canadianboy Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 SO im finally back from my summer job in an attempt to save for school. Ive got alot of time of before school and am really trying to buckle down and start learning Houdini. The thing is im really overwhelmed at the moment. I have alot of ideas of things i would love to create but I know i should really sit down and learn what lies beneath and the way Houdini works. I cant make my mind up on what to do. There are just so many things to do with this app. (im moving over from C4d btw). Should i take the time right now and get a book like The magic of Houdini and read it from cover to cover? Or just dive in and try creating the things i have in mind with limited sucess. Ive been goign through some of 3d buzz's VTMs also. Im having a super hard time getting a grasp of the program. Did most of you feel the same when you first opened it? And thats the end of my little rant thats been stressing me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 dive into Houdini AND read the book! in a single hour each day you can: read a chapter and try out some of the examples/projects throw down at least 3 SOPs and read the help card/view the examples, and goof around with the parameters to see what they do 20 mins to work on something on your own if you have an idea(s) for a project this is the most important thing (for beginners) BREAK IT DOWN - into the smallest units eg. modeling a car there are 50+ seperate chunks to build, don't think about the whole car - just model a little chunk...over time you'll have finished the whole car some kind of explodey thing... break it down into little sections, get reference (youtube etc) fo the type of effect you're tying to do, start SMALL - 100 particles, get the overall movement etc...then build up from there...and read the help on every node you use! in Spiderman 3 the sandman sequence took something like a YEAR for a bunch of gus to do...don't expect to be able to do something epic right away...just start small and build you skills... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The experience of the previous 3d application will give you the biggest issues. Maybe throwing yourself at Will's book "The Magic Of Houdini" or the latest 3d Buzz VTM "Houdini Fast Track" http://www.3dbuzz.com/xcart/product.php?productid=61 is the ticket to fully get in to the Houdini mindset. Oh and don't forget the 100's of examples included with Houdini to show you how most operators work in context. Then tackle your work with a new set of tools, approaches and ideas. That's just my two cents worth. -jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianboy Posted September 8, 2008 Author Share Posted September 8, 2008 (edited) i completely agree with you about the previous app etched a mindset in my brain on how to approach stuff ive just got to break that i guess. Thanks guys! Do you Guys thinkn that the Houdini Fast track training would be a good idea? Edited September 8, 2008 by canadianboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 yeah... FastTrack is designed for people new to Houdini...will give a very solid foundation to work from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacob clark Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 on a side note, if you're looking for project inspiration... http://ffffound.com/image/e6fa504a327234c4...f1e1992042634dd James Roper has some great imagery begging for animation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daskog Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 on a side note, if you're looking for project inspiration... http://ffffound.com/image/e6fa504a327234c4...f1e1992042634dd James Roper has some great imagery begging for animation! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_j Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I must admit, i have come from quite a few years of using xsi and maya and sometimes find myself hitting a brick wall with houdini. This is where i sometimes rely on the knowledge of odforce users, so cheers guys! I have more or less every single tutorial and old school blog from the side effects website and they have helped me out a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleer001 Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 no fair trying to get someone else to do work for you on a side note, if you're looking for project inspiration... http://ffffound.com/image/e6fa504a327234c4...f1e1992042634dd James Roper has some great imagery begging for animation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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