In a nutshell : I ‘m new here, but experienced with 3DCG. Been using Lightwave for almost a decade and loved every minute of it…
However I ’ve always wanted to try this powerhouse by the name of Houdini… Let me say that the SideFX people are unbelievably great ! The apprentice version is just what I was waiting for… So now I ‘m working my way through it… and loving every minute of it
First impressions : “Oh my God !!!” This thing is in a league of its own ! It’s all I expected it to be and so, SO much more ! I ‘ve only “played” with it for a few hours yet, but I already feel it’s capable of ANYTHING…
Even in LW, I ‘m always looking for ways to automate things, kinda “force” LW to work in a procedural way… Houdini is 100% my way of creating VFX. And I thought LW was powerful (not that it isn’t, but still…) !
The available video tutorials are amazing - seeing as I ‘m not the reading type, the videos got me up and running in no time - really well presented. And the Apprentice version itself… NO significant crippling at all, I have the full Houdini power to learn with… SideFX, I can’t say enough, you guys are amazing.
The community looks great too, so it feels really good to be here
I absolutely love it. Steep learning curve or not, Houdini has already won me over. Like my partner said when I showed her the showreel, “Studios may say that they used Maya or Lightwave in the big movies, but it turns out that the shots that make us go ‘wow’ are always made in Houdini” !
I could go on and on for pages (!) but I 'll stop now. Glad to be here, and finally get into what the “big players” have always been using, whether advertised or not
PS - SideFX, your competitors could learn so much from you guys… A personal “thank you” for being so great in everything !
nixx