Top 5 Myths About Houdini
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- čas přidán 15. 05. 2024
- Houdini is one of the most powerful DCC's out there but some people believe that Houdini is too difficult to learn or that it's only for VFX. Others think that it's too expensive or that it's not suitable for certain types of projects. In this video, 3D & VFX artist Christopher Rutledge will be debunking the top 5 myths about SideFX Houdini and why you should learn this magical software!
School of Motion course catalog:
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would love a full course for Houdini from School of Motion!
After this video, it would be pretty dumb to not implement one.
Better to go to Rebelway. Muuuch cheaper and way better team behind it than SoM.
0:45 My work here.
'Houdini' for sure deserves all the credits:) But would be nice to give a proper credits to the creators, thanks!
Amazing work!
Houdini is amazing. But it is absolutely the hardest 3D program to learn. I remember being insanely frustrated with attempting to follow along with tutorials only to get to a point where the name of node has changed or its functionality was merged into another node or... something. Making any tutorials on previous version nearly impossible to follow along with.
Yeah I liked the video but also agree with you that it’s one of the hardest perhaps next to professional CAD software.
@Cptdudebro There is a big difference though. The amount of tutorials available. Blender has countless tutorials. Houdini is fairly niche and finding tutorials on the latest version can be really difficult.
I used to have multiple versions of Houdini installed just so I could follow the tutorials of each version.
@@tempermode there’s like 6 different ways of achieving the same result
Houdini-course keeps all of their modules updated via re-recording for this reason.
This man is a legend. He's also completely correct on all of these myths. You can do so much in Houdini after learning a very little amount of it. That consistency is such a strong point of the workflow.
I started learning houdini 5-6 months ago and before that I used cinema 4d. One thing I can say is that, take your time while learning houdini. Don't rush it. Also it would be really good if you learn VEX, because believe it or not VEX will definitely make the work easier and at some points it will open more pathways for new explorations. Learn the fundamentals before jumping into dynamics and simulations. Learn how proceduralism works properly.
any references to learn VEX?
@@gc8972b I guess just follow some tutorials and try to understand everything in the most fundamental way. Like for example if the tutorial is showing you how to reference an attribute then put it to an if else statement, you just copied it and paste it to Chat GPT to understand what it actually does in the fundamental way. It's basically like learning any type of programming language in my opinion. Though I'm saying this, I am also still learning
I started in Maya a loooooong time ago. Then I went to C4D kicking and screaming, grew to love it. I've been dipping my toe in with Houdini and once you put in some time it's not nearly as intimidating as it first seems. It is a little mind blowing how much power they pack into the software. I wish School of Motion would have a Houdini course, there's so much information out there it would be nice to get a good foundational knowledge that every Houdini artist should be expected to have and also more advanced topics.
I REALLY need to jump into Houdini since it links with Unreal so well 🤙🏿
same here!
It would be great if school of motion would make a course for houdini!
I think to a lot of people houdini looks pretty scary. So I don't know if enough people will have the willpower to consistently learn throughout the course.
As a Houdini artist and educator, I can't agree more with all the points Chris mentioned here. One of the first ways to get into Houdini is simply trying to shade, light and render assets from megascans or polyhaven. It's never easy doing water or fire simulation regardless of 3d package.
I agree on most points, however, Houdini might not be the hardest to learn, it does have the steepest learning curve. Most people that use maya (for ex) use it within one or two disciples; modeling, rigging and or animation and therefor the learning curve is capped at some point by the limitation of the DCC’s tools. Houdini on the other hand, is a different beast. Houdini artists are exposed to the very backend of the software and need to understand the fundamental basics of computer graphics if they want to properly manipulate geometry. (Example, I only cared about normals in Maya if the geo didn’t look right, in Houdini, Normals play a tremendous roll in how you manipulate your geo, cross and dot products, setting up velocities for sims…etc). it allows the user to have full control of every aspect of the procedural process. In most DCC’s, workflows are standardized, with Houdini that isn’t always the case since the logic can differ from person to person. It is that enormous flexibility that most people consider “difficult” about Houdini, which coincidentally is also what makes it so powerful.
