Why you should DUMP Cinema 4D for HOUDINI (in 2024)

DOWNLOAD HOUDINI APPRENTICE HERE: www.sidefx.com/products/houdi...
Well, it's like the title says. I'm going to give you 10 compelling reasons why you, as a 3D Artist, should dump Cinema 4D, and start using Houdini instead, this year. But first a quick overview of the two companies.
Houdini is developed by Toronto-based SideFX, who adapted it from the PRISMS suite of procedural generation software tools.
Houdini is most commonly used for the creation of visual effects in film and television. It is used by major VFX companies such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Double Negative and ILM, to name a few.
Cinema 4D is a 3D software suite developed by the German company Maxon. It has gained a strong foothold in the marketing and advertising industries, chiefly for it's 3d motion graphics capabilities and its simple user interface that allows for a super fast turn around on projects.
So with that quick introduction out of the way, let's discuss 10 reasons why Houdini is superior to Cinema 4D.
Number 1. The node based workflow.
Houdini's node-based workflow offers a level of flexibility and control that is unparalleled when compared to Cinema 4D's layer-based, destructive workflow. In Houdini, each node represents a specific operation, and the connections between them create a procedural network, enabling artists to experiment and iterate with ease. This non-destructive approach allows for easy modification and fine-tuning of effects, without disrupting the entire project. On the other hand, Cinema 4D's layer-based workflow relies on stacking operations in a linear manner, which can hinder the creative process and make revisiting previous stages challenging. Which in turn, can make your demanding clients even more challenging.
Number 2. Automatic History Control.
The node based workflow gives you an automatic, limitless history, allowing you to undo or tweak anything you did, since starting the project. In comparison packages like Cinema 4D and others, tend to have a fixed undo limit, beyond which, well, you're screwed.
Number 3. It doesn't require plugins.
Cinema 4D may be one of the leading 3d packages, but what if you one day, had the requirement to create a waterfall? Or a car explosion? Well, you would have to purchase 3rd party plugins like RealFlow and FumeFX to achieve this. Houdini has clouds, fluids, explosions and dozens of other simulation systems, all built in, natively. This allows for more control over your project, as these systems can communicate with your other geometry nodes seamlessly. Not to mention, save you money, and time.
Number 4. Better mograph.
Cinema 4D is known as the king of mograph, but what if I told you that Cinema 4D actually had superior 'moGraph', inverted commas. A common counter-argument is that too many nodes are required to achieve the same effect, as Cinema 4D. Well, here is a mograph effect created in Houdini, using only 3 nodes, which might be even fewer steps, than creating the same in Cinema 4D. Not to mention Houdini allows the integration of fluids and explosions into your moGraph type effects, allowing for crazier looking animations.

[@Visual_FX]

So what do you reckon? Time to switch over to Houdini?

[@leonidrybakovski3803]

No.

[@MAGAMAN]

No, Houdini is an FX program, not a 3d modeling and animation program.

[@juancarlosgzrz]

@@MAGAMAN This

[@pshethia01]

No, technology is changing so fast we dont need to learn something so hard

[@AlanAlan-pmz]

I switched at 2019.Looking back now I really appreciate that my boss force me switched to Houdini.I don't want to go back C4D anymore.less of crash ,no plugins.All things are really flexible and powerfull.Cause I'm using karma so no need third party render engine. As you said window is really suckkkkkkkkk 100%agree wi that.

[@danD315D]

You don't need to choose; instead, consider using both! This approach is actually adopted by professionals and I know many who do so.

[@Ra00Da]

I used C4d for almost 8 years! Honestly, the best decision I made was to switch to Houdini. If you want to focus on simulation / cloth / particles, switch to Houdini. If you're more into traditional character / modelling / motion graphics, then stick with C4d. Don't get disappointed at first if you don't get to do great things, just keep learning and take your time to learn.

[@rahuldeshpande9997]

Very well said. Houdini has the best simulations, and is even used by Unreal Engine in its new updatew

[@davidlegnon9696]

@@jeffbb22 C4D user for 8 years. You had me up until "more stable" - maybe this is just Octane's plugin integration with C4D, but holy crashing Batman (technically freezes). Just that level of instability is making me look elsewhere, like Blender.

[@jeffbb22]

@@davidlegnon9696 🤣 what I meant was Cinema4D is more stable with large scene. Sometimes I can’t even render in Blender on large scene

[@davidlegnon9696]

@@jeffbb22 that is a fair point. I just finished a very heavy scene with a ton of XREFS and almost 500 textures. Several months of work but if I had to guess Cinema would crash at least 10 times a day. I got into the habit of saving incrementally (001, 002, etc) because I was scared auto-backups would crash and I would lose the whole project.

[@lxi5464]

@@jeffbb22 When do you use Octane or Redshift? I'm not sure about their differences.

[@leonidrybakovski3803]

As a user of both packages, I can assure you that most of the features mentioned completely useless for an average user. You should ask yourself if you really need all of this control and proceduralism. If you really need to revisit tour projects so many steps back, you doing something really wrong. And learning curve is pretty steep. By the time you learn how to make something in Houdini you might already finish your project in Cinema 4D. So, make absolutely sure you really need this package.

[@angulinhiduje6093]

That is true cinema 4d is great for hobbyists or for student projects etc.

[@kuunami]

​@Angulin Hiduje that's completely false. Cinema 4d has been used by professionals including myself for a very long time and the license would be a very expensive purchase for hobbyists.

[@angulinhiduje6093]

@@kuunami I mean there are many softwares that have been used by pros that are great for beginners. And if you think broke ass students pay for licences you've never been one yourself lol

[@rd-cv4vm]

@@angulinhiduje6093 houdini is 269 per year for indie......

[@angulinhiduje6093]

@@rd-cv4vm that's not that much tbh.

