How We Aped It: Thousands of Shots and Character Simulations with Only a Handful of TDs

We present a procedural, modular, and asset-centric approach to character effects and simulation (CFX) workflow particularly regarding costumes and hair/fur. This differs from many other approaches by focusing on the simulation setups at individual asset level, and then using costume collection configuration, procedurally constructing the simulation scene by merging the assets and having them solved together. Shot specific modifications and overrides such as custom cloth poses and parameter tweaks can be applied in a hierarchical and procedural manner so that when there are upstream changes, the subsequent job iterations will pick up the changes without requiring manual rework.