Alright i was already curious but now i am going to finally start learning it. You did a great job of convincing.
I'm a lead cg generalist.
I worked with many fx artists and motion graphics artist, and literally all of them said: houdini is not easy to learn.
This guy is the first one that says otherwise.
This program sounds so great I must learn it!
Idk man with the node based workflow, character animation, procedural modeling, simulations, built-in Karma render, compositing, fantastic community, multitude of plugins and HDAs, and basically no barrier to entry, I’m not sure if I’m completely convinced yet.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Houdini course plz 🙏
I’m looking to break into 3D animation and have been self teaching myself with cinema 4D and from the videos I’ve been watching on Houdini it seems so much easier and after watching this video I’m hella excited to jump into Houdini apprentice and indie.
Always wanted to learn Houdini after I heard someone at ILM talk about it - excited they have an apprentice version
Don't kid yourself guys. This shit is the "Dark Souls" of 3D software. Very hard but also very rewarding.
100% Dark Souls. For example, I couldn't grasp texturing in Houdini after three months of dabbling, whereas in Blender great textures were just a few tutorials away.
The Houdini UI is like something out of Windows 95 or DOS. The tools are highly unintuitive and infinitely complex. Blender felt like a fresh ocean breeze after that one, and I'm a total beginner in 3D.
Plus, don't even think about doing water or pyro simulations on a sub $5000 computer. I have a decent 12 core CPU and 2080ti but it took ages to create anything cool looking since iterating simulations is slow as shit.
For reference, I've used all kinds of software professionally for advertising, animations, video, compositing etc. - After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Fusion, Illustrator.
Houdini was exciting at first - and then it cracked my nuts like an anvil.
I totally feel your pain. It took me years to finally feel comfy in H. I was a C4D guy and tried out H from H15. Took me till H18 to be comfortable in it as a generalist. I did it, but it hurt a lot for so long!
@@SmokeSkreenPrime c4d has the best user interface and workflow out of all the 3D apps which is awesome but it DOES make other software harder to learn if you’ve never touched any of the others.
@@Oldyellowbrick absolutely! C4D's interface and ease of use made it hard for me to adjust to Houdini. Funny thing is, now that I made the mental switch, I cannot go back to any other software. Once you start firing in Houdini, it's all cylinders!
@@SmokeSkreenPrime Almost same to me. I'm in love with houdini. But it is what it is. The initial learning curve os houdini is steep as hell.
I have spent the last 2 years learning Houdini as a 3D student and found it extremely hard to learn at the beginning mainly because I went to watch and follow some cool simulation tutorials. It was a big mistakes that made me didn't understand the basics like how attributes work, attribute groups, geometry inspector graph etc...... It is def a software that takes ages to learn and pick up, the learning curve can be steeper than other software but once you the hang of it and don't give up easily. It is the MOST POWERFUL 3D software out there. Most major studios have changed or slowly changing their main pipeline workflow to Houdini from Maya and etc...... Highly recommend artists to learn Houdini at all levels. Thanks for the great video!
Thank you.
its really amazing that how you explain what is vector could you please explain what is float, and other parameters too.
Extremely useful information, thankyou!
great video! thanks for demystifying this program:)
I very excited with this Sofware, Thanks!
Love the Phrog plushie on the shelve
Yesssss more Houdini content please!!
Thanks for the info Christopher
I would love to see what course School of Motion releases with Houdini
so exited I just Start using and learn Houdini last week
Change can be scary. I always intimidated with programing in houdini. Common artist look houdini as scientific research rather than artist tool. Would definetly trying soon. Thank you🙌🙌
Definitely excited.
I think what we would like to see is a project fully setup than a breakdown of how easy it is and mor importantly how we can use it to intergrate it in with C4d. Example let’s just say you had a really simple scene of a fisherman sitting on a boat in the middle of the lake and the water is pretty still but a shark comes out of the water and bites the boat in half. How would we go about doing that either fully in Whodini or in Cinema 4D where the main set up is but then the important part like the boat, the shark in the area where the water interacts with the shark simulates. The reason I bring this up is because I think it be a lot easier to integrate Houdini in with other programs. We’re familiar with building in versus fully learning one program straight from scratch and doing everything there.
Wow. Exactly the reason why I havnt picked up Houdini. It’s funny because I’ve learnt c4d on a deep level and love creating stuff with xpresso etc…I turn anything I can into a rig..So I’ve always thought Houdini would be very well suited for me, it’s just these myths create a barrier!
Does the Houdini apprentice allow you to export to c4? I’m pretty sure they stopped you from doing that, at least when I last checked? Thanks for this great video, I think I really needed to hear this!
Amazing video, thank you a lot 🎉
I Started Learning Blender year ago and I got fascinated by 3d. And then I Discovered GeometryNodes short After i started learning blender. These nodes is amazing and I really like procedural workflows. About 2months ago I discovered that there are other program that Is 100% procedural and that was about Houdini. Started learning about 2 months ago. Many times I got frustrated (like in Blender year ago) but after every tutotial that I found on CZcams Im getting more familiar with Houdini and kinda like it a lot. I hope that Houdini will become my friend like Blender and AfterEffects :D. Many things I still dont understand but this will come with time, and many things I already know cause I know how to build them in Blender with GeometryNodes - Logic behind some things are pretty the same, but using a different nodes
Hey Chris, you have talent to explain. Maybe one day there will be houdini course from you. And hope this will not be interface tuts but rother something cool like A. Kramer did😉
I don't know how you record your vocals, but the quality is impressive for not having it right in front of your face.
100%! So when is SoM going to offer a Houdini course??
I honestly believed all these myths lol, very interesing. I'll stick to blender for now, but it's good to update my knowledge, so thanks!
I'm hooked!
I hope school of motion will be making Houdini tutorials
Great explanation
School of motion Please Bring some Osm courses on houdini not only for FX but for overall 3d work
Wanna see your take on Blender.
Looking forward with houdini!
So true. Great video.
I started learning Houdini and I have to say it is difficult to learn because I find it unforgiving. As a beginner, It is very difficult to troubleshoot. It is so much harder than blender to find solutions online. Even following great Entagma tutorials I sometimes get stuck. I'm going to learn it properly but I think you need to put some serious work into understanding Houdini so you can work out solutions yourself
Houdini is like learning to play the guitar. It's only 6 strings and a crap load of frets. When you start it's hard, but then over time things become easier. Then it becomes really hard to go back to any other 3d software. You will be happy you put in the time.
Couldn't agree more with this!
It's like cameras. It's much easier to get an "OK" shot with an iPhone than it is with a cinema camera, but almost impossible to get an exact, specific look that you fully control. For that, the "more complicated" cinema camera is far easier.
What about the computer specs requirements? that's a very demanding software I believe because of all the simulations...
Many thanks GOAT
What kind of PC would I need to have for a beginner?
That stuff is really good to know. I actually was assuming all of these myths to be true lol
Ok. So when is the Houdini Course opening at School of Motion?
I agree with everything.
100% agree
Houdini is amazing! Ive been using it as my main 3D app for about a year, and it feels very freeing. It's worth mentioning that it's not great for sculpting, texture painting, and a few other tasks.
more info on houdini !
I think there is no definitive answer. It's all about how your mind works. In the 2D world, some people like Fusion (node based) better, and it find it easier and faster, while others prefer After Effects (layer and layer group based). I think it boils down to in what way you, as an individual, find visualizing find is the easiest way to conceptualize how to get to a wanted result through tools. Some approaches I think literally use different mental functions than others, to get to the same result, and which type of function is easiest for you is both a learned habit and just genetics. I for one love 3DS Max's Modifier Stack. Everything else seems clunky. But that's me (and others like me). It's not really "better" than something else.
But with so much rapid change in technology like AI and so many softwares coming up with realtime simulations... is it worth putting so much time and effort in learning houdini?
Maybe. Probably. Like most ai art apps, you still need basic fundimentally and technical knowledge.
In my view it is the hardest to learn, but not really hard. Getting in Vex is a little challenging. But I found Zbrush is a little more UI challenging.
Just like Blueprint in Unreal Engine, but those who have created any game in UE knows to work with Blueprint you know solid knowledge of coding as well, same goes for Houidni, If anyone wants to do mindblowing work, he/she/him/her/they/them has to go through some amazing skills of coding and 3d together
I disagree. There are a lot fo great houdini artists who did not have coding experience before hand. So it is not mandatory but can be helpful
@@makedonas6 nodes are visual coding
@@Huzzaifamughal my point still stands. You don't need to have a coding background to make mind blowing work, although it may help you to get familiar with the software.
@@makedonas6 i have coding sense I'm not from coding background, now a days everyone should know basic multiplications and new terms to get along with softwares
@@Huzzaifamughal that's true but you don't need to know the pythagorian theorem, vectors or matrices before hand because you will learn these concepts anyways
Thats it I'm learning Houdini.
Chris rutledge!!
i always love getting perpetual licenses ... i use it for hobbyist projects ... so im always like ... whats the point in learning a software i wont be able to afford ... 6k is alot!
The major problem oh Houdini is that it is so CPU dependant. Why we spend so much money for latest and greatest GPUs if its computing power not utilized properly? I'm waiting for the good times when the simulation calculations are made within seconds because otherwise it looks like a big scam kept by software developers and hardware manufacturers.
You need to check out Embergen
Axiom is a real time fluid solver for Houdini. I'm no expert, but I believe it uses the GPU.
@@petecoleman3443 Yes, it does and it is super fast. It can simulate 100 frames of a 400 million voxel explosion in 2 minutes.
Also there are a ton of other simulation nodes that support OpenCL and run at least partially on the GPU and therefore fast.
@silverhead is simply wrong. There is no other 3D program that utilizes computing power as efficiently as Houdini.
The one thing that Houdini lacks is great tutorial series for beginners. It's not an accident that blender donut is famous.
hipflask tutorials has broken houdini down perfectly
Rebelway
@@hanheecho6437 looks like that worked for you. He can try both.
I dove in recently into Houdini specifically for simulations , and I have to admit it’s easier to learn than blender , and it seems logical and well thought through unlike maya
so I was searhching for a Houdini course at School Of Motion website,... found nothing
afraid? yes, but thank you!
I had to learn Houdini at university, I hated it and went back to Maya then moved to blender. Procedural 3d software is powerful but it's not how most artists work, imagine painting the Mona Lisa with a procedural technique...
I don't rule out that houdini is hard to master because VEX programming is multiplied by proceduralism, while 3ds max is just direct modeling
Agree. Agree. Agree and... Agree... :)
I don't like vex. But seeing how crazy VOPs can get. I rather use vex 😂😅
When I first started in with Houdini, as it unfolded before me, I watched this mountain grow and grow and had that I'm sure quite common feeling of JEEZ.,. what have I gotten myself into? Then there was an afternoon when it clicked, and I say to you that the clouds opened, rays of sunshine fell on my face, and a chorus of angels sang hallelujah! And thus I was enlightened. You're wrong... Houdini isn't a program... it's a language! See, in a program, you can do what the programmer is allowing you to do, what he's programmed in. And that's why everything else is so frustrating for me to work with, like I'm wearing a straight-jacket. But Houdini... Many solutions to any problem, and no limits!
