WetaH, a new cloud service that gives users access to the leading visual effects studio’s internal tools built into Houdini SideFX, replicates the functionality of WetaM, a similar service based on Autodesk Maya that is also due to be launched by Weta Digital’s new division this year.
“The partnership with SideFX has been essential to realizing our vision for cloud services,” says Weta Digital CEO Prem Akkaraju.
“The industry is moving to distributed architectures that will reduce costly technology barriers, further increasing the natural power of Houdini’s procedural node-based workflows.”
As with WetaM, the new service will give users access to Weta Digital’s internal add-ons for the host application – in the case of Houdini, primarily modeling technologies.
Loki is a multiphysics solver and its high-performance framework mentioned in Weta Digital’s statement.
In addition, the teaser demonstrates City Builder, a procedural system for creating cities.
“This is an exciting time for new generations of artists working with Houdini,” said SideFX vice president Christine Bargiel. “Now even the smallest studio will be able to access production-proven tools out of the box.”
Closed beta testing of WetaM is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021. Weta Digital has not yet announced pricing or system requirements.
