sharpie Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Ok, I am trying to give Houdini a shot with modelling via polys and subd's. I am coming from an XSI/Mirai background and I'm finding that the workflow in Houdini is not jibing with me. I am sure there is something I am not doing right, but it seems like the procedural node based strength of Houdini only gets in the way when trying to do fast speed modelling. For instance, I create a geometry, delete default file op, create a box, and apply an Edit to it. As far as I know it is an Edit op that one uses to do general T/R/S tweaks on the verts/edges/polys of a polygonal structure. So far so good. But lets say I want to extrude a face. Ok, I do TAB>Polygon>Extrude. That works, but as far as I can tell the Extrude op doesn't have any visible handle to use, despite an icon showing up for it on the left hand toolbar. So I have to go into its parameter page and tweak its values until I get the result I want, and then return to the Edit. And for love nor money can I figure out how to scale the resulting face from the Extrude without going back up to the Edit op and selecting its face and scaling it. And one more thing, when I do an Edit on a face and try to say translate, how can I get the axis to be local like in XSI? Just with that alone I have lost the speed I can get out of a workflow in say XSI or Mirai, or even Wings3D. So, this is not a knock on Houdini, because I am almost certain I am doing something wrong. What can I do to get the Extrude op to show a handle, and does anyone have any timelaps video of poly modelling in Houdini? I know it must get better than this right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Hey Sharpie Let me try and assist . Firstly, I'm not sure if Houdini's workflow is as fast as Mirai's or XSI's but I'm fairly certain it comes close. Close enough for it not to matter that much anyway. Now, lets answer your questions : But lets say I want to extrude a face. Ok, I do TAB>Polygon>Extrude. You don't want to use Extrude to do this kind of modeling. The extrude SOP has been around since version1 and is pretty nasty to use. The tool you want is Polyextrude. All the new poly modeling tools have the word Poly as their prefix. The rest are helpful and can be used, but if you're just starting out then its best to stick with those. Polyextrude has a handle and everything. Also, if you are extruding more than one face you can change the settings from local to global and extrude them all as attached poly's using a common centroid (the local will extrude each face seperately with the handle aligned to the primitive normal). Edit on a face and try to say translate, how can I get the axis to be local like in XSI? I'm not sure what this means. Could you post a screen grab of what you're looking for? does anyone have any timelaps video of poly modelling in Houdini? Sadly not.... hopefully soon though . Also, I'm hoping to release my hip files for my apprentice challenge once the competition is over. Hopefully people will be able to step through those and learn what the different tools are used for. If they can figure out my mess of a hip file that is I know it must get better than this right? ooooh yeah . Houdini is wonderful when you get to grips with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Try the head modelling video tutorial from www.3dbuzz.com or the shoe modelling video tutorial at http://www.vislab.usyd.edu.au/sidefx/houdi...ling/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharpie Posted June 12, 2003 Author Share Posted June 12, 2003 Thanks Marc and Edward. Marc, your suggestions about using the right op are illuminating. I haven't tried yet but I will give it a shot shortly. When I asked about this: Edit on a face and try to say translate, how can I get the axis to be local like in XSI? I realized that Houdini fooled me. Say for instance you have a polygon that is at a 45 degree angle from the grid (ground). If I go to scale it, I want it to move one of the points in the polygon I want it to move within its local coord space, not globaly, i.e., +5 in x should not be equal +5 in x prior to having been rotated 45 degrees. Houdini does on default, but what confused me was that the manipulator for tranlation stayed as usual, where as in XSI the manipulator changes its orientation depending on which coordinate system you are translating by (or whatever), which helps visually. Its nothing really, now that I know Houdini does this by default. But I wonder, how would I tell Houdini that I *did* want to move the point in world space, not in the polygon's local coordinate system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anakin78z Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Hi, the edit sop is actually pretty nifty. Say you wanted to move one or more faces along their normal, you could switch to the peak handle by hitting 'y'. There's no super quick way to orient the t/r/s handle to a face, but you can do it by right clicking on the handle, clicking Toggle handle-geometry detachment (or hit the hotkey), then right click on the handle and select Start orientation picking. Click either on 2 edges, or 3 points, and you'll see the handle snap into place. The only bad thing is that it's now centered on a point, rather than the center of a face (if that's where you wanted it to be). But since it's now oriented correctly, you can move it to wherever you want fairly easily. Once you like where it is, hit ' or select Toggle handle-geometry detachment to turn the handle back to normal mode. -Jens P.S. I just found the peak handle myself, which I thought was funny, and thanks to jason I now know about orientation picking... Houdini holds so many secrets.