Houdini is Not for Everyone — Transcript

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1. 0:00Unlike more approachable tools like
2. 0:02Blender, Maya, Max, or Cinema 4D, I
3. 0:05think Houdini deliberately forgo
4. 0:07beginner friendliness in exchange for
5. 0:09deeper procedural control, a node-based
6. 0:11workflow, and a code-driven flexibility.
7. 0:14And this is not a new thing. This has
8. 0:17been the case for decades at this point.
9. 0:19This design philosophy has made Houdini
10. 0:21both revered and intimidating, a tool
11. 0:24hailed for its unparalleled power by
12. 0:26technical artists and VFX studios.
13. 0:29In this video, we will see why side of
14. 0:32facts, the developers of Houdini don't
15. 0:34want it to be simple or easy to learn,
16. 0:36which makes one think that they don't
17. 0:38want the average Joe to use it in the
18. 0:40first place. In reality, this is not
19. 0:43their intention, but it has to be this
20. 0:45way. And I will tell you why.
21. 0:49I think that Houdini exposes what other
22. 0:51software hide. So instead of simplifying
23. 0:54or blackboxing complex processes,
24. 0:57Houdini encourages users to look under
25. 0:59the hood. As a side effects veteran
26. 1:01described it, in Houdini, one can see
27. 1:04what is happening inside the tools or
28. 1:06the nodes with a simple clicks going as
29. 1:09deep as needed. In fact, deeper than any
30. 1:12other 3D software. Other 3D packages
31. 1:15tend to shield users from the complexity
32. 1:17for the sake of convenience. But Houdini
33. 1:20embraces that complexity. It expects the
34. 1:22artist to handle it. And he continues,
35. 1:25"Other 3D packages try to help you by
36. 1:28hiding the information, but Houdini
37. 1:30gives you power and control, even if at
38. 1:33first glance it is very strange. One of
39. 1:36Houdini's hallmark strengths is its
40. 1:38integration of scripting and coding in
41. 1:40creative workflows. Houdini's note
42. 1:43networks can be augmented with Vax,
43. 1:45Houdini's vector expression language,
44. 1:47and Python scripting to fine-tune
45. 1:49behaviors or generate entirely new ones.
46. 1:53This makes Houdini extremely
47. 1:54customizable at a low level. For
48. 1:57example, during the making of Disney's
49. 1:59Moana, effects artists wrote VEX code
50. 2:02inside Houdini simulation context to
51. 2:05control how water particles form sheets
52. 2:06and drips, exposing only a few highle
53. 2:09knobs for animators that they can
54. 2:11adjust. I believe that this coddriven
55. 2:14approach gives it a parallel power. So,
56. 2:17anything that can be mathematically
57. 2:18described can be turned into an effect.
58. 2:21The trade-off, however, is that using
59. 2:23Houdini effectively often is more like
60. 2:26learning a mid-level programming
61. 2:27language instead of learning a 3D
62. 2:30software. Because of this design,
63. 2:32Houdini packs virtually every tool that
64. 2:34a high-end production might need, from
65. 2:37fluid empire simulations to procedural
66. 2:39modeling and compositing, all
67. 2:41interoperable in one unified
68. 2:43environment. You see, studios rarely
69. 2:46need to buy add-ons or plugins for
70. 2:48Houdini, whereas competing software
71. 2:50often rely on add-ons or plugins for
72. 2:53specialized effects. As an experienced
73. 2:55artist observed, with Houdini, you have
74. 2:58much more control over everything and
75. 3:00rarely hit the spot where there are no
76. 3:02workarounds, whether it be fluids,
77. 3:04particles, smoke, etc. They are all out
78. 3:08of the box. This pipeline in a box
79. 3:10completeness is a direct result of side
80. 3:12effects focused on technical depth.
81. 3:16I believe that people who use Houdini
82. 3:18know that it is unapologetically
83. 3:20challenging for beginners. The software
84. 3:22doesn't handhold the user with one-click
85. 3:24presets or oversimplified interfaces.
