 of them at once!

I took my kendama to the disco:

View attachment 35124

I prolly should have just made it look like a disco ball, but i didn't.... yet.

Sounds like she's built different, any video of it? Also, that's cool

 

[newageretrohippie]

yeah, it's this chick, "Super Sisi". she's like a retro streamer cam girl. she should be on rgt.

https://x.com/search?q=from%3Asupersisi_%20kendama&src=typed_query

i don't see the one with 5 at time. she posted it maybe a month ago.

 

[DunkeyKong]

yeah, it's this chick, "Super Sisi". she's like a retro streamer cam girl. she should be on rgt.

https://x.com/search?q=from%3Asupersisi_%20kendama&src=typed_query

i don't see the one with 5 at time. she posted it maybe a month ago.

That's awesome man, thanks for sharing

 

[newageretrohippie]

day 02. i made this lamp... still with the crazy lights. those checkerboards are place holder textures... i kind of like the way they make my eyes bleed tho.. ha

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OvODrw

I wonder what i should do today? the theme for day 03 is "architecture" i was thinking of a mushroom house, maybe?

 

[DunkeyKong]

day 02. i made this lamp... still with the crazy lights. those checkerboards are place holder textures... i kind of like the way they make my eyes bleed tho.. ha

View attachment 36081

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OvODrw

I wonder what i should do today? the theme for day 03 is "architecture" i was thinking of a mushroom house, maybe?

That looks awesome bro! As for the mushroom house, maybe you can try Toad House

 

[newageretrohippie]

That looks awesome bro! As for the mushroom house, maybe you can try Toad House
View attachment 36131

That's more or less what i ended up with.

 

[DunkeyKong]

That's more or less what i ended up with.

View attachment 36672

That's awesome, I love the shape of the mushroom lmao

 

[newageretrohippie]

Yeah, it's definitely an RPG house. (as in, you have to go inside it and suddenly there is all this space inside.)

like, i just started tracing out the silhouette of the mushroom and then did a revolve to make the surface...

but i should have made it more procedural, really. there is some other houdini competition going on right now where the goal is to make a game-ready mushroom generator... this aint it. but at least i figured out what NOT to do for that one. haha

 

[DunkeyKong]

Yeah, it's definitely an RPG house. (as in, you have to go inside it and suddenly there is all this space inside.)

like, i just started tracing out the silhouette of the mushroom and then did a revolve to make the surface...

but i should have made it more procedural, really. there is some other houdini competition going on right now where the goal is to make a game-ready mushroom generator... this aint it. but at least i figured out what NOT to do for that one. haha

I'm glad you figured that out yourself

 

[newageretrohippie]

yeah, i think a better way to generate mushrooms is probably to start with a single curve at the center (which could just be straight up and down or curved or twisted), and then copy circles up and down (which could have a certain "floppyness" or "droopyness") and then skin the stem, the cap and the gills from that.

I like starting anything curvey with NURBS because it's so easy to get nice looking shapes, and you basically get decent UVs for free... but it's not always straightforward to boolean them, and i don't think any video game engines really support them, so you definitely have to convert them to polygons.

which is kind of dumb. it's super old tech (nurbs, i mean), but maybe that's why most people don't talk about it much.

(apologize if that just sounds like a bunch of gobble-dee-gook and hoo-ha)

 

[DunkeyKong]

yeah, i think a better way to generate mushrooms is probably to start with a single curve at the center (which could just be straight up and down or curved or twisted), and then copy circles up and down (which could have a certain "floppyness" or "droopyness") and then skin the stem, the cap and the gills from that.

I like starting anything curvey with NURBS because it's so easy to get nice looking shapes, and you basically get decent UVs for free... but it's not always straightforward to boolean them, and i don't think any video game engines really support them, so you definitely have to convert them to polygons.

which is kind of dumb. it's super old tech (nurbs, i mean), but maybe that's why most people don't talk about it much.

(apologize if that just sounds like a bunch of gobble-dee-gook and hoo-ha)

Nah that's okay, even though I don't understand half of it. At least you found a better way in the end

 

[newageretrohippie]

Day 04 -- "Foliage"

 

[newageretrohippie]

Day 05, 06, 07... i have decided to just start comping on the same scene... because...

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2025

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2025

 

[DunkeyKong]

Day 05, 06, 07... i have decided to just start comping on the same scene... because...

View attachment 38881

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2025

View attachment 38882

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2025

View attachment 38883

Damn bro, that's awesome! You made that fairy yourself?

 

[newageretrohippie]

yeah. well... technically, i started with a picture of a water splotch in the bathroom that i thought looked like a fairy... so water made it. and then i traced over that (badly). I just set that as the background in Houdini and sculpted at it until i got something decent. i need to redo it and fix the head and the feet and hands, but it will be easier this time.

Also, i didn't make as much hair as i wanted to, because i figured that would be just enough to be easy to animate.

that water splotch was tiny... like smaller than my little fingernail. but it does kind of look like a fairy.

i forgot to do the antenna.. if you are looking at it you can see her other antenna, but it's hard to take a picture of stuff like that with a phone.

 

[DunkeyKong]

yeah. well... technically, i started with a picture of a water splotch in the bathroom that i thought looked like a fairy... so water made it. and then i traced over that (badly). I just set that as the background in Houdini and sculpted at it until i got something decent. i need to redo it and fix the head and the feet and hands, but it will be easier this time.

Also, i didn't make as much hair as i wanted to, because i figured that would be just enough to be easy to animate.

that water splotch was tiny... like smaller than my little fingernail. but it does kind of look like a fairy.

i forgot to do the antenna.. if you are looking at it you can see her other antenna, but it's hard to take a picture of stuff like that with a phone.

View attachment 40012View attachment 40011

Damn, that's not bad at all. Also, that splotch looks…well placed? Anyway, this is really cool though. Thanks for sharing

 

[newageretrohippie]

haha, well i appreciate the comments too... the way the mardini forum posts are set up there is no good way to comment on each other's stuff... so a little feedback is welcome. Any suggestions or critiques are welcome, as well.

It seems like most folks have been making something completely new every day, but i'm trying to build up a scene a little bit every day. There are so many people this year i don't have a chance of winning anything... but it's fun anyway

I figured out the water splotch was leaking from the knob where you turn on the water. It might have been a real fairy trapped in the water pipes and trying to escape...

 

[DunkeyKong]

haha, well i appreciate the comments too... the way the mardini forum posts are set up there is no good way to comment on each other's stuff... so a little feedback is welcome. Any suggestions or critiques are welcome, as well.

It seems like most folks have been making something completely new every day, but i'm trying to build up a scene a little bit every day. There are so many people this year i don't have a chance of winning anything... but it's fun anyway

I figured out the water splotch was leaking from the knob where you turn on the water. It might have been a real fairy trapped in the water pipes and trying to escape...

Caught Tinkerbell lacking