Learn create VFX and 3D with Houdini | Free eBook PDF

As a creator of 3D animation and VFX for Film, TV, Video Games and VR, you need a combination of technical and creative skills.

Houdini is perfect for bringing these worlds together as you explore, create and refine your CG projects from concept to final signoff. Become a professional VFX creator with the kit below.

Part 1: Houdini Foundations

Houdini Foundations | Overview (file PDF)

This overview chapter contains general information about Houdini that will help you become familiar with important concepts and ideas. While you might not understand it all in your first pass, this chapter will be a valuable reference point as you build up your knowledge

Houdini Foundations | Model, Render, Animate (file PDF)

In this lesson you will start from scratch to model, render, animate, and simulate a soccer ball . You will create a classic bouncing ball animation using the principles of squash and stretch, apply textures and materials, add lights and cameras, and explore the use of dynamics to simulate a group of soccer balls. 

Project file (ZIP)

Houdini Foundations | Nodes, Networks & Digital Assets

A great way to understand Houdini’s node-based workflow is to explore it in the context of a project. It is important to start learning how to think and work procedurally. In this lesson, you will learn how to create your own custom brickify tool using procedural nodes and networks to define its function and interface.

Houdini Foundations | Smashing Wine Glass

In this Houdini Foundations lesson, you will smash a wine glass then slow down time to hold onto the big splash. This effect involves both an RBD simulation for the shattered glass and a fluid simulation for the wine.

Introduction to Houdini

UI and Navigation

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the Houdini user interface and learn how to navigate the 3D scene view. You will also learn about Houdini's procedural workflow and how it will play a role in how you work with the nodes and networks.

Procedural Modeling

In this lesson, you will work with Houdini's modeling tools. You will learn how to work interactively in the viewport and also how to use the node view to generate geometry procedurally.

Attributes and Copy

Attributes play an important role in procedural workflows and this lesson shows you how to work with them in Houdini. You will also explore the copy node which can use those attributes to control the outcome.

VOPS, VEX and Ramps

In this lesson, you will learn about an important scripting language in Houdini called VEX (Vector Expression) which can be set up interactively using VOP nodes and controlled with UI elements such as ramps.

Solaris and LOPS

In this lesson, you will be introduced to Houdini's new context for lookdev, layout and lighting called LOPS. This new suite of tools is also known as Solaris and works together with the new Karma Render (beta).

Houdini Isn't Scary

Houdini Isn't Scary | Part 1 | Basics

A tutorial series which goes over the absolute basics to allow people to find the path of least resistance into Houdini. It is important to me that people are not intimidated by Houdini as it is an incredible piece of software with some of the most amazing support I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. This series attempts to allow people into Houdini as complete beginners with only a very basic level of understanding of 3D principles.

Houdini Isn't Scary | Part 2 | Objects

Welcome back to Part 2 of Houdini Isn't Scary. In this part, we pick up from where we left off last time. We are going over objects. In Houdini, we place objects in our object network. Each object contains further nodes. As such, each object is a culmination of many nodes. We represent the chain of nodes as one object. This tutorial shows how we can work with multiple objects and have them relate to each other. Furthermore, we also touch on attributes. These are one of the biggest upsides to Houdini. In the next part, we are starting on dynamics. Hope you enjoy!

Houdini Isn't Scary | Part 3 | Dynamics

In this part, we go over how to create dynamics. Dynamics are things that are driven by time. In Houdini, there is a separate context for working with Dynamics; it's called DOPs (Dynamic Operators). Other geometry based work is done in SOPs (Surface Operators). In this tutorial though, we are going to be working with POPs (Particle Operators which are a subset of DOPs). When we create a dynamics network, we intend on outputting a simulation. A simulation is simply the calculated output of a dynamics network. If our network tries to calculate how liquid would move over time, it would take fluid dynamics into account, do some calculations (this part takes time for the computer to do) and then output a simulation. If we change anything in the dynamics network, we would need to re-simulate. All of the calculations are done by what is known as a solver. Each type of dynamics network in Houdini uses a different solver (FLIP, Pyro, Vellum, RBD, etc.). The idea in this part is to create some particles, sprinkle them over the donut dynamically, bring it into our sprinkles node, and turn each particle into a sprinkle with our existing setup.

Houdini Isn't Scary | Part 3.5 | FAQ

Welcome back to another Houdini Isn't Scary Tutorial. This one is more of a clarification lesson. I highly suggest you watch it as it goes over some important techniques for not losing your mind and crying into a pillow while using Houdini. These are some of the 'Gotchas' in the basics of Houdini and this tutorial will remove the fear factor from each problem you may have. In Part 4, we will be tackling a brand new section of Houdini so you can treat this as a breather for now. If you need anything or have any questions, please leave a comment down below. Even if you have a criticism or suggestion, we're always happy to hear from you. If you found some value in this video, please consider leaving a like, subscribing and/or visiting our Patreon. Thanks for watching! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NineBetween

Houdini Isn't Scary | Part 4 | Rendering Setup

Welcome back to Houdini Isn't Scary - Part 4: Lights, Camera, Icing. In this tutorial, we are going over the setting up of a render. 'Rendering' is the process of taking our objects and creating an output. That output in this case is an image. When we render in Houdini, we are basically taking a picture of the objects in our scene (the donut, icing and sprinkles). Much like in real life, you cannot take a picture unless you have a camera and your camera is useless unless there is light. In Houdini we create lights and a camera. However, something else that comes into play is the way that the actual objects interact with light. Objects are gold, pink, black, white, rough, glossy, metallic, see-through etc... We need to do this in Houdini as well. For this, we create materials. These materials control the way our objects look. We control all of the needed settings for our materials by using a shader. A shader is a system that controls how light shades an object. In Houdini, we generally use the Principled Shader. This is a shader that is meant to be intuitive and simple because it has been cut down to its basics. However, it strives to be realistic in the way it represents objects. Simply, we don't have to do any complicated math as to how light bounces or interacts with an object, we can just set some parameters and the Principled Shader does the rest. It also comes with presets. You want glass? Use the glass preset. You want gold paint? Use the gold paint preset. You want anything else? You can make it yourself with little difficulty. Finally, once we have all of that, we can render our scene. In the next part, we will see how to save the renders to disk. We will also cover what are known as ROPS. They have their own extra settings that we can configure which change the way the render comes out.

Houdini Isn't Scary Project | Part 1 | Intermediate Objects

This tutorial goes over how to begin creating a simple effect based on current popular 3D renderings. This part is the start of the Project part of this series. We are going to be creating a reasonably simple effect where we drop a ball through a pipe onto a platform. The ball then bounces twice, after which, it turns into a fluid. In this part, we're setting up all of the necessary objects for this video.

Houdini Isn't Scary Project | Part 2 | Intermediate Materials and Lighting

Part 2 of the Houdini Isn't Scary Project. In this part, we go over materials and lighting for the scene created in the previous part. It is part of a project to ease non-Houdini users into Houdini and broaden the audience that Houdini is viable for. This one explains how HDRIs work in conjunction with Mantra, why it is better to use fewer light sources, how to decrease shadow intensity and many other aspects of the lighting process in Houdini.

Houdini Isn't Scary Project | Part 3 | Rigid Body Dynamics

This is part 3 of the Houdini Isnt Scary Project where we start on the dynamics of the project. This part goes over basic Rigid Body Dynamics and how to set up the dynamics network. We cover the setup and how to set the initial state of your simulation. It covers the physical properties of dynamics objects. Additionally, it covers outputting the dynamics using a DOP I/O.

Houdini isn't Scary Project | Part 4 | FLIP Fluid Dynamics

The more difficult part of the dynamics of this project. It introduces new users to Flip dynamics and how to set up a simulation without shelf tools so that there can be a development of independence and understanding. It covers the basics but also touches on some more intermediate areas of the flip solver and related network aspects.

Houdini Kitchen for Games

Networks and Nodes

This is the first of the Houdini Kitchen tutorials, which are aimed at game developers creating procedural content with Houdini. This tutorial takes an overview of a scene in Houdini and explains how its elements relate to other 3D software. It looks at some of the ways geometry can be manipulated and how a basic Digital Asset is set up and used in a scene.

