Sorry if this has been answered. I'm continuing to evaluate my options & I've been watching as many YouTube, Vimeo, etc., Houdini tutorials that I can find to learn more about it.

The one thing that struck me the other day is, it seems like all the nodes only have 1 input and only do 1 thing. So it seems like you have to do a LOT more work in Houdini when compared to ICE because it looks like you have to start from scratch for nearly everything (unless you've previously built a tool and saved it for yourself).

The thing that saves me, as a non-TD person, is how ICE is color coded & therefore makes it clear what can plug into what & almost every node has very clear inputs and outputs that help you understand how things should be wired up. Houdini doesn't seem to have anything similar at all. Is that really the case?

Secondly, I am way more on the artist-side of things and when I look at Houdini I realize I don't think I could do even the simplest of things. For example, how would you modulate a deformer by a null? In ICE I can apply a deformation to a mesh or point cloud and then test if the mesh or pointcloud is inside a null (or inside geometry) and then use that to affect the deformation.

Houdini certainly seems like the future to me, but I'd hate to invest in it and find out I simply can't wrap my head around the Houdini way.

Thanks,

Paul

Do your self a favor and go through a couple of introductory tutorials [sidefx.com]. You will grasp basic concepts very quickly. Houdini is a big application with lots of rooms inside. Some are older, some newer, not everything is easy transferable to XSI concepts, just keep in mind this is the mother of all procedural, node based systems. ICE is loosely shaped after just one of Houdini's 12 years old innovation: VOPs (yes, type colored multi-input and multi-output!)

Good luck!

yes, what Symek says.
Also for an quick idea on how to transfer some SI concepts, this thread might be useful
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&t=31222 [sidefx.com]

I've been trying to read and watch as many tutorials as possible.

But am I wrong in my understanding that most everything in Houdini first needs to be built from scratch & then you can reuse it later?

My ultimate concern is - Houdini seems like a no brainer for Softimage TD's. I'm not a TD. I am an artist with enough knowledge to be reasonably productive (but mostly I rely on things like Mootzoid plug-ins to accomplish what I need). I'm not totally convinced I can recoup the investment if I end up going with Houdini because I simply don't have the technical skills necessary to use Houdini.

I would love it if someone with both ICE and Houdini knowledge could create a Vimeo channel that would simply show an A-B comparison of how you'd do something in ICE versus how the same thing is accomplished in Houdini. I think that'd really help sell Softimage users on Houdini in general.



-Paul

You probably didn´t take much attention to my post so I´m going to try again.

If you download the latest Mark Schoennagel ICE tutorial, and then my tutorial you have a direct A to B comparison on how to do things with both systems.
I did it exactly with that intention.

Yes - I have that video in my “to watch” list - that's what gave me the idea of creating an entire channel.

The one issue with that particular video I had was the sound is almost impossible to hear.

-Paul

Out of interest how do you define a TD and an artist? You're sounding quite technically knowledgeable already.

Try Nevudu's video again, he tweaked the audio.

There are also some techniques from the emTools suite such as this:
http://www.mootzoid.com/case/case9990-yu-jaeho-emfluid4-liquid [mootzoid.com]

Which have been replicated in Houdini:
http://vimeo.com/36791437 [vimeo.com]

An example file can be found here:
http://forums.odforce.net/topic/8471-eetus-lab/?p=92634 [forums.odforce.net]

Thanks! That's great to see!

Sorry for these seemingly basic or uneducated posts but Houdini represents a fairly significant investment - both financially and from a learning perspective.

I'm not young (I started on the Amiga 1000 in the 1980's when I was in high school), and a lot of what I know how to do is hard-wired at this point. So whichever direction I end up going is probably going to be what I use for the remainder of my career.

I have a lot riding on this decision.

-Paul

You know you're learning, when your head is hurting.

Counter-intuitively learning is much harder than doing, but, the rewards are immense!

Yep, I always know I'm learning when I feel a deep sense of confusion, inner torment and an acute existential torrent of panick…. Then the next morning; IT CLICKS… :shock: