Hi,

I am very new to Houdini, only know how to navigate the viewport I am an expert in Max, so if there are people using both and can give Max like examples, I would appreciate it alot.

My goal is to learn this app from inside out.

Anyway I was wondering if there is a way to assign a different material to newly created scene objects.

This might actually be solved by a different method, as even though I am asking about default materials, I just want to customize how new scenes looks before I work with it.

So essentially I want my own lighting and default material for new objects that has this kind of look:



In Max, you create a maxstart scene in the scene folder and Max loads it when you create a new scene.

Is this possible, too much work, or against the spirit of Houdini?


Thanks in advance.

Hi there,
default material is controlled by a env. variable:
HOUDINI_VEX_DEFAULT_SURFACE := ‘opdefShop/v_plastic’

Setting it to any Houdini's known material will make it default. This is kind of pipeline approach.

As to lights sets, you could modify 456.py scene start script to load at startup your custom light rig, so you have it always to a scene, although the look you provided doesn't need lights at all as it seems to be more like an ambient occlusion with a ramp or HDRI on a hemisphere, so in other words, surface shader should handle it.

Thanks Symek, although I am not sure how to access that env variable inside Houdini. Also how do you know which materials are Houdini's known materials? Is it just specifying the type or a particular instance?

So if I create a surface shader, I can get similar looks in the viewport? Can you point me to a document on how to create one? I assume this is a fairly complex procedure?


Thanks again.

magneto
Thanks Symek, although I am not sure how to access that env variable inside Houdini.

It's a environmental variable, so either you set in a shell, or on Windows google for “set system variable”. Perhaps the best way on Windows is to put it onto houdini.env:
http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini11.1/basics/config_env#id234771 [sidefx.com]

Also how do you know which materials are Houdini's known materials? Is it just specifying the type or a particular instance?

Sorry, I used a wrong word, I mean any shader installed in Houdini. You can check shader's name by RMB on a Shop (Operator Type: v_plastic)

So if I create a surface shader, I can get similar looks in the viewport? Can you point me to a document on how to create one? I assume this is a fairly complex procedure?

That's a different story. You can write your own GLSL shader and install it in Houdini, by File->New Operator Type->Shop Type/GLSL Shader. It's a rare thing though. Look for a threads about custom OpenGL shaders in Houdini.

Thanks Symek, I didn't realize they were the same as windows environment variables. I just thought they were some Houdini terms.

I will check out the additional info you wrote. Seems a little hard for me currently to set this up though.