The Transform Node

This tutorial looks at the Transform node, which is relatively simple, then uses this interface to demonstrate some of the power of Houdini to drive parameters with expressions. It shows how just this one node can be transformed into a useful tool called a Houdini Digital Asset, and how to set this up.

Geometry Primitives

An in depth look at the Geometry Primitives that can be used as basic building blocks in Houdini. This is a very practical tutorial that will tell you everything you need to know about the different types of geometry you can create and when you might want to use them.

Introduction to VOPs

This tutorial is an introduction to the VOP network which is too large a subject to cover in a single tutorial. We look at the attribute VOP and explain how it is used to manipulate and create point attributes, focusing on maths and noise. These are used to create a low polygon little planet.

The Merge Node

A short tutorial on how and when to use the merge node, and how you can use groups to access individual sources after they have been merged.

The Scatter Node

A look at the Scatter Node which is used to place random points on a surface. It covers different ways of driving point placement (point counts, textures, density attribute) and dives deeper into working with attribute VOPs. It demonstrates how this node can be used to create a realistic distribution of vegetation.

Group Nodes

This tutorial looks at how to create and use groups in Houdini. It covers the group node, the group range node, the group transfer node and the group combine node. These are demonstrated by the creation of a chessboard which is controlled by chess notation.

All about Houdini Digital Assets

Houdini Digital Assets (HDAs) are networks of nodes that can be packaged up to simplify commonly used tasks in Houdini or to create tools that can be used in external software. This tutorial shows you how to set them up for different uses and to create correctly formatted geometry

The Attribute Transfer Node

This tutorial looks at the Attribute Transfer Node which passes information from one object to another based on their position in space. It uses a network that places tree roots on a hillside to demonstrate various ways in which attribute transfer can be used to create realistic procedural scenes.

Introducing Volumes and VDBs

An introduction to the different types of volumes Houdini can create, and some examples of their use in procedural geometry creation.

Lines and Curves

Back to basics, with an explanation of how curves are used in Houdini, covering the Line, Curve, Ends, Curvedraw and add nodes. The these are shown in action when we create a procedural racing track generator

Copy Stamping and the Foreach Loop

This tutorial describes how to use point attributes to influence upstream input nodes, first using the traditional Copy Stamp Node then again using the Foreach Loop nodes as recommended by sidefx. Then it takes an in depth look at the other uses of a Foreach loop: Looping by pieces, by number, and fractals.

UV Tools

This Tutorial is an Overview of the different nodes available to create UVs in Houdini, and also covers setup, display and previewing of UVs and textures in Houdini, and demonstrates a quick way to display PBR textures.

L-Systems Node

An in-depth tutorial on the principles of writing L-Systems in Houdini using examples from Aristid Lindenmayer's book 'The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants'. After watching this tutorial you should be able to understand all the elements of an L-System, and be able to create your own from scratch.

Houdini’s Structure

H in 5 | Part 01 | Houdini’s Structure

In this first video we’re talking about the underlying structure of contexts that make up Houdini. It is in many ways similar to an operating system where inidvidual apps for individual tasks are strung together.

H in 5 | Part 02 | Your First Node Tree

Let’s get cracking and build our very first setup!

H in 5 | Part 03 | Attributes

What on earth did we just do?! Let’s talk a bit more about one of Houdini’s fundamental building blocks: Attributes.

H in 5 | Part 04 | Rendering

What is geometry worth if we can’t generate an image out of it? Let’s do this by setting up Mantra, Houdini’s built in render engine.

H in 5 | Part 05 | Making Your Rendering Look Nicer

A bit of depth of field can never harm! Learn how to tweak your render settings in Mantra for final rendering.

H in 5 | Part 06 | Art Directing Your Scattered Spheres

How about we start art directing our scattered spheres and rebuild our setup so we can paint where we want our objects to got? Look no further!

H in 10 | Part 07 | Animating The Spheres

Let’s get things moving and build procedural animations using our scatter setup. And while we’re at it why not talk a bit about more or less clever ways to set this up…

H in 5 | Part 08 | Exporting To Alembic

A few words on how to get our animated geo out into other tools. And more importantly a few thoughts about helping yourself when stuck in Houdini.