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharpie Posted June 12, 2003 Author Share Posted June 12, 2003 Jens/Anakin: Thanks for those tidbits.. I will try them out, but I think I get your drift on how to align the handler/transform op to a different orientation. Its great that Houdini has these nuggets, but I do have to say that when it comes to modelling, it would be a major plus if SideFx took note and consolidated those capabilities into the rest of the modelling workflow. Its not really a strength to require so many user interactions to accomplish what can be done in one button in competing packages. I realize you can have this be said about a lot in various apps, but again when it comes to poly modelling, speed is incredibly valuable. The more one-button ways to do these types of things the better. Anyhoo, I am starting to get the hang of Houdini poly modelling and I think I will like it. They did do a wonderful job, and considering the rest of the package's breadth and depth, they deserve nothing but kudos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfwood Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 and does anyone have any timelaps video of poly modelling in Houdini? One nice thing about Houdini is that you don't really need a timelapse video if have the orginal SOP network. Just go to the top sop, then start moving down the chain. Ten times better than a video. In the viewport start hitting page up or down and enjoy. For example check out DaJuice's monster here [odForce] jim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 Or better yet, just make sure your cursor is in the viewport, starting with the display flag on the first SOP, then hit the PgDn key to walk down the chain. PgUp walks up the chain too. If you have the SOP parms up, you can even see the tool and the settings used. I like the monster file btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJuice Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 Hehe, I didn't know that was still around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMax Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Hi, I recently began looking a bit closer into 3D in general and started the Houdini course on 3dbuzz.com. So I go after every chance to learn something, especially subD modelling now in the beginning. I would love to take a look at the monster which was mentioned, but the page on Geocities does not seem to exist anymore. Would anyone be so kind to upload it somewhere or point me to a location where I would be able to download this? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJuice Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Hey iMax, you have to right click and Save Target As, then it works. Don't expect nothing great though, it's just a cartoony little monster, very simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMax Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Hey DaJuice, Thanks for pointing this out...I saw that these where zip files but expected the dialog to pop up and ask me whether to save it...but just got the error page instead...whatever...it is working now...thanks for your help, I appreciate it. I was not looking for anything special, just wanted to see how other people use Houdini, so I can understand the basics better. But I have to say I like that little guy with the big mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 But I have to say I like that little guy with the big mouth. Who, Marc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 I come from a Mirai background. And yes, I've done quite a bit of modeling with Wings3d and I use Maya for good portion of my work. Actually, I'm sick of modeling in Maya. However, I've found, with time, Houdini is just as fast and fun to model with. It becomes extremely intuitive. Just try the Softxform Sop, it blows those damn magnets out of the water. My best models have been created in houdini. The one thing that I find missing is a PolyBevel SOP. Others claim they have a workaround. However creating concentric edgeloops without cleanup is not gonna happen untill this sop is introduced. Wish I knew enough to write it myself. (Any suggestions from the big boys would be lovely) Also, it looks like edgeloop selection is gonna show up in version 6.1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anakin78z Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 My best models have been created in houdini. ... Also, it looks like edgeloop selection is gonna show up in version 6.1. Could you post some pictures? Also, I imagine that edgeloops and edge walking will be available in the next download of houdini (it's in the pelt sop right now, and it works really well. They just need to port it to the rest of houdini ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono338 Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 Hey Shannon, it's good to hear from someone with some experience in those Modelling-centric programs. I'm struggling to get into Houdini modelling at the moment, and fighting the tendency to "blame the software", especially after lurking in Spiraloid for a while! (Those guys seem like Wizards, what they claim to knock out in a couple of hours is astounding). Easy to forget they know their tool very well ... I guess no reason why someone who knows Houdini "really well" can't do the same ... anyway, here's hoping. BTW, I'll second the request to have a peek at some of your modelling. Houdini really needs some good examples of modelling a-la the mirai-wings stuff ... nobody doubts those packages aren't great at modelling in the right hands. Cheers. Jonathan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unxetas Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 hi just replying to the original topic, while using the PolyExtrude SOP, you can right click on the handle and change it between local and global mode by checking or unchecking the check box (hum? lol) that says Local Control... just a little addition oh, btw, if you shift-click the handle it's the same thing as clicking insert to move the pivot in Maya, you can then right-click and do the orientation thing as explained before or even click align with world axis and the handle will stay in place but rotate to the same direction as te world axis... quick way to get global mode on an edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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