Houdini Explained - Should you learn Houdini? Concepts explained for new or beginning users

If you like this, visit www.parameter3.com for more Houdini tips and tricks.
In this fast and quick explainer tutorial, I'll discuss conceptually how Houdini actually works. If you are new to Houdini or 3D software in general, this is a must to kick start your learning. This is also useful for individuals thinking of switching over to Houdini and want to learn if it is the right tool to get the job done.

[@JaseLindgren]

I really appreciate this video talking about things from an overall conceptual view rather than just a tour of the interface like most other tutorials. Keep it coming!

[@JENILPATEL]

Please bring on a whole series of beginner tutorials, u have a great explanation skills, I want you to be my Guru 🙏

[@mrbennelson]

I've actually been thinking about doing that, glad to hear there is a need for it still.

[@JENILPATEL]

@@mrbennelson yes surely, we will be waiting for it and always support you 👍🤩

[@Omkar3324]

@@mrbennelson please, and please cover it in detail. Even if the videos take long. Try to explain stuff, in detail, because we are all here from different software backgrounds, and Houdini is complicated even to make a simple donut. Thanks.

[@namdhis]

@@mrbennelson We are still waiting for you

[@maheshrawat1030]

@@JENILPATEL have u learned Houdini bro?

[@lapaixbenz4728]

Honesty, this guy is good at explanations, I understand that him explaining and tutoring Houdini here on KZbin is pretty much challenging but I wish he finds a colleague so that they pair up together and give us something to learn and expand on from.

[@Omkar3324]

Bro thank you so much, you were able to clarify about why exactly order matters and went in detail as to why an individual node works the way it works. I never got this depth and detail in the Houdini channels series. Thank you so much for breaking it down so very well, I was frustrated for 2-3 days because of those tutorials on sidefx.

[@Sykophantic]

More beginner tutorials. This video was very helpful thank you!

[@stephantual]

This is a great intro and explanation - thank you!

[@abhikbiswaspikuabhik]

Among the best and apt tutorials for understanding the basic fundamentals. Thanks a lot.!

[@carfox1860]

Great video! Thanks!

[@ifaisalstudio]

So cool, thank you 😊 more, please.

[@hunter8980]

Very Impressive video ! Thanks!

[@Tritoon710]

Thank you. Great content. Please do more videos like this it helps a lot.

[@Theflashaus]

Really good explanation with the nodes writing the steps helped me a lot on figuring things out. Liking and subbing for this content

[@shivashish1001]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@jiajima9593]

Explained very clearly！Thanks

[@allenw9746]

Awesome explanation!

[@IronMan-yg4qw]

good explanation.

[@tiagocardoso4434]

very well explained

[@smugcuck179]

Thanks bro. I kinda get it now....kinda

[@danteuss88]

I love your videos! Hey, what do you think about making a tutorial on how to do that,..,,. cube-sphere roots thingy in the thumbnail of this video?! I'd like to learn the technique

[@mrbennelson]

I'll see what I can do. Probably not an exact tutorial on that, but I'm trying to make tutorials with good principles of 3D design so that you will have the principles to apply to make things. I'd challenge you to try and make that and see what you can come up with. That'd actually be a super helpful learning exercise.

[@mateofilleti281]

This is how these kind of programms should be explained. At a conceptual level. Going tool by tool telling you what each one does is not as important at the beginning!

[@gcharb2d]

Good video, thanks, as for character rigging and animation, KineFX sure open up great possibilities, can't wait to see KineFX improvments, if any, in H19!

[@irql2]

I would love to see some procedural modeling stuff, super basic stuff like buildings but the caveat is I'd only like to see them used with a handful of nodes. I'd buy you a coffee for something like that :)

[@mrbennelson]

Yeah having tons of nodes can get very cumbersome and hard to work with, so it's necessary to keep a clean network and strive to keep things simple. -- I will say though, I personally wouldn't care as much about the number of nodes as I would about the quality of output. Sometimes good outputs do require more than a handful of nodes, but I'll see what I can do. I'll keep you posted.

[@irql2]

@@mrbennelson Yea I could have done a better job of explaining why. When you're new to 3D in general and wanting to learn Houdini, the available material (which is very good) is not typically beginner friendly. Meaning, they expect you to know what UV's are, what normals are, etc etc. There is a lot of implied fundamentals you're expected to know. I believe, and i may be wrong, that I could accelerate my learning if I could work with someone to go through the fundamentals of procedural modeling. For example, we could build a chair, but only using a handful of nodes. The reason I say a handful of nodes is because I'd like to do a deep dive on said nodes and learn "how to learn"... which is to say, after I really understand how the nodes work and interact, then I'm ready to start checking out other nodes and actually understand what it is they're doing vs just trying to connect stuff and toggle switches to see what works. If that makes any sense. There's a lot of great learning material out there from folks like Indie Pixel and Rohan. I find myself following along but not understand what they're thinking as they're dropping the nodes to do certain things... like using an add node to delete stuff. If you ever setup a patreon and would be willing to each that style, i'd be down for that. :)

[@mrbennelson]

@@irql2 gotcha, yeah I'll for sure keep that in mind.

