Sam Brimlow

I wanted to try and create recursive growth in Houdini to see if I could make something that looked like coral or underwater plant life. It didn’t turn out exactly how I imagined, but the process led to some cool and unexpected results.

The Idea

The plan was simple: create a system where each branch would keep spawning new branches, building up into a natural, self-expanding structure. By tweaking things like growth rate, branch angles, and spacing, I was hoping to get something that felt like coral growing in an underwater environment.

The Process

To make this work, I set up an Attribute Wrangle to control the growth. Only newly created points were allowed to keep branching so no branches would grow directly from the starting points. Each point had a set growth direction, some random angle variation, and a spacing check to keep things from getting too crowded.

I also added a bit of randomness, so some branches just wouldn’t grow at all, mimicking the kind of imperfections you see in nature. The system worked like this:

1. Start with a few seed points

1. Grow new branches from active points, while keeping things spaced out
2. Deactivate old points, so only new ones kept growing
3. Repeat the process over time, letting the structure expand naturally

The Outcome

It didn’t really end up looking like coral, but what I got was still pretty interesting. The branching had this weird, alien feel to it, with unexpected gaps and patterns. It was a good reminder that even when a project doesn’t go as planned, there’s usually something cool to take away from it.

What I Learned

• Recursive growth can create crazy complex structures with just a few simple rules.
• A bit of randomness (like skipping branches and tweaking angles) makes things feel way more natural.
• Spacing checks are super important to stop everything from overlapping and turning into a tangled mess.

Even though it wasn’t what I originally had in mind, this little experiment gave me some ideas for future projects. Definitely something I want to explore more!