Building the
Terrain Pipeline

HouStudios is a procedural environment studio focused on Houdini-based terrain systems. We work at the intersection of real-world geospatial data and production-ready CG taking raw elevation datasets and turning them into hero environments for film, games, and interactive media.

Our workflow begins with the planet. We pull DEM data from public satellite surveys SRTM, ASTER, or opentopography and Copernicus and build automated pipelines that project, stitch, and sculpt that data into Houdini heightfields with centimetre-scale detail control.

On top of that base, we layer geologically-accurate erosion: hydraulic channels carved by simulated rainfall, thermal fracturing along exposed ridgelines, wind-sculpted dunes and yardangs. The result is terrain that reads as real because it was real at some point in time.

We package everything we build into Houdini Digital Assets reusable, parameter-driven nodes that production teams can drop into their own pipelines. No black boxes. Fully documented. Wedge-ready.

If you're building a game world, a film environment, or a real-time application that needs convincing terrain — we should talk.

See Our Work Browse Tools

Tech Stack

  • Houdini 20+
  • HLSL / VEX
  • Python (hou)
  • SRTM / ASTER
  • Copernicus DEM
  • Unreal Engine 5
  • Unity URP / HDRP
  • OpenVDB
  • USD / Solaris
  • GDAL
  • QGIS
  • Substance Designer

Specialisations

  • Real-World DEM
  • Hydraulic Erosion
  • Thermal Erosion
  • Wind Erosion
  • Biome Scatter
  • LOD Pipeline
  • HDA Development
  • Game-Ready Export

Contact

hello@houstudios.com

houstudios.com