I am a student who has a little bit of self taught 3d experience, and liked the potential of the Houdini software and the good way they seem to treat students (especially in the money department), so I thought I would get download the free version and test it out (if I like it I guarantee I will get the 99 dollar version, thats an insane deal for any good 3d package…). The thing is, I was looking for some good self study material and I have a few questions.
first, I looked at The Magic of Houdini book, which got great reviews but is for houdini 8… I am reading about 9's new user interface, and I'm wondering if that book was made out of date and not worth getting since the new release? Are there any good books or study materials out for houdini 9 yet or do I need wait?

Thanks

Hi Rayman,

welcome to houdini! As far as i know the only book about houdini 9 is Craig's book “Houdini on the spot”. It's very nice but as the sub-title says, it's a power-user kinda thing. Of course this doesn't mean it's useless for people starting with houdini but it's in no way a book about how to learn houdini (you still should get it though )) You could get started with all the tutorials on the Sidefx website (check out the tutorial section, the old school blog and the H9 blog). Digital Tutors just made some free videos how to get started with houdini.

The Magic of Houdini is a very nice book and it is a great introduction to Houdini(8). If you are new to houdini i wouldn't suggest you'd use it though unless you start with the use of houdini 8 too. There are quite a few difference between H8 and H9 that can make it frustrating for someone who doesn't know the differences…

think i should stop now…need to get more coffee…anyway, good luck learning houdini and remember There is no try, do or do not (quoting some green fellow from a galaxy far away)

I think for some people the Houdini 8 interface would be a better interface to start learning on. H9 might be easier to click around and do stuff, but the interface might trap some people coming at it from a Maya-like perspective into thinking it's something like Maya.

So, I'd try out both and if H8 “clicks” it might be easier to understand the network workflow, or at least easier to follow the book, which I think is still the most definitive source for new Houdini users (sure helped me out a year ago)

Maybe just skip the materials part which changed quite a bit in 9

I think that the magic of houdini is a great resource for breaking the ice with Houdini. Some of it no longer applies to h9, however a very large portion (95-99%?) of it is still very much relevant.
And just as andrewlowell said, you can still download version 8 and use that if you wanted to.

Some of the other pay-for learning materials out there are the gnommon dvds. Garman Herigstad's “Houdini 101: Interface and Workflow” is fantastic and has some cool projects. This is also based on version 8, but again it doesn't impact the value of the lessons.

I don't know if you're geared toward video tutorials or not, but there are a good number of video tutorials for houdini 9 here on the site in the Learning section.

Digital Tutors is currently working on H9 videos as well and has released a few free ones on their site.

Last I heard 3DBuzz is also working on a whole series of videos.

The DT ones are actually pretty beginner friendly. I might suggest starting there.

my learning curve is:
+ what has been said

in the help, i investigate all the examples come with the application, that i interested.

i download any hip files,that others post. this two are really acclerated move that you might thing. and some hip files contains some brilliant solutions,that you can't find in the books or vids.and i say “oh,that easy?”

There are some Gnomen videos for H8 that are really good as well as you can check out Garmin's website at http://www.vizyacky.com/ [vizyacky.com] He's an excellent instructor and has a few tutorials on his site if you dig around. Good Luck!