hey been lurking around a loot years
but at last i figured out what i want.
I am aiming for vfx work. so i need some way of integrating video, pictures Whit cg vfx and good cheap programs i need beside houdini

Cheap application for doing 2d compositing?
http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html [adobe.com]

Free application for doing 3D?
http://www.blender.org/ [blender.org]

It's a very vague question so thats the best I can do. But it should be all you need to have a play around.

thanks a lot well yeah i am fascinated whit the effect things ).
But yeah still got a lot to learn.
What i would like to do is mixing effects and pictures and video all given time.
so i am gonna keep my questions on the fx work on this post
what i am for is simple videos for you-tube.
And that kind and maybe a day be able to do some really cool things.

I'd suggest starting with Maya or Blender rather than Houdini.
Houdini has a much steeper learning curve that I think is a little bit harder for beginners to pick up.

true but i have acses to cmvifx and a payed hd licens so just have to study and work hard

Cool, CMIVFX is a good resource.
Good luck!

yeah they are good
but yeah just know i have a long and fun journey ahead of me

For sure CMIvfx is good, make sure you wathc the fundamentals video and if you need more background on houdini check Peter Quint's videos on vimeo, the basics are very well thought out!

Cheers

https://sites.google.com/site/pqhoudinitutorial/home/videos-on-the-basics-1 [sites.google.com]

nice thanks for that link
been looking at blender and it seems like a good option to model in
while houdini renders
been thinking and i need to be able to use animations and stuff before vfx

Actually, if you are just starting and do not have a lot of background/familiarization with other apps, I think Houdini is the best app to go for.
I completely disagree that Houdini in itself is harder than Maya or any other high-end package. Quite the opposite, is more logical and open. Someone with no prior knowledge of 3D can usually understand SOP networks faster than the Maya Hypergraph.
People that have the most problems seem to be intermediate-level users of other packages, who find it hard to adapt to Houdini because it is different to what they already know.

Dragos

@digital yeah been watching a lot of cmvifx video.
But yeah would love to mix cg whit pictures and videos.
but is saving for a camra trackers software.
But i it is gona take some time to figure out where to use procedural and
where to use box up and when to employ more advanced techniques

hmm is running my head into a wall atm
but gotta start at some thing basic and then see
i feel like i am trying to shoot higher then i can fly

Have you followed the “Getting Started” section of the learning area on the main website?

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=192&Itemid=351 [sidefx.com]

I recently started learning Houdini as I've had some downtime and found following and doing the above lessons to be hugely beneficial.

Also if you find you are having trouble creating something then you should start small and work your way towards your bigger goals.

Divide and conquer is a useful strategy when things just get to be too much.

Cheers.

When i was migrating from Maya (used it for 2+ years) to Houdini 4 months ago, it was hard to adapt to a new platform and only got comfortable with it after close to 2 months (I used it daily 9-6).

Was thrown into a full Houdini Project, my role was lighting and optimization/rendering hence i was able to focus hard on those aspects. Else i'll probably be off track trying to pick up bits of knowledge from everywhere (SOP/COP/DOP/SHOP etc). I would recommend to learn basic modeling techniques within Houdini just like how i learned that in Maya before jumping into effects or any other thing.

Maybe people who have zero knowledge of other 3D applications will have easier time picking up Houdini, love to hear others' experience and advice!

eitht.