[@HAJJ101]

Definitely going to do work in Houdini this year!! Thanks for the knowledge, because nodes within a node like THAT plus customizing points and how there were only three nodes for that mograph animation you showed is absolutely insane.. I wanted to know, how about keyframing? Is it a pain in the ass doing complex animation with keyframes or is there an easy way to do it without keyframing at all?

[@khalilboss2855]

Dumping c4d for houdini is like dumping windows for linux lol

[@Visual_FX]

I use both...kinda the same way I use dual boot Windows/Linux

[@NithishVS666]

It is even disgusting to use C4D in the first place

[@sebastiangudino9377]

I mean yeah, that's a good analogy! Windows is... Easy to use, and common. While Linux is advanced, strong, powerful and industry ready, being used in almost all servers in the profesional world Kinda like C4D and Houdini

[@theloniuspoon]

dude great analogy man. i'll up your ante and say dumping c4d for houdini is like dumping using a macbook for linux, it's that much more manual

[@desa-in2052]

That's not apple to apple comparison. Houdini isn't free as linux

[@shahabvejdanian3528]

I'm a junior Houdini artist and I'm telling you, its not easy to learn at all. totally worth it though

[@r3feel]

I'm finding it's really difficult to learn, but possible. Few months ago I tought I could never understand the nodes system, but now I love it!

[@r3dm4il]

its taking me months of learning and i still dont have a full grasp, and frustrating at times but i love it.

[@btmathews415]

Ya its much harder to learn than Cinema. The other points are accurate though.

[@Gaalets]

The Houdini interface and the node dump will make any new user suffer greatly and for a long time

[@philosoaper]

so basically like using blender then.. although it has greatly improved.. it's still like having your skull turn to mush

[@Visual_FX]

Blender has a terrible UI...total mess like ZBrush

[@adronblount]

@@Visual_FX i disagree disrespectfully

[@xanzuls]

@@Visual_FX If Blender has a terrible UI then how come Maxon copied Blender's UI, icons, layout, color scheme, nodes UI, nodes noodles, multi color multi shaped sockets etc.?

[@ageneral007]

@@Visual_FX I soo much disagree respectfully, there's nothing wrong with the u.i.

[@hanifbahari6606]

Cinema 4D is the king of user friendly UI among 3D softwares, and that is IMPORTANT.

[@Visual_FX]

Yes it is, I use Cinema 4D most of the time

[@rahuldeshpande9997]

I completely agree. I love Blender - but switching to it from C4D was super hard. C4D has excellent and probably the best UI and interaction. I think Blender was created more from a technical standpoint or a software engineer standpoint - and C4D for the pure artist who is new to technical approaches

[@hd-be7di]

Mediocre program made by mediocre programmers for mediocre users

[@llealloo]

@@hd-be7di "Mediocre program made by mediocre programmers for mediocre users" Disagree and just plain rude. There are a ton of strengths in C4D, exponentially so if you know Python

[@CinemaZiggy]

It's really only important to beginners of the software or people who are intimidated by software. Everyone who has had to learn multiple software knows there's a light at the end of the tunnel. A breakthrough point where any software becomes familiar. If one can put their fears aside they'd almost always choose power over user-friendliness.

[@r3feel]

I finally decided this August to start with formal classes of Houdini at a local FX school, and I'm surprised about how easy is to start. As any software I'm sure that it's a looooooong way, but I'm not intimidated anymore :)

[@embodie_breaks7089]

Get it!

[@StrongmanLi-pz7sl]

Is it an online school? It will be very nice of you to provide the name of the institute. Thanks.

[@3dmonkeybizz]

I also used C4D since 11.5 but the pricing got out of hand at S22, with X-Particles, Turbulence FD, Octane + + +. The only reason I have not yet jumped into Houdini is because of the absolute alien elements of older tutorials. It was either a case of assuming you had a physics degree, or else that you had been using Houdini for a while. The "Do this, then that" was all too often missing the long winded "WHY"? Against this, as soon as you logged into Firefox there were 10,000 ultra simple to follow tutorials for C4D. Thanks to this video I have a feeling that the landscape has dramatically changed, perhaps because money has really become an issue when it comes to 3D software. I think the last attempt I made was 16 so I will now follow your link and try again. Many thanks!

[@PhoenixArtistIvan]

Houdini 19 onwards is more artist friendly. A lot of ease of life improvements.

[@Create-The-Imaginable]

I use Cinema 4D, Houdini Indie, and also Blender. I am actually a big fan of Houdini Indie but nothing compares to the ease of use and creative flow of Cinema 4D! Houdini Indie is superior in a lot of ways but its complexity gets in it own way. Like for example Houdini has like 10 separate Group Nodes when it really should only have 1 simple Group Node. Houdini needs to work on their User Experience (UX) and also reduce their node complexity especially if you are a Creator or Animator and not a Technical Artist!

[@rd-cv4vm]

no it doesn't , houdini is made to be granular so you can do everything your way.i think you miss the point of how to use houdini and what it is made for

[@Create-The-Imaginable]

@@rd-cv4vm I can see if Houdini is a $4000 tool for large studios and Technical Artists but now that 3D and procedural Is becoming more mainstream and procedural approaches are used now by Creators and Artists, Houdini's granular node complexity is holding it back!

[@rd-cv4vm]

@@Create-The-Imaginable houdini indie is 269 per years., which has everything houdini fx has.....cheaper than c4d,. And again, you dont know how to use it so you feel it is complicated

[@TheLizardKing752]

@@Create-The-Imaginable Personally for me the node system is such a huge breath of fresh air vs C4D and Blender. I love learning all the different nodes, it feels super intuitive and not complex at all.

[@luisriera7041]

@@rd-cv4vm yes, from a coder point of view nothing is complicated. Same from an sculptor point of view, but its perfectly ok to be an artist and not a coder and viceversa. Its also ok to be both. What is not ok is to tell people to ditch a software just because someone thinks what is best for others.

