Chantix ‘Cold Turkey: Skyscraper’

Houdini · Vellum Cloth · Feather Simulation

Role

FX / CG Artist

Platform

Commercial

Software

Houdini · Arnold

A Pfizer Chantix commercial featuring a fully CG turkey character on a windy rooftop skyscraper. I was responsible for the feather simulation across multiple shots, using the FX team’s custom feather system built in Houdini, as well as the Vellum cloth simulation of the turkey’s hoodie reacting to the wind.

Contributions

Feather Simulation

Executed feather simulations across most of the shots in the spot, using the custom feather system developed by the FX team in Houdini
Managed the dynamic behavior of the turkey’s 6,000+ feathers responding to wind, movement, and character performance on the rooftop environment
Maintained consistency of feather behavior across multiple shots while adapting simulation parameters per shot for art direction and performance
Balanced feather simulation fidelity with render and production performance requirements under tight commercial deadlines

Hoodie Vellum Cloth Simulation

Built and simulated the turkey’s hoodie using Houdini Vellum cloth, creating natural fabric behavior as it reacts to wind and character movement on the skyscraper rooftop
Developed cloth constraints, stiffness, and damping parameters to achieve realistic fabric behavior for the knitted hoodie material
Matched cloth simulation timing and behavior to the character’s animation and the wind conditions established in the shot
Iterated quickly on cloth parameters to meet art direction feedback under production deadlines

Technical Approach

Combined the team’s custom feather system with Vellum cloth in a unified Houdini pipeline for efficient shot production
Worked closely with the CG lead and animation team to ensure feathers and cloth responded accurately to character performance
Delivered simulation work across multiple shots while maintaining visual consistency throughout the spot