I have a question about workflow and lighting. I have a Maya scene where most of the work is being done. I used houdini to create Geo/Simulation. My question is - How do I match the lighting in the Houdini scene? I have found that importing simulations from H to Maya don't always translate well. (Maybe I am not doing it right) Otherwise I would just import .abc and light it Maya and render, but this isn't the case. What would be the workflow for matching the Houdini sim with the lighting in Maya? Everything will be composited in NUKE. I'm thinking there is a way to export lights from Maya to Houdini? I just don't know, nor do I have anyone around here to ask.

Thanks for the help team!

From my research the only possible method right now is via FBX.

Transformation, rotation, color and intensity values are kept.
Light type, shadow parms, exposure, attenuation options get lost.
Some light types (env, area, skydome) cannot be transferred.

This method can be used only for simple light setups. (distant key lights)

MAYA export > HOUDINI import
-area light and skydome light are not recognized = not transferable
-point light ok (LIGHT point), attenuation option falls to no attenuation.
-directional light (LIGHT_key) converted to ‘grid’ type, attenuation option falls to no attenuation.


To “correct” the lights imported in Houdini you will need to tweak the attenuation option and the intensity.
For the directional light you will switch the type parm from ‘grid’ to ‘distant’ or ‘sun’.


Other methods for Redshift:
Redshift Lightrig - Maya to Houdini
https://github.com/joppevos/Maya-to-Houdini [github.com]


I am hoping new possibilities will open up with the USD workflow. (LOP)

I have been test lighting between Max And Maya,
You get gamma lighting for max better,If you see Pic Render Maya It look dark lighting,I'm not testing In Houdini Lighting,I guess it look good gamma In Houdini.