[@vladartiomav2473]

You forgot to mention MOPS, a game changing nodes extension to make motion graphics (and much more) in Houdini. Although, Houdini is definitely not as user friendly as C4D, but when you make your own HDAs and your shelf tools and presets, you can work really fast with it! Even faster than in C4D or Blender.

[@rahuldeshpande9997]

thanks for pointing this out, I will try this plugin

[@davecarlton8239]

And MOPS (Motion Operators for Houdini) is free open source! :D Can't get much better than that.

[@mahdipoursamad2118]

What text to speech do you use for all your videos?

[@saturateddepictions]

I find using Houdini to be easier to use than C4D and Blender when it comes to iterating your ideas. The node system makes so easy to swap out and adjust things on the fly. It may be harder to pickup if you're not used to that workflow but I love it and I wish more creative software implemented node trees.

[@sanjuanrj]

What about Geometry Nodes?

[@B9poy]

@@sanjuanrj Geometry nodes were the reason i left blender, they definitely changed the future of blender but they're still in development i found that there's no use to learn them since most of what i learn will change anyways

it the the power point but in general I tried alot I stuck in VEX I died I felt I am so stupid because it is hard but I love houdini

[@embodie_breaks7089]

I get this. I'm still learning but I feel ya.@

[@IRONMARTIN-Episodes-rg3ww]

@me too. VEX has been the hardest thing for me in Houdini

[@petrholusa5855]

Ok, I am convinced. One thing is flustating me, I have spent a looooot of money for c4d courses, materials, plugins and finally have some decent workflow. But houdini could be nice for particle simulations. Making trees or growing grass on large scale is a nightmare in c4d.

[@dombyrashyKZ]

Thanks dude). And who has a weak video card cost to switch to Houdini? For example, I have a GTX 1650, 4 GB.

[@Visual_FX]

I run it on my 4 year old laptop...Just have to cache sims

[@dombyrashyKZ]

@@Visual_FX Well, how is the flight normal? Does Houdini slow down? How much video memory do you have?

[@christopherlopez2729]

i gave this some thought. and the only real reason that doesnt involve personal bias and personal opinion about ease and workflow is COSTS at scale. Once you get two or more machines with c4d or houdini (indie) the costs exponentially go up with one of them and guess which one it is..

[@TangleWireTube]

1, 2, 5, & 6 all boil down to the same point of additional control in a non-destructive workflow. Nearly half of your list is based on the same talking point. So if your end uses required control as a paramount feature you’re all set. I used to think that procedure was superior. In some instances, it can be. In other areas, committing is just better (it’s not that scary). Building a system to make something can be way too time-consuming compared to just making the thing. If the project calls for many variants of the same thing, then make a system. C4D has so much capability to be non-destructive as well. Generally, I think C4D has a better balance and is more streamlined to an end goal.

[@kwesikwaa9204]

moving from c4d to houdini has been the best decision ever. nothing is impossible. these days i see lots of houdini features n workflows being introduced to blender. that is great. it will allow ppl to realise that houdini isnt as scary as ppl think it is

[@Visual_FX]

It's amazing because even if you are missing a tool, you can make your own node for it. It's literally the most bare bones 3D software you can get, the true blank canvas

[@suppybirdkingdom1770]

I can do everything in Houdini, but it makes me tired and wasting so much time. And in C4D I can create fantastic amazing beautiful animated scenes with high quality with the flow is extremely fast, smooth, convenient and it makes me over the top. That is the most important thing. I don't choose, I use both. For the works that each other cannot do instead together.

[@vytasrauckis6703]

You obviously have never watched Chris Schmidt of Rocketlasso. Every week he creates incredible animations in C4D that are TOTALLY non-destructive. To say that C4D is destructive means that you have not updated C4d since R12.

[@MrDebranjandutta]

How about a comparison bween Houdini and blender geo nodes

[@NaderTaghinia]

I agree with almost all your points except number 10! I have worked with both software extensively and I can say for sure that learning Cinema 4D is definitely easier and more intuitive than Houdini. I know a lot of people who have worked with both software have the same opinion.

[@cemgulpunk]

Hardly agreed. I use 80% c4d and 20% Houdini just because it is so difficult and complex to start and finish a simple project.

[@claudioferroni9810]

In my opinion, If you build a huge and complex project with C4D you can have a lot of issues when reopen the project after a while; get for instance the tags, you have not in C4D a so clear and immediate flow. in Houdini, if you organize your work, inserting notes and descriptions, you can reload in your mind any details of your work; in C4D you don't have the same visualization of all elements. A very complex work in C4D, with Xpresso too, is much more complex to handle respect a huge Houdini work. And then, in Houdini you could reach often the same result with juts a couple of nodes (very clear nodes) while in C4D you have open the objects, the tags, see the fields, if a tag is an Xpresso you have to enter inside and reload your brain. In medium and long terms Houdini is simple and fast to learning compared to other software. The Indie liecense is round 300$ for tho years that's means 12 $ per month the same price of KZbin PRIME .. for instane :-)

[@Willopo100]

Meh, I don't think so

[@prowlTV]

Can you open multiple files in Houdini? And copy and paste between them? c4d was the only 3d app that did this which is why I swapped from the godawful 3ds max

[@Visual_FX]

true never thought of that..cinema 4d certainly is the king of UI...but then it suffers from the disadvantages a non-node UI brings

[@prowlTV]

Well the nodes are there now.. but they need a lot of work to integrate to be properly usable. I am sure that's coming.

[@lcraft4574]

Can we do modeling in Houdini as in C4D? Also can someone suggest detailed tutorial on installing Houdini on linux and some basic workflow?

[@rd-cv4vm]

yes you can, but i wouldnt do it in houdini, use the best tool for the job, i d rather use maya or blender for modeling.

