Houdini 20.0 Shelf tools

Null shelf tool

Creates a null object which can be used to hold a place in a scene, and never renders.

On this page

Overview

A Null object can also be used as an End Affector for constructing chains of bones.

It is often used as a parent, which can be used to rotate and transform multiple objects at once.

Null objects can also be used in animation with a Look At. You can set the Camera to look at the null object instead of the actual character so that the camera follows the character but does not move with it. Using the null this way will prevent the camera from moving up and down if a character is jumping.

Placing a Null in the viewer

To...Do this

Place the null anywhere in the scene

  1. Click the Null tool on the Create tab.

  2. Move the cursor into the scene view.

    Note

    You can hold Alt to detach the null from the construction plane.

  3. Click LMB to place the null anywhere in the scene view.

    If you press Enter without clicking, Houdini places the null at the origin.

Place the null at the origin

Press ⌃ Ctrl + LMB on the Null tool on the shelf.

You can change the display, control type, and shading of the null on the Misc tab of the parameter editor.

For specific parameter help see the Null node help.

See also

Shelf tools

Using the shelf

  • Customize the shelf

    How to change the look of the shelf, change and rearrange its contents, and create your own shelf tools.

Technical