NUKE 17.0 Beta: Unlocking the Power of Gaussian Splats in VFX Compositing
Foundry has unveiled the open beta for Nuke 17.0, a major update that brings native support for Gaussian Splats, revolutionizing the way VFX compositors and artists handle volumetric assets. This development marks a significant shift in the industry, as Gaussian Splats are now seamlessly integrated into the heart of production compositing.
The Rise of Gaussian Splats
Gaussian Splats are a groundbreaking rendering technique, gaining popularity through 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) in 2023. Unlike traditional methods using polygons or voxels, Gaussian Splats represent scenes as thousands to millions of tiny 3D Gaussian blobs. Each blob is a soft, elliptical 'splat' carrying color, opacity, and shape information, offering a more flexible and efficient approach to 3D reconstruction.
A Game-Changer for VFX Compositing
With Nuke 17.0, Gaussian Splats are no longer confined to academic papers and standalone viewers. They can now be imported, manipulated, masked, merged, rendered, and graded just like any other asset within NUKE's rebuilt 3D system. This integration opens up new possibilities for environment workflows, set extensions, and matte painting, providing artists with unprecedented creative control.
Overcoming Render Challenges
Gaussian Splats address the limitations of Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs), which offered stunning results but at the cost of lengthy render times. Splats, on the other hand, deliver NeRF-level fidelity in real-time, along with direct editability, a feature NeRFs lacked. This breakthrough has led studios to embrace splats for environment capture, virtual production, and on-set reconstruction, offering fast training, instant viewport feedback, and the ability to work with dense, photorealistic volumes without traditional meshing overhead.
Importing and Editing Splats in NUKE
In Nuke 17.0, Gaussian Splats can be imported using the new GeoImport or GeoReference nodes, supporting .ply and .splat formats. Most splats are initially oriented neutrally, requiring a quick rotation with the GeoTransform node, similar to transforming traditional scene assets. From then on, splats behave as manipulable volumetric datasets within NUKE's unified 3D viewer.
Unlocking Non-Destructive Editing
The true power of Gaussian Splats in Nuke lies in their editability. The Field System introduces new nodes that expose splat internals, allowing artists to work non-destructively with massive point clouds. Using the Field Shape node, artists can isolate sections of a splat, navigate inside it, and perform fine-grained operations without leaving NUKE. This capability was demonstrated in a demo, where an intrusive bin was removed from a captured scene using field data in the GeoEditPoints node.
3D Cleaning, Grading, and Experimentation
The GeoGrade node, currently available under the Labs banner, is a key tool in this workflow. Labs nodes are experimental but represent Foundry's vision for a more painterly, data-aware workflow within NUKE's 3D space. Artists can access GeoGrade and prototype Field nodes, suggesting a future where splat-based grading, relighting, density sculpting, and selective opacity shaping can all be done directly in the compositor.
Real-World Cleanup Example
In a cleanup example, a Field Shape was used to mask a bin area, and GeoGrade smoothed and refined the splat, creating a believable cleaned plate reconstruction. This interactive, tactile operation, once a research favorite, is now directly available in NUKE's production toolchain.
Merging and Compositing Splats
NUKE 17.0 allows for the merging of multiple splat scenes using GeoMerge. In a demo, a bike.splat was seamlessly integrated into a street scene, positioned and grounded with subtle adjustments. This capability opens up new possibilities for rapid environment augmentation, set extension, and previs.
Splats in 2D Workflows
Foundry has added a SplatRender node to bring splats into 2D workflows. Artists can render splats with depth, motion blur, and variable density, integrating them seamlessly into NUKE's 2D stack. In a demo, a rendered splat became the background layer, merged with 2D elements to complete the composite.
Conclusion: From Research to Everyday Tool
With Nuke 17.0, Gaussian Splats transition from a research curiosity to an everyday VFX tool. They are now editable, mergeable, maskable, renderable, and fully integrated into the compositing pipeline. This update empowers artists to work with volumetric assets in context, eliminating the need for round-tripping to external tools and marking a significant leap forward in the industry.