[@hammertl2673]

Hi, thanks for your vedios, but I got a question that where you get structure in local? I mean from 1:46, I cant find it and the text file for those node.

[@mrbennelson]

I just made those folders on my computer by hand. I just did that to try to show how Houdini relates to a typical folder structure on a computer.

[@ddori5611]

I've heard that I would need to know programming to do houdini, but exactly what kind of programming language should i go for?

[@mrbennelson]

TLDR - it's not required to know how to code to learn Houdini. Don't let your inability to code stop you from learning Houdini if you want to learn Houdini. You don't need to know how to program to do Houdini. -- However, to get more advanced knowing basic programming concepts is helpful, but it 's not a requirement. -- That being said, Houdini does utilize Python and an internal language called VEX (which is very similar to C++ or Java). I'd say a lot of this depends on what you are trying to do with Houdini. There is tons you can do without any code. You can do more advanced stuff with knowing some code though. For example, if you want to build your own custom nodes and tools, knowing BASIC python is helpful. Maybe I'll have to do a little rant or tutorial showing when you'd need code and when you may not need it. The reason people may say you need to learn to code is because you can make little Python scripts, or snippets of Vex code to really help -- so yes it's great, but I feel like the amount of code you'd need to learn can be learned in tandem with learning Houdini. There's no part of the software that waits for you to input code for you to use it. The more time you spend learning Houdini, the more clear it will become when code can be useful. And at that point you can learn what is required at that given time. It's like steps on a ladder, the more you progress in general, you'll pick up on more and more little code bits that you can integrate into your setups. -- That's my take at least.

[@excessoats]

Ima need a tutorial on that thumbnail.

[@alivecoding4995]

Naive question from a newbie: What is the difference between this an „animating“?

[@Dawood.k]

Need one by one course video please 🙏

[@stinosan]

As a simulation tool Bifrost is gaining significant momentum. But Houdini is still king!

[@mrbennelson]

Yeah I've never used Bifrost personally, but from what I've seen I don't think it'd ever surpass Houdini. I'd say it'll take software with the same capabilities in realtime to overtake Houdini. Just my opinion though.

[@stinosan]

@@mrbennelson Good point, we need Houdini RT! :)

[@hannesbolmann2099]

In terms of Simulations there is also PhoenixFD for Maya/Max, which might be not 100% that flexibel than Houdini, but it will give you really decent results in much shorter amount of time + its way easier to learn.

[@justinnixon5823]

Is this a 3 d modeling software

[@varunthapliyal8960]

Your title is about concepts, and you are talking about software technicals in the video. How misleading.

[@mrbennelson]

I guess we will have to agree to disagree here.

[@spawn1411]

I don't know why so few people study Houdini in Russia, but it's very difficult to find friends with whom to share the experience. If you, like me, have just begun to study Houdini, then I will be very happy to join forces and together reach the top of the knowledge of this 3D software.

[@vladimirvladimirovich1123]

Привет, я из Украины) Тоже решил начать изучать Houdini

[@spawn1411]

@@vladimirvladimirovich1123 Буду рад объединиться в этом нелёгком деле) А то как-то глухо совсем. Из всех друзей 3дшников никто в секту гудинщиков вступать не хочет))

[@vladimirvladimirovich1123]

@@spawn1411 Я бы тоже рад объеденится, но чем дальше я начал копать, тем больше начал понимать, что для Houdini нужен уже опыт в 3D. Поправь меня если я неправ? Потому, что я очень хочу научится и все говорят, что желателен опыт

[@spawn1411]

@@vladimirvladimirovich1123 это не критично, а во многом даже поможет. Я сам с двухлетним опытом после блендера и с одной стороны это помогает, но с другой стороны сам подход в Гудини кардинально отличается от полигонального подхода в блендере и многое просто не приходило в голову. С чистыми мозгами я бы сразу впитывал смысл работы в Гудини. В общем главное желание 🙂

[@justinnixon5823]

So, is this like Maya

[@motiondeshahil]

Houdini more like procedural and far more powerful tool for vfx and all related cgi world.

[@androidfarmer8863]

So… How to make your pig disappear

[@motiondeshahil]

Delete