[@Visual_FX]

Yes you can, there is a hidden node called 'Topo Build' it is amazingly good

[@ujulspins]

It's possible, it just won't be as fast. There is a good plugin called Modeler tho. Check it out.

[@Gromic2k]

It actually looks like even the simplest tasks take 3 times as long in Houdini

[@Visual_FX]

the opposite if you can use it...You can edit your 3d model even after rigging and skinning it

[@kwesikwaa9204]

i use both c4d and houdini and i can tell you that the things you can do in houdini, you wouldnt want to go back to c4d. in my case i work faster in houdini. the headache i used to have with character related workflow in c4d i dont get in houdini. the fact that you still have control over points after they have been animated is insane. in c4d mess with a point or polygon and youre screwed

[@sdimaging7854]

@@kwesikwaa9204 been using c4d for 10 years can do nearly anything.. I WANT to learn houdini but in the last 3 years attempting it’s fairly unbearable not easy to learn and ui is kind of ugly

[@kwesikwaa9204]

@@sdimaging7854 i had same issue when i first started out. i installed the apprentice version and it was there for a whole year 😂. until one day i decided to take the bull by the horn and bend it to my will. the rest is history. 1. the perception that it is hard n weird can get into your head and make it unbearable for you on the least steep slope. 2. the UI is pretty much customizable and shouldnt worry you much. 3. try to work in sops as much as you can, familiarise yourself with doing things there. this helps reduce the pseudo complexity of moving between operation nodes. 4. this isnt popular but in my case it helped. which is : use the nodes in sops and not shelf tools. the reason is, shelf tools was daunting to me cos they spat out so many nodes that didnt make sense to me even for little operations. i was and have been better off without them. 5. if you love xpresso in c4d then vops shouldnt be a headache. and if you did C.O.F.F.E.E and python in c4d then vex should be easy. 6. know that you can always dig back into a node tree to make changes. something that has made it difficult for me to model again in c4d. for eg. after making an extusion in c4d i couldnt go back to adjust the extrusion or bevel (not the modifier), but houdini allows you can go back to anything and make adjustments. as for the dynamics, man! vellum and pyro alone in sops is better than doing it in dops. (at least for now until you get used to getting into dops) try again and you will love it.😅

[@ExacoMvm]

Yeah the initial setup can take longer, but then you have infinite control over it and many ways to use various stuff and the more complex it gets the more ways to modify/edit it opens up while in C4D it would only get more and more limited of what you can do. Even Blender is better for motion graphics nowadays because it's essentially like a Lite version of Houdini ( Geo Nodes ).

[@Nasr_9]

The pros said , it's the artist not the software. I try to switch to Houdini but each time I return to c4d , the time I will learn Houdini if invested in c4d I will be more advance

[@Visual_FX]

I use both....lol...no rules that say you need to choose one

[@Fayez550]

The only thing that makes me not want to learn Houdini is programming language. One of the things that interests me in these programs is modeling and motion graphics. Do I need programming skills to do this??

[@ujulspins]

Yes and no. Most of the time you can get by without writing code, but sooner or later you'll want to use it because it's more fun and faster. You also need to understand that node systems are also programming, just visual.

[@JakeMMC]

that fixed undo limit can be adjusted to whatever number you want it to be. but yeah there is no question houdini is better than c4d, infact houdini is probably the best of them all however its the most complex and difficult software to learn while c4d is very easy to learn and get used to and if you did plan to learn houdini at one point id suggest learning c4d or blender first then once you learn the basics of vfx and animation then move to houdini

[@rd-cv4vm]

it is lacking in modeling tho, yes you can model like other software but it isnt as conveniant because of the tons of nodes it lays down., houdini is my main software.i still go to maya or blender to model personnaly

[@philosoaper]

I agree... largely.. but the ability to open up nodes and find the underlying network.. and the unprecedented control, can also be just.. too much.. causing people to get lost, frustrated and quit

[@Visual_FX]

Yes, but you don't have to. It's just there if you need it. Same way you dont have to open to bonnet of your BMW and tinker around for no reason

[@glmstudiogh]

I would disagree with dumbing C4D and using Houdini, first of all, these two are completely two different programs in workflows and almost everything. you guys should stop all these" stop using this and use this app, Artists should use whichever app they're comfortable with.

[@CanErduman]

I love Houdini, I love C4D, I love Blender for the awesome art users producer. However, I chose C4D and will continue using it until I have the time or the need to learn something else. I would love to be a pro in all software packages. But this aint going to be possible. But hey, what I find super interesting: Why do have 3d artists those software discussions all the time? As if the software was worth more than the art. -What do you think? I am just curious. :)

[@Visual_FX]

Your passion for 3D software is clear, and it's great to see such enthusiasm! The debate among 3D artists about software choice often reflects their personal workflow preferences, the specific toolsets required for certain tasks, and the industry's rapid evolution. Each software has its strengths-for instance, Cinema 4D is renowned for its user-friendly interface and motion graphics capabilities, Houdini excels in procedural generation and VFX, and Blender is an all-rounder with a strong open-source community. In the end, the art itself is paramount, but the discussions around tools can lead to improvements and innovations that benefit the entire community. It's about using the right tool for the job and the art you're aiming to create.

[@tomroohan]

Houdini for agency work is a godsend. Notorious agency curveball feedback is a piece of cake to deal with in Houdini.

[@Visual_FX]

Thank you. Everyone here is saying 'Houdini sucks for doing things quickly'...err...no...truth is Node based workflow i.e. Nuke is the correct way, and other ways are wrong...objectively

[@hydronicakatronictronic2326]

Can l add After effect on Houdini effect??

