Base level understanding of core principals?

[ItsBwalt]

So i come from a more design based background (used c4d and zbrush for years) but have been trying to learn houdini without giving up lol. My main thing is i cant wrap my head around core things im seeing in tutorials like why they subtract vectors, rotate normals, etc. I dont have a foundation to understand what vectors even do. Is there like a dummy video somewhere that explain these in an easy way? Like at the lowest level.

For example in a tutorial i was following a guy was writing vex and took two vectors (like i said i dont really understand vectors in any form) subtracted them, then added the difference or something and it made something else happen. Which i can obviously follow and get the same result but i dont understand WHY or WHAT its actually doing and it makes me feel really dumb.

Sorry for my rant! I just want a simple video kind of giving me the basics.

B

[davpe]

hehe yeah, this is exactly the feeling I had in my Houdini beginnings - and I guess it is true for most people. It will take a while but then suddently something changes in your thinking and you realize you can actually do things (assuming you are working on real projects, not just watching tuts). At the same time you will find out how vast creative options is this seemingly overcomplicated approach giving to you. 

 

Anyway... in my very beginnings I liked Digital Tutors/Pluralsight tutorials. Some people tend not to like them bcs they're often too simplistic and the results are generally not very nice looking, but I think it does its job well when you are starting off. Also, I found Lynda's Up and running with Houdini good for explaining basic principles. They haven't too much of them on Houdini but I've seen one targeted for beginners, like 2 years ago, and I found it really good in explaining concepts. Then I found this guy makes really nice tutorials, well suited for beginners in most cases. And of course, one of the best free tutorial resource is Peter Quint on Vimeo. He has some very basic tutorials as well as advanced ones, all of them are great though. You may be know him but just for the case

 

Keep it up! D.

[jon3de]

Same situation here I feel exactly the same. But I think ( hope) its a matter of habit. Houdini is so extremly different but the more you learn the more gripping the sofware is

 

On cmivfx there is a tutorial called " Houdini Fundamentals" its a old one but I liked that very much. I did also lot "Rohan Dalvi tuts" they are very nice.

 

I really can recommend Houdini-cg wiki which is one of my favourite sites. Definitly have a look on this one. 

 

kind regards 

Jon

[konstantin magnus]

the problem you stumble upon does not seem to be so much about Houdini but rather vector mathematics.

https://www.khanacademy.org provides free tutorials on that.

Also this guy: Triangles and Pixels

Edited March 28, 2018 by konstantin magnus

[jrockstad]

Especially for someone with your background who already has a solid foundation in general 3D work, I generally recommend taking a more practical approach. For example, take a project you completed in C4D, and start thinking about how you would translate it to Houdini. Eventually, of course, you'll reach a point where you don't know how to implement some aspect of that project inside Houdini, which seems frustrating but is really exactly what you need, because it puts you in the mindset of solving a problem that you're actually invested in, and not just watching any old tutorial because you think it's something you're supposed to know. Even highly technical solutions start as easily observable problems - when you reach a roadblock, identify what the issue is using as general language as possible, and search around on the forums, through the documentation, etc. for a solution. To circle back around to your example of vectors, say that you found some information suggesting that utilizing vectors in some way could help you achieve a certain result, now you can start delving deeper into subjects like that, because it's not just a bunch of dry numbers anymore but an actual means to an end. Problems are excellent motivators, so go out there and find some. 

[char]

@konstantin magnus thanks for sharing those links, jumping to Houdini introduced the lack of understanding a few things about math. 

[StepbyStepVFX]

On 28/03/2018 at 5:42 PM, char said:

@konstantin magnus thanks for sharing those links, jumping to Houdini introduced the lack of understanding a few things about math. 

Other very good tutorials if you feel you need more background on maths for visual effects and 3D are :

Mathematics for Visual Effects and Design from FXPHD : https://www.fxphd.com/details/215/

Real Mathematics for Visual Effects and 3D also from FXPHD : https://www.fxphd.com/details/389/

It is well explained, full of examples, very pedagogical.

[char]

@StepbyStepVFX I've seen one of them, quite helpful if I am being honest, seeing some improvements of the understanding lately, thanks for the suggestions! 

[nami]

Hey there! I am too was kinda stuck with vectors for a while... but it got better after I watched a few youtube tutorials and gotta a better grasp of what's going on. For a physics simulation, I followed this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm404aavXrY. Like konstatin mentioned above, KhanAcademy and StudyPug(paid) are great resources to learn and practice your math skills! My best advice is to just play around with it by watching a few youtube tutorials and if you still don't get it (like me) fall back onto learning the math concepts! Good luck!!

 

Edited May 15, 2018 by nami