i only agree on point 5, the others are not good at all, and some of them are funny the guy start with a claim and contradict himself at end(like the point on programming/math, you don't need to know programming but you still need it), it's sad people like a lie, than a uncomfortable truth, the best way to describe houdini is this:
""" Houdini is nearly a flawless software, with a procedural paradigm that considered as the FUTURE for 3D and VFX now but the software had it in mind and bake in itself 20 years ago, it has a high barrier of entry, but when you look at it from the other side, you know your learning is as simple as it can get, considering the power you're accessing, VEX is as fast as the C Language you could even write C functions and access them on VEX + has parallelism at it's core, very fast has most of it's effects multi-threaded, and some even run on the GPU with OpenCL, Houdini is always first to integrate scientific paper related to VFX and the math applied to 3D, VDB are the perfect example of that, the company that make it are so ahead that you don't ask for features you just wait to see what's new, you sit back and you're mesmerized but what they done, Houdini 20 promise a lot of things the company said that they will rewrite a lot of the old logic on new bases, can't wait to see that, there is a presentation now on the new feather system coming to H20, the thinking is so far ahead """
In my opinion what made Houdini a dilemma, is the poor learning resources, now it's fine but 10 years ago a software was a blackbox, the software need hefty guides on it's inner workings, still to this day there is a lot of resources missing, let's take an example, if you go inside the popfluid node, you could find that just with the software flawless logic they implemented a fluid behaving particles, inside you could find the lego pieces that made it possible, the Enable Solver node, the Geometry SOP, OpenCL VEX, all put in some hard to crack logic that made it possible, i just can understand the general idea of it, but very far from reproducing something like that myself, only some Russian folks have some tutorials that skim those nodes in Houdini, some could argue it's too complex, i will say in fact that how houdini works if you want the real experience of it and be fluent, you need to know that there is exhaustive resources of the inner workings of it, that you could rely on any time, it's makes you confident implementing simple examples, they made the Houdini Sessions to solve party this problem, but it's far from what's it should be done, KineFX also is a great example very few people in the world, use it to it's full potential, i think it's a culture inside that company, they consider themselves as a niche, i hope they will share more knowledge in the future, also minor things Houdini should think of people that do classic modeling with easy to learn shortcut, they started to do stuff toward that goal(with the python UI curves tools), and finally the plugins, it's still the stone age, with the houdini.env i think it's time the software integrate simple installers that get's rid of all those annoyances.
It's absolutely the hardest to learn, I don't know what you're taking about.
nah fam
Myth Number 3: you need to coding or math to use it.
noo My friend you need coding and Math to make the software do what you want.
@@blendersarelikevegans Oh my gosh
Thanks for the video, but this has not helped in making me even want to think of attempting Houdini again. If you're a character artist or want to be a character artist, then forget about Houdini.
I tried it many times, but bumped right into such steep learning curves that it completely ruined the fun I want to have while working with my creativity.
That's the whole point for me. I want to see results, maybe not instantly (however, I would love to) but at least make some sence on drafts I created.
I mean, I already have the picture in my head. I definitely don't want to overthink the entire scene.
So all in all I think if you work in a team and there's one guy who speaks Houdini it would be helpful for finetuning and enhancing the whole scene, to make it all connected. But for me, it's a hard pass. (I want to give it one more try in the near future, but I don't count on it that I will be converted 😂
fear of getinto it? crash is more fear for some low pc . who wanna use powerful software.
I move keyframes in a 30 year old software.
I don't belong to this comment section 🤣
Yeah, not. Not convincing, not because you say it is not difficult and that you couldn't disagree more means that it's true. The power of words is a thing of beauty 😂
Houdini is the easiest software to uninstall in a few seconds.
this video was generated by A.I?
he sounds like an ai
I hate Houdini's UI, they should hire a bona fide UI designer. UI is a big deal to me for some reason, can't help it.
Houdini way is the only way, once you go procedural you never go back. CZcams kids can play with their blender, real men use Houdini only
Now now, don't be elitist 🤣
Can’t wait to see a Houdini sculpt better than a Zbrush sculpt x)