Houdini FX HDA - CW Flash Lightning

This is a plug-and-play lightning FX tool inspired by the CW Flash series. Whether you're making fan edits or building cool superhero animations, this Houdini HDA helps you create high-quality lightning effects fast and easy — no complex setups needed.

How to use:

1. Input your animated mesh into the HDA's input.
2. Turn on “Scale Adjust View.”
   You'll see a reference box in the scene. Use the Uniform Scale slider to match your character’s size to the box. (Tip: Press Shift + F to frame the box and your mesh.)
3. Tweak the settings to your liking.
4. Export as Alembic Cache using the built-in ROP Alembic Output node.

Feature :

1. Auto Length Mode (Enabled by Default)
   Automatically adjusts the lightning bolt’s length based on your character’s movement using a Trail SOP. You can adjust the Length to control how many frames the trail captures.

   Want full control? Turn Auto Length off and manually tweak bolt length.

2. Bolt Count
   Set how many bolts are generated at once. Keep in mind only ~80% are visible at a time to mimic the show’s dynamic flickering effect.
3. Flicker Speed
   Controls how fast the lightning flickers.
   • 1 = Slow flicker (great for slo-mo)
   • 10 = Fast, energetic flicker for dynamic shots

🚀 Coming Soon:

Sparks FX on the body, revised method and faster to compute!

🐞 Found a bug?

Let me know so I can squash it fast and keep improving the tool.