[@Visual_FX]

of course lol..Houdini even has cryptomatte setup so you can render separate passes based on materials

[@BlueprintsTo3D]

I used c4d for years i have tried the jump form C4d to blender soo many times, the issue is C4d user interface and work flow is soo much more easy, Day one i started on C4d i was making stuff i'm week 2 still trying to remember to hit "G" to move objects in blender, blender is great and offers alot, i just think it's to complicated cuz i can do the same stuff in C4d and not have to remember the buttons Same way this HOUDINI , HOUDINI looks amazing i don't have to learn it

[@TutorialCells]

Hello, it is not right to divide the software in general and say that this is bad and that is good! This is a personal opinion! Each software has its own power. And that one should be chosen based on the amount of cost, ease and difficulty, and the time you have and the goal

[@guddunarangi1611]

just now i installed c4d and searching for the basc beginner tutorial of c4d for motion graphics an all, your video saved my time and energy as i landed over ur video at very right tym lol thank you mate, you saved my precious time

[@Visual_FX]

Glad it helped!

[@maxammon2003]

I switched to houdini about 2 years ago... best decision ever. Im kind of sad i haven't gotten into it earlier. Because in 2018, during the time i learned Maya, a collegue of mine actually spoke about his plan to switch and advised me to look into it myself. So i would really encourage everybody to give it a try!!!!

[@Visual_FX]

Yeah same...was very difficult to learn it, took around 1 year of watching tutorials non stop...but now comes pretty fluid

[@rahuldeshpande9997]

I am doing the same. I am also learning Unreal engine

[@iDidntAskToBeBorn765]

if you are fx artist then yes you did good decision but for me as a TD character maya is the best for rigging and animation nothing can beat it

[@maxammon2003]

@@iDidntAskToBeBorn765 Well fair enough, Maya definetly has its place there... But for a lot of hardsurface stuff, Houdini is just more capable because of its procedural nature. Things like: environments with plants, city enviroments... or a very technical model and rig, like a machiene of some sort.

[@eslammahmoud5628]

only reason i would consider houdini in my workflow is their simulation systems. cinema 4d is nowhere near it when it comes to simulations (water-fire-smoke-distructions) with the exception of x-particles which is actually good but other than this I don't think there's any reason for me as someone who's making product visuals to shift and spend that long time to learn this new tool.

[@Visual_FX]

I dont want to have to install any plugins to use particles

[@eslammahmoud5628]

@@Visual_FX fair enough

[@Elcoonn]

Xparticles is terrible

[@llealloo]

@@Elcoonn agreed.

[@cemgulpunk]

I agree with all of them. Except 10. It is not easy to learn and there is no easy way. It takes years to master. Take a look around. If it was easy, everyone would be using it. Houdini's been around since 1996. It's not new. The best alternative for Cinema 4D user is Blender, not Houdini imho. Thanks for the video. Please keep it up.

[@wtony101]

It is the best out there, but not everyone requires Houdini. It is overly complicated for the most tasks that you can do in C4D in a few clicks.

[@rahuldeshpande9997]

Thank you, I just started to learn Houdini and did a simple lava simulation. I was surprised as to how real and incredible it looked

[@andr101]

Another reason: SideFX Support is stellar. I don't know about Maxxon however. Anybody can share any experience?

[@4dshrey]

The problem arises when geometry nodes in blender comes into play in my case, both are node base system and i don't know anything about geometry nodes, plus the simulations in houdini looks, perfect. I want to make the output 's I seen. one thng I hate in blender is, if you want to produce a good result in blender, buy a addon or do the tweaks in cloth by going up and down in the simulation menu. So I think it's perfect time to switch and learn. And if i able to learn in 2 years (intermediate level) then I can move over from blender to houdini slowly and permanently.

[@theloniuspoon]

dude i highly disagree with this video man, houdini is significantly harder to learn and if it was actually that easy to learn everybody would use it and c4d would be outta business.

[@KriptexHD]

whats the best resource these days for Houdini learning?

[@asr59]

I would say SideFx tutorials, they are free and you can pick different routes depending on your interests

[@rd-cv4vm]

houdini is a 3d operating system, see it as a 3d data processing, if you can see it like that everything will make sense fast. take something, process it, you get a result, then process it further with new node etc etc. Using houdini will make you neo in the world of 3d, you will see the matrix of 3d

[@ukaszkondek807]

- Cinema 4D can be procedural up to a point. Most of my scenes have nondestructible setup so it's not that bad. Also, I am not using scene nodes, which are fully procedural just like houdini (although less developed). - C4d also has quite nice, and fast Pyro system just for smoke, and fire, and simulation stuff like that. Not to mention updated cloth, and dynamic system in overall. So you can do simulations, and achieve interesting results, just not as complicated like Houdinis. - I haven't got that much of an experience with Houdini, but it's interface, and viewport UX are rather uncomfortable to me. So not everything is exactly superior. Having said that, it's up to you. You may use C4D for years, and never develop the need for more robust things like Houdini offers, but if you want to have maximum control, and are up way more simulation oriented, then Houdini may be the answer just for you. I'll try to have a bigger bite at houdini soon so we'll see :)

[@neoqueto]

Depends on what you're doing, but for Mograph you can comfortably stay parametric for a loooong time in C4D. Among DCCs its parametric capabilities are quite good - not as amazing as the procedural stuff that Houdini is capable of, but even compared to Blender's geonodes, C4D is so much better with parametric modeling, animation, rigging, whatever. Blender needs plugins or clunky node setups just to have a torus that you can change the edge count of after you place it.

[@KKsinsa]

I've been experiencing all the trial versions of the software for almost a year now, and I'm still experiencing it. The most impressive was cinema 4d and the worst was houdini. It is the most difficult program, and I feel like I will spend my whole life learning it before I can achieve any purpose. It is also a tricky program, with errors and bugs that occur every time you try it, and it is difficult to get the same result even if you watch the tutorial and follow it exactly 10 times. Maybe it's because I'm using Houdini Apprentice, but the free trial of c4d was really good. I was able to try a lot of things without any errors or the program freezing. Also, CINEMA 4D runs well even with low PC specs. My pc is a ryzen 5950x, RTX4070ti, 64G ram, pcie 4.0 nvme ssd, which are not very good specs, but they are too low specs to run houdini and cinema 4d ran fine. It's my personal opinion, but houdini is the worst program ever. I deleted Houdini Apprentice.

