Font
surface node
Creates 3D text from Type 1 and TrueType fonts.
On Windows, Houdini automatically scans the system font directory for fonts.
On other platforms, click Start Font Manager in the Font SOP’s parameter editor, or run gfont -i in a shell to open the Font Manager. In the Font Manager, click the plus button and select your font.
For Type 1 fonts, use .pfb files instead of .afp and .afm files.
Make sure that the font.index file is not read-only.
Placing a Font object in the viewer
| To... | Do this |
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Place the font object anywhere in the scene |
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Place the font object at the origin |
Text can be moved once it is placed by either dragging it in the scene view or changing the values in the parameter editor.
You can choose different font types from the Font drop-down menu, change text in the Text menu, and change the size of text in the Font Size menu on the operation controls toolbar.
Font Handles
There are special handles available at the geometry level for the font object that allow you to stretch and squash it.
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Move to the geometry level by double clicking
the font node in the network editor or by clicking the Jump to Operator button on the operation controls toolbar. -
Drag the handles to squash or stretch the text.
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Stretch or squash the font along the x-axis |
Drag the red handle. |
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Stretch or squash the font along the y-axis |
Drag the green handle. |
Parameters
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Primitive Type |
Type of geometry to create. |
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Start Font Manager |
Starts the Font Installer/Deinstaller. |
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Font |
Font used to create the text. |
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Text |
Text to be generated. |
To create vertical text, press Alt + ((e)) in this parameter field to open the expression editor. Any line breaks in the expression editor will be reflected in your text.
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Center Text Horizontally |
Centers text horizontally about Center point. |
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Center Text Vertically |
Centers text vertically about Center point. |
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Center |
Translates the geometry along xyz axes. |
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Scale XY |
Scale factors along x and y axes. |
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Font Size |
Single control for controlling the size. The scale is applied on top of this. |
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Kern XY |
Kerning in x-direction. Leading in y-direction. For per character spacing use the Model mode. |
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Italic Angle |
Shear, in degrees, to apply to text. |
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Level of Detail |
Controls the number of points in polygonal fonts. |
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Hole Faces |
Generates holes in polygons and Bezier faces. |
Example files
BubblyFont
$HFS/houdini/help/examples/nodes/sop/font/BubblyFont.cmd
The Font SOP is used to create 3D text geometry in the scene.
The geometry may be set to Polygon, Bezier, or a combination of the two.
With the combination, Bezier will be used for letters containing curves, and Polygon will be used for those with only straight edges.
Fonts other than those loaded by default may be loaded in the Font parameter.