86. 3:27Even though the other popular 3D
87. 3:29software don't do that exactly, but
88. 3:31Houdini takes it to another level.
89. 3:34Hudini takes longer to be productive
90. 3:36than almost any other 3D application as
91. 3:39one forum user explains bluntly because
92. 3:41not much is done behind the scene for
93. 3:43you. You see in Houdini the user is
94. 3:47expected to understand the under the
95. 3:48hood concepts whether it is geometry
96. 3:51attributes vector math or simulation
97. 3:53solvers that other 3D software might
98. 3:56conceal. Simple tasks can require
99. 3:59navigating the node graph or writing
100. 4:01expressions. Whereas in Maya or Cinema
101. 4:034D, a similar result might be achieved
102. 4:06with a ready-made modifier or an add-on.
103. 4:09This is a feature not a bug of Houdini's
104. 4:11design as side effects on training hat.
105. 4:14Michael Gordfarb responded for calls for
106. 4:16more newbie friendly blackbox tools. He
107. 4:19said that Houdini doesn't have these is
108. 4:21exactly why people use Houdini. In
109. 4:24practical terms, Houdini's learning
110. 4:26curve is steep, so new users often
111. 4:29report being overwhelmed by its
112. 4:31interface and concepts. Houdini has been
113. 4:33easily the most difficult to use
114. 4:35application or 3D software I have ever
115. 4:37encountered. Every step is a hunt for a
116. 4:39mystery to solve, wrote one 3D veteran
117. 4:42after weeks of learning the software.
118. 4:44And this is someone who has been in the
119. 4:46industry using other 3D software, let
120. 4:48alone someone new to 3D. A big reason is
121. 4:51that Houdini assumes that the artist
122. 4:54know exactly what they are doing because
123. 4:56they provide very few safety nets.
124. 4:59Change a parameter or node and you might
125. 5:01unintentionally break the entire chain
126. 5:03of effects with no warning. The software
127. 5:06will not stop you from making mistakes
128. 5:08because it was built for experts who
129. 5:10want the total freedom. Furthermore,
130. 5:13Houdini historically provided fewer
131. 5:15pre-made templates compared to its
132. 5:17peers. While modern Houdini has added
133. 5:19shelf tools which are one-click setups
134. 5:22for things like explosions or pyro
135. 5:24effects. These are just steel networks
136. 5:26of nodes under the hood often complex
137. 5:29and intuitive to the untrained eye. Gold
138. 5:32far explained that in studio
139. 5:33environments if artists want simplified
140. 5:36controls the solution is not to dumb
141. 5:38down Houdini's base design but to have
142. 5:40senior TDs package Hudini networks into
143. 5:43custom digital assets. Essentially,
144. 5:45Houdini made plugins for less technical
145. 5:47animators to use. In other words,
146. 5:50Houdini expects studios to create their
147. 5:52own tools and their own user-friendly
148. 5:55layers if needed, rather than
149. 5:56compromising the software's depth at the
150. 5:59source. All of this means that beginners
151. 6:02face a high barrier to entry. Many
152. 6:04artists coming from Maya, Max, Blender,
153. 6:07or Cinema 4D find themselves having to
154. 6:09unlearn some habits because Houdini is
155. 6:12different, not harder. Goldfarb noted
156. 6:15explained that newcomers who aren't
157. 6:17comparing it to other apps actually fare
158. 6:19better. But for those used to more
159. 6:21guided software, Hudini's blank node
160. 6:24graph and sparse initial UI can feel
161. 6:26alien. Some industry blogs candidly
162. 6:29state that Houdini's power and
163. 6:30flexibility come with a learning curve
164. 6:32and its procedural node based thinking
165. 6:35can be initially challenging for artists
166. 6:37accustomed to traditional tools which is
167. 6:39true to a certain extent. Similarly,
168. 6:42when compared to Blender, Blender's
169. 6:44user-friendly interface and versatile
170. 6:47tools appeal to generalists, whereas
171. 6:49Houdini's procedural strengths and
172. 6:51advanced VFX capabilities require more
173. 6:54technical acumen. In short, Houdini
174. 6:56deliberately prioritizes capability over
175. 6:59accessibility, reflecting side effects
176. 7:02focus on high-end use case, and I think
177. 7:05everyone knows this at this point. Also,
178. 7:07I like this quote from this Houdini user
179. 7:10who said it on the side effects forums.