[@Visual_FX]

I was pretty advanced with Cinema 4D and VFX in general before picking up Houdini...It took me around 1 year of intense concentration and daily tutorials to grasp the basics and not feel sick from confusion. But now everything just makes sense. A dev programming background really helps

[@davidf6871]

I've used both programs. Yes Houdini is outstanding... but it's not intuitive and you need to spend a significant amount of time really understanding it. The thing is you spend a lot of time doing the technical side of design. C4D on the other hand is very intuitive. Results are quick and look great. Also most people aren't working on a movie, and Maxon Is working towards a standalone where you don't need plugins, they are basically there. Plus Unreal Engine and C4D work seamless now materials and all. so it's a no brainer in my case.

[@slick3d392]

Agreed. Houdini is not difficult, it's a plugin maker, fits in any pipeline. SideFX made Solaris which is absolutely fantastic. The "god-like" power is definitely what puts Houdini above all others. I have to mention Lightwave, which is also based on the manipulation of points and has a very good nodal system; and with the new owner, has everything to bright again.

[@suppybirdkingdom1770]

I can do everything in Houdini, but it makes me tired and wasting so much time. And in C4D I can create fantastic amazing beautiful animated scenes with high quality with the flow is extremely fast, smooth, convenient and it makes me over the top. That is the most important thing. I don't choose, I use both. For the works that each other cannot do instead together. Now C4D release 2024.1 with huge improved performance and now I even can do a lot more !

[@shaheeddhawheed0021]

5:02 Houdini indie is not free. apprentice is the free version. and also you do get watermark on the corner as well.

[@dariovanhouwelingen8678]

Houdini Indie is not free, it's about 270 USD per year. I think you meant to say Houdini Apprentice which is free but has hard limitations like FBX export.

[@Visual_FX]

I mean, that is a pretty reasonable restriction. They let you render at 720p with no watermarks

[@dariovanhouwelingen8678]

@@Visual_FX Yes for sure nothing wrong with that. And the Indie license is quite affordable and powerful.

[@mark-horgan]

@QuickVFX There is a watermark on the renders of the Apprentice version.

[@drfrankenstein5414]

I tested Houdini on both Kali Linux and Windows 10, and it works faster on Windows 10. especially if you have a CPU with E and P cores. All Linux OS don't utilize E cores well

[@DoctorMGL]

thats like comparing between a truck and a car i can take my kid to school on the back of a ( Sand truck ) but that does not mean its the tool specified and comfortable for this task. houdini are meant "originally" for simulation its created for that and it does the best job in that , but sculpting and motion design and other alike tasks are not meant to be created with houdini even if you can, - doing so called "work-around" which its not official / officiant & neither user friendly and definitely not comfortable to eat food with a screw spanner even if you can at some extend cinema 4d or blender (alike tools) are meant for a quick 3d hard sculpt / shaping in a user-friendly visual way , you touch and shape your model in the viewport like sculpting in real life , which in most cases does not require any coding or 9999 nodes wired like a siped web

[@WinstonEdgoose]

Actually Cinema 4d does have a node system, which they are updating and is quite powerful, so you have the best of both worlds. Car explosions and liquid sims are also possible using pyro without any plugins.

[@rd-cv4vm]

c4d pyro is gpu, it will hang fast if you try to make something actually of scale.. people underestimate what houdini can take, not a single software can handle the amount of data houdini can . c4d is good but not close to houdini, even for mograph houdini completely wrecks c4d.

[@monstergames7140]

I wish learn Houdini but there is not enough courses and it s hard to learn

[@rd-cv4vm]

there is more than enough, and you can always read the docs

[@jonosvlog9913]

First of all, Houdini is not easy to learn. You need to have a different mindset to function Houdini's workflow. I believe Indie is not free but Apprentice is. Houdini's learning curve can be very steep and trip alot of artists over but if you are willing to put the time and effort into Houdini, it will pay off in a long run just like learning Python. Most Major Studios are switching the pipeline workflow to Houdini if not already.

[@Visual_FX]

It is easy, just no one shows you the path of least resistance

[@llealloo]

"major studios" do you mean VFX or motion graphic studios?

[@jonosvlog9913]

VFX @@llealloo

[@saeedzare2410]

Hi in term of FX I absolutely agree with you but you know in term of advertisement projects got tight time limit it's hard to get in to Houdini has own weak point it needs 3rd. party plugin also for rendering such as Redshift and Octane and Houdini GPU render engine does not work properly

[@knmbsst]

What this doesn't tell is, if you already use c4d or blender and you already are good at it, and have a 2 week or so deadline project, nobody can afford to learn houdini for that, it WILL take months to feel comfortable with houdini, so yeah, do not change if you don't need to, on the other hand, its great to start learning houdini step by step and make use of its strenghts and then go back to the tool you are best at

[@theloniuspoon]

yeah man clients do not care what you use they care about the result. if you work for a big studio and houdini is a job requirement then go for it but not everybody works at ILM honestly.

[@knmbsst]

@@theloniuspoon absolutely right. Yeah you should always learn and become better at what you do, but on top of that, you should be getting good clients, and as how you just said, they care about the result and having It on Time!

[@joaopaulobatista5690]

Houdini is a great software but in the end its much better if you can learn both or a bit of both. Houdini might be standard app for vfx in cinema industry, but that standard changes if you go to advertisment, design and motion. Advertisement business has smaller budgets and short timmings meaning that you need a cheaper and more flexible software. Indie versions are no option for smaller studios that earn a bit more than the limit cap and houdini fx is way expensive per user. C4d also is very flexible if you need to a bit of everything in a hurry. Modelling, a bit of sculpting, rigging , animating and all the motion tools available from the start to help in the creation process focusing in the art direction instead. I dont have this feeling when working with houdini. It's musch more cerebral and less artistic. In the end both are great, learn both and dump blender. just kidding!!

