Basics

Introduces Houdini’s new user interface, with a tour of the main window and links to various user interface topics.

How to tumble (orbit), track, dolly (zoom), and customize the scene view.

How to select objects, geometry, particles, and dynamics for use with other tools.

Lets you quickly add a node in the network editor or choose a tool in the viewer from a pop-up menu or by typing.

The value ladder lets you interactively change numeric values with mouse movements.

Explains how objects, geometry containers, and surface nodes work in Houdini.

Parenting makes a child object’s transformations (moves, rotations, and scales) relative to those of a parent object.

An overview of the different parts of the scene: objects, geometry, components, attributes, etc.

Houdini includes various tools that let you select, assign color, comb, and sculpt geometry and attributes by “brushing” across surfaces with the mouse or a tablet stylus.

Houdini displays controls on objects and components in the viewer called handles, which you can manipulate to set parameters.

How to configure Houdini to match your project and workflow.

Frequently asked questions about the user interface and general topics.

A quick, basic introduction to using Houdini.

How to view custom attributes in the scene view.

Bundles allow you to refer to a group of objects as a single unit. This is useful in situations such as lighting where you can link a bundle of lights all at once.

In Houdini, recomputing the look and contents of the scene when the underlying network changes is called cooking the scene.