180. 7:12Anything this deep won't be easy. And I
181. 7:15can't agree more because freedom and
182. 7:17depth bring complexity with it.
183. 7:23Given its complexity, Houdini tends to
184. 7:25attract a specific subset of CG
185. 7:27professionals like VFX artists and
186. 7:30technical directors who are Houdini's
187. 7:32strongest advocates. These are people
188. 7:34who need to create the hardest, most
189. 7:36customizable effects. Think of super
190. 7:39realistic effects like ocean waves,
191. 7:42magical disintegration effects, city
192. 7:44destructions, and so on. Often under
193. 7:46tight production deadlines for very big
194. 7:49productions. For them, Houdini's
195. 7:51procedural approach is a gamecher.
196. 7:54Visual effects artists gravitate to
197. 7:56Houdinis because its procedural workflow
198. 7:58is ideal for creating sophisticated
199. 8:00particle and dynamic simulations.
200. 8:03Because Houdini lets you build in effect
201. 8:05as a reusable system. So artist can
202. 8:08automate reactions to things happening
203. 8:10in a shot, giving more creative control
204. 8:12and more rapid turnaround in a
205. 8:15fast-paced pipeline. In essence, Houdini
206. 8:18is built to handle massive complexity
207. 8:20with consistency, which is a must for
208. 8:22blockbuster VFX work. Major VFX and
209. 8:25animation studios therefore keep Houdini
210. 8:28in their toolkit. In fact, Houdini
211. 8:30expertise is highly valued and rare. You
212. 8:33see, historically, fewer artists master
213. 8:36Houdini, and it was even priced
214. 8:38prohibitively in the past. So, those who
215. 8:41did became hot commodities. As one forum
216. 8:44member observed, the learning curve is
217. 8:46so steep that few artists achieved a
218. 8:49useful level. So, Houdini TD can demand
219. 8:53the big big box for their services in
220. 8:56studios. It is true that Houdini
221. 8:58specialists are in high demand in film,
222. 9:01TV, and game productions precisely
223. 9:03because they can do what others
224. 9:05sometimes can't do with their 3D
225. 9:07software, at least not in a timely
226. 9:09manner or with the same flexibility.
227. 9:12Studios like Digital, ILM, Pixar in
228. 9:15addition to others have relied on
229. 9:16Houdini for years to deliver cutting
230. 9:19edge effects. And I think to a certain
231. 9:21extent this difference in target
232. 9:23audience is even reflected in their
233. 9:25marketing and community culture.
234. 9:28Blender's community celebrates
235. 9:30accessibility with tutorials for every
236. 9:32level in addition to plug and play
237. 9:35add-on as sense that everyone can jump
238. 9:37in. On the other hand, in Hudini
239. 9:39community, while everyone is supportive
240. 9:42and sharing intricate setups, discussing
241. 9:44simulations in terms of solvers and
242. 9:46scripting and encouraging newcomers to
243. 9:49push through the foundational knowledge,
244. 9:51it is still hard to a certain extent
245. 9:53compared to a software such as Blender
246. 9:55in the Blender community. One Houdini
247. 9:58instructor even argues that learning
248. 10:00Houdini first ultimately gives a better
249. 10:02grounding in CGI fundamentals precisely
250. 10:05because it forces you to understand them
251. 10:08instead of offering shortcuts. In any
252. 10:10case, Houdini has found its niche among
253. 10:13those who need its power. And this
254. 10:15sentiment kind of encapsulates why
255. 10:17despite its difficulty, Houdini earns
256. 10:19such loyalty from longtime users.
257. 10:22because once you know how to use it, the
258. 10:24efficiency and capability can be a
259. 10:26superpower.
260. 10:28And there you have it, guys. If you like
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