Probably the most daunting 3d application on the market today is Houdini. It is an ever-evolving beast of a program that is capable of so much. Like many artists, it’s been on my list for some time to learn, and recently I have taken the plunge. I can say from personal experience that I understand why people struggle with it.
The primary difficulty of learning Houdini comes primarily from its procedural nature. While extremely useful it relies on knowledge of how 3d works along with aspects of coding and algorithms. The learning curve is huge but can allow greater control and efficiency in a 3d pipeline.
In this article, I will discuss exactly why and how I’ve struggled. Along with ways to help mitigate some of the issues I had when first starting.
What is Houdini
Houdini is a 3d application similar to Blender or Maya capable of similar processes such as Modelling, Texturing, Animation, VFX, Composition & Rendering. Its main focus is on procedurally achieving these processes through scripts and functions rather than manual processes other software traditionally uses.
Why Would You Consider Using Houdini
While there a countless advantages. There are 2 great advantages to Houdini the first being its Procedural Functionality and the second its VFX simulations.
Procedural Functionality
A great example of what is meant by procedural is in modeling a chair.
In a traditional piece of software to model a chair you would have to make decisions around how many legs the chair will have, how tall are the legs, how big the seat is, is there a back and if so how big? You would then proceed to model it. After modeling it you may not be happy with the end result. This may require further manipulation over and over until it’s right.
In Houdini you can dictate the rules on how the chair is constructed and expose those rules as parameters. You can program in smarts so the chair adjusts based on the number of legs, height, and so forth. While this at first requires more setup you can cut down on time as you only have to model the chair once and iterate quickly. On top of this, you have then basically created your own chair generator, which you could potentially hook up to a random generator to create countless unique chairs.
VFX Simulations
Many people describe Houdini as a Motion Graphics piece of Software as its extremely good at creating simulations of fire, water, cloth, and various other materials. It also has the ability to easily use scripts and is programable it making it extremely powerful and useful for VFX.
What is Hard to Learn About Houdini
There are multiple reasons that make Houdini hard to learn these include
- Requires prior knowledge of how 3d works.
- It uses scripts and programming which can be counter intuitive to some artists.
- Has its own language and acronyms which can be difficult to pick up.
- Has a lot of functions hidden in menus which is not immediately apparent.
I’m not going to lie in my opinion it’s hard to learn Houdini, but also consider the positives. More difficulty means you are more sort after for jobs as the barrier to entry is higher. Houdini is a popular program in professional studios due to its usefulness.
What is Easy to Learn About Houdini
As complex as Houdini can be, for me by far the easiest part of Houdini to learn is its user interface.
Everything is structured in a way that just makes sense depending on the task you are performing.
For example, if you are manipulating geometry then you use a node that allows you to manipulate geometry with a menu that shows everything you can do. You don’t have to rely on remembering hotkeys. This makes learning Houdini A LOT easier.
Is Houdini Good for Beginners to 3d
It is quite possible to learn Houdini if you are new to 3d especially if you come from a programming background. However experience in other 3d applications is beneficial as knowledge of meshes, particles, animation & textures can certainly help. Especially when you are required to learn Houdini’s language and acronyms on top of that.
It doesn’t mean it is impossible to learn Houdini as a beginner, in fact it can be beneficial. Not developing the preconceptions of how a 3d software “should work” can help you easily get the hang of the procedural workflow.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Houdini
How long it takes to learn Houdini can vary depending on your background. If you are comfortable with the fundamentals of 3d then you could become fluent in 6 months to a year. If you have a programming background as well then this may also reduce the time. If you’re new to 3d then more than a year.
Mastering it on the other hand would take some time as it has a lot of functionality that is constantly being updated.
Is Houdini Better Than Blender or Maya
Houdini is simply different. It is capable of most of what Blender and Maya can achieve however the way it functions is simply different.
Personally for me when I look at a piece of software I assess it based on how it can save me time. Houdini is great for modeling and simulations however its sculpting capabilities leave a lot to be desired. You can sculpt but it may not be as quick as if you did it in Blender.
The program doesn’t make great art it’s the artist.
Useful Resources
I am by no means a master at Houdini but below are a few helpful resources I found when learning.
The Houdini site has some great tutorials on it with an ever-updating database. I found some great tutorials on it but I also found a few that missed the mark. It’s great for learning how to do something but not great at directing you where to start and progress.
The YouTube Channel Nine Between was a great starting point for me particularly its Houdini Isn’t Scary series and in my opinion one of the best intros to Houdini I came across. It takes you through a whole project and gives you some grounding of the whole process.
Tim van Helsdingen has a great YouTube channel that takes you through a whole project from start to finish in Howdini 101. There is a LOT of content in this one.
Finally I really like the YouTube Channel Bubble Pins it covers a variety of functions in Houdini but I really like the presentation style I found her easy to follow. This is not as much for beginners but a great place to go to find out some of the capabilities of Houdini you may not know exist.
Conclusion
Houdini is hard but please don’t let that deter you. It is a lot of fun and rewarding once you get your first render or simulation done in it you will be hooked. It is as capable as any program out there and in my opinion the most entertaining to learn. I encourage you to give it a go whether you are new or experienced in 3d.