[@TheLizardKing752]

Oftentimes in 3D work I find myself sourcing a few reference shots but not having a clear vision for the final setup, and I really like Houdini's workflow for those scenarios. A while back I needed to make a flagstone walkway and it was simple to just make two birail curves, scatter points and voroni fracture it. Personally I feel more artistically comfortable when I know I can just change the curves if I need to change the overall walkway path, instead of having to remake the entire mesh. But it's definitely a more bottom-up workflow where I'm focused on getting one thing looking right at a time. I agree it's definitely a tradeoff.

[@grundvater]

Klasse Video, werde Houdini mal testen.

[@user-oh6bn8op2r]

Cinema 4D have pipeline into After Effects , I will try Houdini if does have realtime rendering tru AE. thanks for sharing

[@Visual_FX]

Cool, thanks

[@SherrillDarby]

For one Houdini Indie release is about $269 per year, the Houdini Apprentice version is free but limits you to a resolution of 1280 X 720. Otherwise, it has all the features of Houdini FX (their unlimited commercial release). I have used both but prefer Houdini given it's included functionality.

[@pinkmoon5332]

Interesting. QuickVFX seems to have to appropriated the old Silicon Graphics logo and colored it gold. Really cool 😎

[@Visual_FX]

Yeah I used to dream about owning a SGI Indigo

[@TheBradlackey]

I used 3ds max for 10 years, switched to Houdini 3 years ago. I'll be honest with you, you have to change your workflow and bad habits. Yes it takes a little more time with setup (at first), but the relief you get when a client gives you changes.....a breeze. I've personally increased the speed and quality of my work x3. Stop wasting time with c4d or 3ds max, learn it and then learn Unreal...its all headed that way. Oh and Blender, Blender is kicking ass too. :)

[@Visual_FX]

I think node based is simply the 'correct' way, hence why Nuke beats AE also

[@TheBradlackey]

@QuickVFX If you node, you node. ;)

[@aneeshaa6749]

what about Tyflow ?

[@dude3d]

I agree with you my friend 👍

[@Visual_FX]

thank you...Houdini user?

[@dude3d]

@@Visual_FX Still learning my friend 🫡

[@Screamingrift]

The inverted commas line is really what convinced me to make the switch

[@perryharovas]

They are both truly great for what they do and how they do it. In fact, C4D is becoming more "nodal" all the time.... That being said, it totally depends on your industry, timeline, comfort factor and budget. While houdini has a free version, the version you would need for all the things you mentioned are far more expensive than C4D is. That being said, plugins also cost money too, and need support sometimes. It's one of the reasons I use both, for what I specifically need, when I need it. The are both powerhouses in their areas, and get better all the time.

[@andr101]

It seems to me that you are very wrong about prices. Houdini is way much cheaper than C4d. Houdine Indie is 200$ a year, if you buy the 2 years bundle. Cinema 4D comes at 730, for a single year.

[@ar2_420]

@@andr101 I'm the only motion designer in an average-sized IT/AI startup, sitting on some typical seed money exceeding $1 million. The money from our investors is strictly allocated for the development of our product, which has nothing to do with the visual industry. My role is to produce promos, tutorials, ads, and branding. However, due to the amount of seed money (98% dedicated to developers), we would need to pay significantly more for Houdini than we are currently paying for Maxon One. Additionally, I'm receiving a bundle of After Effects plugins that can accomplish the tasks I need in a simpler and faster manner than Houdini. Moreover, the learning curve of Houdini is incredibly daunting. I've made some attempts to learn it, but I ended up with a headache just from trying. i think most of motiondesigners on planet dosent need such complicated expensive and complex tool

[@jamaljamalwaziat1002]

As Houdini user, is insanely powerful u are only limited by ur knowledge, there is some plugin for houdini like axiom mops tool and remesh from lab too،l these tools are just for speedup

[@Visual_FX]

The only plugin I use for Houdini is Quad remesher, because it's incredible

[@midopertin5523]

Houdini is hard to learn there is no enough resources in KZbin like others 3d program I have no idea about coding it's make me more difficulty in learning and I have to memorize the script use for specific task but yeah my dedication for learning Houdini over come all that problem....over 2 years of experience and learning I would highly recommend VFX artist to include houdini as one of there 3d program

[@ThingstoWatch37]

I'll download it and try it today tanks

[@jonaszs73]

you should just add how many master degrees you need to cope with Houdini :) it is not just a node, it is a ton of nodes, nodes inside the nodes, parameters and programming which means your brain has to be a computer to understand and use it well :))

[@dinosaursneverexisted8985]

Houdini Indie is NOT free... Apprentice is free, but has limitations on rendering and commercial use

[@EROSNERdesign]

What about Blender??? HELLO!

[@gogabeniashvili7232]

after 3 hour tutorial with 23 spread sheets and 40 popup windows i cant even create a simple sphere...

[@3RDEYELOVE]

Great upload thanks💪🏾

[@philipquaglino]

Depends on the project and depends on the user. I have seen After Effects and C4D comps/Renders look big budget hollywood level by really good artists and seen trash "WTF it this" from poor Nuke/Maya/Houdini users. Studios will have requirements, cater to that so you get hired, beyond that if its for you???? Then just "git gud" at any one of them.

[@sanjuanrj]

Should I DUMP Houdini for Blender with Geometry nodes for procedural content?

[@fiveshorts]

The fact that Gnomon (the #1 VFX school in the world) is switching from Houdini to C4D answers your question, i think.

[@MrSheduur]

I have often tried to give Houdini a shot, but I just cannot get warm with the interface. It just feels unprofessional and stuck in 2010, similar to how Maya looked back then. Someone should overhaul this whole thing and unify the look and feel of the interface. C4D may not be as intricate as Houdini, but (except for recent versions) the interface has always been the biggest advantage over other software as it is intuitive and elegant, while Houdini looks cluttered and piecemeal to me.

[@Ben-rz9cf]

So... one point of this is something Maxon HAS worked on. Pyro is new and DOES allow for pretty simple and sophisticated control over things like fire, smoke and explosions. But the rest of the fluid simulation stuff is not there and it requires a redshift subscription or some other 3rd party renderer to even deal with the VDBs since standard or physical render doesn't support it. I've said before that i think Maxon should make Redshift free to C4D users and this honestly would be a redeeming feature.

[@RamyLebo]

Karma CPU is too slow. Karma XPU is still buggy and limited with lots of bugs. Alas.

[@srua2936]

You didn't mention that Houdini is more complicated to learn, and it's not as intuitive as Cinema 4D. Switching to another software takes time, and as you said, time is money.

[@Visual_FX]

it's strange...the first year is hella intimidating but then it just clicks

[@collectiveunconscious3d]

I agree but I'm too demotivated to switch lol

[@Visual_FX]

haha

[@santhoshshivankumar1922]

Thanks

[@-schattenpflanze-3755]

Might as well just use blender than and change the UI and controls to Cinema4d standards

[@luisriera7041]

Disagree. Both serve different markets. Not all artist have the desire to do code, but to use Houdini with the examples you are showing no matter what people tell you, coding is required. Literally anyone with an X-particles account can do amazing things with C4D from the get go because is THAT easy to learn. If your work is good enough with C4D, ask yourself if you want to spend a year learning another software for that extra power you may never need to use.

[@mamalikhakzad24]

I'm sick of videos and people saying learning Houdini isn't hard. Jesus Christ of course it is. it has a very different learning curve than other DCC software such as cinema 4D because of its procedural and node based nature which automatically makes it more difficult. it takes much time and effort to master it but once you do it`s enjoyable to work with. it gives you much more control and power over your data, and on the other hand its more hard to learn and work with at first, that`s only fair. so be honest to people and please do not mislead them into Houdini being easy because after they start learning it, they find it difficult and it feels overwhelming.

[@rd-cv4vm]

houdini isnt hard, you just need to grab the concept, then it will go as far as your mind can take it. I would argue that other software have been dumbing things down.

[@peacemaker-69]

BUT it is limited ! ..I mean it's for certain types of artists, purposes etc.. Im using C4d over 20 years.. Anyway, UI and creative flow of Cinema 4D is the number one for decades... From my point of view, Blender and Houdini has the worst UI and user workflow with limited bunch of features.. Houdini is good on specific purpose, but for me it's not necessary when you have knowledge and can make the same thing with the smile on your face... Be that as it may, in the end what matters is knowledge and the goal, apropos the purpose of everything...

[@embodie_breaks7089]

I agree with you saying that Houdini is not great for Everything. It can do almost everything(if not everything) but in a different way that's not always logical for the task at hand. As far as UI I actually love Houdini's UI so much more than Maya, Unreal, Zbrush and such. The only other UI I like as much as Houdini is Speed-Tree. I honestly don't use C4D but I have been dabbling and may start. I dig what people create from it. I was taught Maya instead so that and Houdini covers majority of what I need. I'd love to see ya some ones workflow with Modeling and such that claims to do Everything in Houdini. I've been taught a bit about modeling in Houdini but it seems a bit weird for some aspects and then I end up[ gravitate towards other software. It's great for Procedural, some Hard-Surface(Buildings, Odd objects, corridors, etc and such), but I mostly use it for FX, Rendering, Lighting, and for it's copy to points.

[@realistic_mango749]

As a guy whos completely on timeline editior, it feels scary to see loots of nodes branches lmao 💀

[@VentaBlackStudios]

I’ll give it a try 😅

[@kevinmakesvideos]

im sold

[@ansoncall6497]

I once showed my class how to use the deformers in C4D. The Houdini expert in the group commented how much easier it was in C4D to use deformers. He still uses Houdini of course. So what is the moral of the story? There isn't one. It was just a story. Use what works for you.

[@softviz]

C4D could be better for Quick VFX though.

[@theloniuspoon]

thats what i use it for, not everybody works at a massive studio, some of us need it done within an hour

[@embodie_breaks7089]

I primarily use Houdini but I have Maxon One for another year so I have been pushing myself to learn C4D since I see people hiring for it at times. Also I'm trying not to purchase Maya3d so I thought I would dive into C4D to fill in some gaps for now.. I have a bit of history in Maya, Unreal and such... but for me, Houdini is the most fun I've run into yet and I love the organization of it but I'm a VFX Artist though and not really a modeler/animator so it maybe a different experience than others.

[@bazibada]

It's absolutely not the same software. Houdini is used to make either complex simulations, then exported in .alembic to use in other DCC's like C4D, Maya, Blender, whater, or to craft complex procedural setups exported ad .hip files (like procedural building generator). I dare you to make in depth modeling, full product films including some mograph shots (even with MOPS), or a whole sequence of animated characters entirely in Houdini. It's then true that Houdini is on the rise for making the greatest 3D complex and organic shots and it's certainly one of the best tools to learn for 3D artists and 3D generalists. Houdini is absolutely an incredible software I would recommence everyone to learn, but comparing it directly to Cinema 4D is like comparing a modular synth to a DAW.

[@Visual_FX]

true true

[@zakirali8721]

agreed!

[@Vannellus]

I miss Softimage... Still the best workflow. Maxon, Autodesk still don't understand, why it was the best 3D tool ever. I hate you, Autodesk, for buying and kicking Softimage.

[@shadowfallenable]

Same. It was THE best 3D Software… until Autodesk decided to buy it and destroy it. 😢