H in 5 | Part 09 | For-Loops & Extrusions

Apart from attributes, loops and iterative techniques are maybe the most useful concept when building your procedural geometry inside Houdini. With very efficient node trees we can cook up pretty intricate effects.

H in 5 | Part 12 | Setting Up Particles

This video will give you a brief introduction on how to set up your very first particle system using Houdini’s POPs (Particle Operators). Houdini isn’t just a great tool for procedural geometry creation – it’s also the single most powerful particle system we’ve seen to this day. Plus: The particles are deeply integrated into Houdini’s functionality, so you can combine them with virtually any tool Houdini has to offer.

H in 5 | Part 13 | Setting Up Grains

With version 17, Houdini introduced a new simulation framework called vellum. It is based on position based dynamics and thus offers a relatively fast way to simulate a multitude of effects. In our case we’re gonna use it to set up a bunch of grains which we’re then going to texture to display our logo once they’ve fallen to the ground.

H in 5 | Part 14 | Rendering Grains In Redshift

After we’re done setting up our simulation, let’s render it! This time using Redshift, one of our favorite engines when it comes to working and rendering in Houdini. Yes it doesn’t come with Houdini. Yes it’s a third party addon. Yes it costs money. However we think that currently a third party engine (no matter if it’s Redshift, Octane, Vray, Arnold, Renderman, 3Delight or whatever you prefer) is about the only chance a small studio / freelancer has when it comes to rendering out sequences without using a render farm. So let’s get rendering!

H in 5 | Part 15: Packed Primitives (Theory)

Let’s dive into our last bunch of videos in this first sprint of “Houdini in five minutes” with a seemingly dry topics: Packed Primitives / Instances. Although slightly technical, it’s a powerful concept that enables Houdini to work on massive scenes.

H in 5 | Part 16: Building A Flip Display Using MOPs

Let’s put our newfound knowledge of packed primitives and the MOPs toolkit to use and build a straightforward mechanical display!

H in 5 | Part 17: SOPs, Redshift & MOPs - Isocontours: Setting Up The Terrain

In our final project for this first sprint of “Houdini in five minutes” we’re gonna build a tactical shooter style isocontour map with a bunch of moving particles. We’re gonna be using Houdini’s built in SOPs, a bit of MOPs and Redshift. In this first part we’re building the map itself using Houdini’s Boolean SOP.

H in 5 | Part 18: SOPs, Redshift & MOPs - Isocontours: Setting Up The Particles

In our final project for this first sprint of “Houdini in five minutes” we’re gonna build a tactical shooter style isocontour map with a bunch of moving particles. We’re gonna be using Houdini’s built in SOPs, a bit of MOPs and Redshift. In this second part we’re setting up moving particles using MOPs.

H in 5 | Part 19: SOPs, Redshift & MOPs - Isocontours: Setting Up The Rendering

In our final project for this first sprint of “Houdini in five minutes” we’re gonna build a tactical shooter style isocontour map with a bunch of moving particles. We’re gonna be using Houdini’s built in SOPs, a bit of MOPs and Redshift. In this third part we’re setting up our scene for rendering in Redshift.

Houdini Practice

Banana Project | Part 01

In this part of the banana project, you will go through five lessons covering topics such as setting up the scene in Houdini, blocking out the banana, applying edge loops and subdivs, shading and defining with edit nodes and adding creases.

Banana Project | Part 02

Now that you have the banana model, you will learn how to set up UVS, paint a texture in 3D Coat, then shade and render to create the final image.

Toothbush Project | Part 01

In these lessons, you will create a toothbrush scene using various tools and techniques.

Toothbrush Project | Part 02

This tutorial series „Houdini Practice Hour“ is meant for newbies in Houdini FX, who want to learn the basic tasks of modeling, uvs, shading, lighting and rendering on a project base in Houdini FX. I will explain to you step by step the workflows and tools, so you can follow along and then experiment for deepening your knowledge. Learning means „getting your hands dirty“. This series doesn’t give you the most effective, elegant or the "only right way", it’s concepted to give you a solid learning experience.

Free Video Houdini course (Youtube)

Games Quickstart (Video)