Need advice from Houdini users.

[prtmsh]

Hello Guys,

I hope all are doing well.

I'm prtmsh, new to the cg/vfx industry, currently an intern learning camera tracking and matchmoving.

I started with matchmoving to get my foot in the door, but I aspire to be an FX artist.

My question is related to what learning path to follow. I have very basic knowledge of modelling in Maya and 3ds Max.

I cant afford to attend any VFX/CG school, mostly watch youtube and Digital tutors.

Should I first learn to create particle sims like fire,smoke etc in Max/Maya and once i'm good at that look for a junior level job, and slowly move on to Houdini.

Will knowledge of Max and its FX plugins help me towards understanding Houdini better?

I am aware I can start with Houdini directly, but reading from posts here I suppose i'll have to study Math and python as well.

Kindly excuse me if my question is redundant or too noobish, I have very beginner level knowledge of what CG/VFX is.

I would appreciate your advice.

Thanks & Regards.

[acey195]

Maya and Houdini are quite different software products. If you plan on using Houdini in the long term, I would start with Houdini, not Maya,
as it will be harder to un-learn the mindset you use in Maya, when you finally move into Houdini.

Studying Python is especially useful for pipelines (making sure all the files are written to the correct places for instance)
Learning advanced Maths is certainly not necessary for now, as long as you know what sin, cos, tan and % do in terms of math, you can do almost anything already.

[garf]

Yeah - houdini is becoming more and more artist friendly so knowing the maths is useful but not absolutely necessary. Anything you don't know can always be googled

Python is not necessary at all but again, any additional skill is useful.

If I were to invest in my future from scratch I would do it with SideFX not Autodesk for sure. They are considerably more customer-centric, they listen to their user-base and you can get their software free to learn with the PLE version. There's tonnes of learning content out there with Peter Quint, entagma, Rohan Dalvi, Go Procedural, sidefx.com and here on odForce. The community is really helpful and can always get you out of a pickle.

I'm an XSI convert but I'm glad autodesk canned it as it gave me the push towards this sensational piece of software.

[dyei nightmare]

On 7/8/2017 at 0:06 AM, prtmsh said:

Hello Guys,

I hope all are doing well.

I'm prtmsh, new to the cg/vfx industry, currently an intern learning camera tracking and matchmoving.

I started with matchmoving to get my foot in the door, but I aspire to be an FX artist.

My question is related to what learning path to follow. I have very basic knowledge of modelling in Maya and 3ds Max.

I cant afford to attend any VFX/CG school, mostly watch youtube and Digital tutors.

Should I first learn to create particle sims like fire,smoke etc in Max/Maya and once i'm good at that look for a junior level job, and slowly move on to Houdini.

Will knowledge of Max and its FX plugins help me towards understanding Houdini better?

I am aware I can start with Houdini directly, but reading from posts here I suppose i'll have to study Math and python as well.

Kindly excuse me if my question is redundant or too noobish, I have very beginner level knowledge of what CG/VFX is.

I would appreciate your advice.

Thanks & Regards.

 

if you want to get in on houdini,  forget 3d max and maya,  i started on that way, and is the worst...  because maya is one-button-click-solution...  no no,   in the kingdom of houdini you NEED TO KNOW MATH  trust me,  if you want to do even simple operations you need to use dot product and vectors A LOT, remember your school maths and you will be fine here

ahh and you need to know programing,  vex is becoming must 

Edited August 12, 2017 by dyei nightmare

[dyei nightmare]

On 11/8/2017 at 11:36 AM, garf said:

Yeah - houdini is becoming more and more artist friendly 

 

 i disagree,  when you start getting into real life situations with houdini,  you realise that  houdini is the most technical software out there,  if you think that you will do everything pushing some buttons and voila,  you are in the wrong place...    vex is now the bread and butter here and you know that you have to do some for and whiles here and there... 

[prtmsh]

Thanks a lot acey195, garf and dyei nightmare for your thoughts, i really appreciate it.

Going forward with Houdini, have started with revising my math and learning procedural modelling in Houdini for start.

I'm sure i'll be hanging around here more now, with many questions.

Thanks & regards.

[woodenduck]

In my experience, the best way to revise your math is to use Houdini ;D

2 hours ago, prtmsh said:

Going forward with Houdini, have started with revising my math...

 

[davpe]

Hi,

the more you know, the better. that's a fact. Knowledge of any relevant software package or technique will help you to be a better and more valuable professional.

But the way you should go is very much matter of personal preference. Do you feel like more technical person who likes to deconstruct and inspect things? Then you might love Houdini. If you feel like more artistic guy who just likes to create beautiful things without worrying too much how does it work, you might like Maya better. You should try both to find out 

Don't worry about math or programming too much now. Just start doing things you like and you'll see what you need to learn. No need to push it too hard. It would only overwhelm you and demotivate you. Sure, with Houdini you'll be encouraged to do more math and scripting than with any other 3d software as Houdini is by far the most technical one. But it also offers most freedom to your creative needs and if you discover technical personality in you, you will love it!  

cheers, D.

[prtmsh]

Thanks woodenduck and David, 

Yes, I am going forward with Houdini , I'm sure its not an easy ride, but this forum & members like you are there to help, so no worries.

Already started with Procedural modelling in Houdini .

Thanks & Regards.