Houdini FX
Overview
Liminal is a triptych of self-portrait series by Neus XLV, conceived as the threshold of becoming: an artist transitioning between identities, mediums and the entry into adulthood. The exhibition unfolds across three series, Numinous, Self-Shot and Hollow. I contributed the three-dimensional work for Self-Shot, and co-authored Hollow with Neus.
L'Independent de Gràcia "LIMINAL, una exploració íntima i simbòlica de l'autoretrat" April 2026 Read article →
My contribution to this series included:
Fractured architecture and volumetric environment in Blender and ZBrush
Hard-surface prop integration for the central image
Procedural heart-shaped VDB clouds in Houdini
Fractured architecture and volumetric environment
Base column modeled in Blender, destroyed variants sculpted in ZBrush.
3D stand-in of the subject used as a shadow catcher to ground the figure in the scene.
Lighting matched to the studio session via on-set HDRI plus replicated light rigs.
Multi-pass EXR rendered in Cycles with AOVs delivered for compositing
Hard-surface prop integration
Arrow modeled and lit to match the photographic plate
Position locked to an on-set physical reference (makeup brush) used during the shoot
Reference object painted out and replaced with the 3D arrow in compositing
Heart-shaped VDB clouds
Procedural VDB setup, animatable and iterable on shape
Heart silhouette driven by a curve patch with ramp-controlled width and scale
Foreground volumes composited over background clouds on a painted sky for a painterly, surreal finish
Series and direction: Neus XLV Photography: Neus XLV Compositing: Neus XLV 3D environments, VDB simulation and rendering: Daniel Borràs Exhibited at Liminal, Sala Or, Barcelona · April 2026
