Hi, who else does direct modelling in Houdini? Does the number of nodes you create matter? Not many tutorials out there. Why? Is modeling worth learning in Houdini or is it mostly better to just focus on VFX?

from a confused artist.

Thank you for your guidance.

Pascal

Yes, it is worth learning direct modeling. The number of nodes you create does not matter, but you need some organization (proper naming, networks, node shapes and colors, notes, sticky notes, subnetworks, object merges when the lines get overwhelming, etc.) or else the node tree can get confusing. I recommend the free hipflax tutorials for some suggestions on that. One of the issues with Houdini is that it is not very forgiving of half understanding concepts. You can get away with that using other 3D programs, but it will come back and bite you in Houdini.

If you really don't want to look at nodes, you can freeze a node or right click and export as a bgeo (or obj) file and then replace the node tree with a file node that imports that bgeo.

You can Ask users Max And Maya,Like Me,Why I modeling direct in houdini,Some point I want say Why I can't start modeling in Houdini I stay using both maya and max,I'm working in Studio ArchiViz.
I modelign in maya + scripts ,juste max for rendering in vray,because max has good gamma lighting,maya a little bit dark lighting.For that why I chose houdini for lighting.
This time I want focus only side modeling ArchiViz,I'm sure houdini can do it, with flexbelity of hundred instance.Like Building ,Windows,Doors,Trees,Palms,etc…
But The problems of houdini,not support ArchViz,For Ex You need buy models like Evermotion to add to scene,Not Availble Houdini vray,For that You can export FBX And rewrite setting Material.

Island
Yes, it is worth learning direct modeling. The number of nodes you create does not matter, but you need some organization (proper naming, networks, node shapes and colors, notes, sticky notes, subnetworks, object merges when the lines get overwhelming, etc.) or else the node tree can get confusing. I recommend the free hipflax tutorials for some suggestions on that. One of the issues with Houdini is that it is not very forgiving of half understanding concepts. You can get away with that using other 3D programs, but it will come back and bite you in Houdini.

If you really don't want to look at nodes, you can freeze a node or right click and export as a bgeo (or obj) file and then replace the node tree with a file node that imports that bgeo.

Thank you. Awesome. So far out of all the software that i tried, Houdini is my fav. It works everything. No quirks or functions that don't work. thank you

snapag
You can Ask users Max And Maya,Like Me,Why I modeling direct in houdini,Some point I want say Why I can't start modeling in Houdini I stay using both maya and max,I'm working in Studio ArchiViz.
I modelign in maya + scripts ,juste max for rendering in vray,because max has good gamma lighting,maya a little bit dark lighting.For that why I chose houdini for lighting.
This time I want focus only side modeling ArchiViz,I'm sure houdini can do it, with flexbelity of hundred instance.Like Building ,Windows,Doors,Trees,Palms,etc…
But The problems of houdini,not support ArchViz,For Ex You need buy models like Evermotion to add to scene,Not Availble Houdini vray,For that You can export FBX And rewrite setting Material.

Good to know. Thank you> I got Maya for a year. Not a fan. it works well but the pie menu makes no sense to me and sometimes finding functions slows me down :-(
Thank you

plabill23
Hi, who else does direct modelling in Houdini? Does the number of nodes you create matter? Not many tutorials out there. Why? Is modeling worth learning in Houdini or is it mostly better to just focus on VFX?

from a confused artist.

Thank you for your guidance.

Pascal

From my point of view: this is the right time to start learning modelling in Houdini. I probably wouldn't have said this half a year ago, but Houdini has made huge leaps recently, mostly through the “SideFX LAbs” project which focuses mainly on making all the complexity of Houdini accessible to pure (non coding) artists and turn them into quick and useful tools.
The modelling toolset has evolved a lot over the past few years. There is still a few things you will have to give up on when switching to H, like multi object editing, entering absolute numeric values for components, resizable viewports in Quad view and other stuff. But starting to get along with what you got and evolve with Houdini over the coming years is probably a good idea.
There are a bunch of good tutorials out there showing some of the newer tools which in part actually trump over the same tools in other applications (however quirky they might behave some times.) THere are also a lot more tutorials on modelling specifically recently which documents the progress of the software in this are.

I am making the transition myself (coming from Softimage, Max, Maya, C4d, Lightwave) after sporadically using H for several years now and I find it much more of a competition to the other apps today than it was not too long ago.
There are a lot of little things that can make you life easier that are unfortunately not well documented.


So get your apprentice or indie License today and start watching tutorials and make yourself familiar with the interaction concepts. It will take some time but the time to start is now.

Edit: It is probably a good idea to look at the MOPS tools as well beside the Labs tools.

H18 with plugin Modeler,can to start direct modeling,I haven't tested,It look like other package,Houdini standard can't do without plugins and scripts to customize your pipeline modeling,That need A lot understand some basic VEX python, better to make tools for accelere workflow.

Sidefx just can't make artist-friendly tools, that's why. When it comes to technical tools, Houdini is like a beast, but poor when it comes to user interaction tools.

EricSheng
Sidefx just can't make artist-friendly tools, that's why. When it comes to technical tools, Houdini is like a beast, but poor when it comes to user interaction tools.

Oh, I think they can. They just don't have a history with that.
Again, if you look at the Labs tools there are a few things that turn the technical tools into artist friendly stuff, like the “spiral” node.
You could do helixes before but you had to use a set of nodes and vex to build a setup for it. With the spiral node SideFX did that for you. Now we basically have a new primitive. I surely hope there is more to come, but I am also sure they have understood the problem. They have just started to “fix” it and it is not the main focus so it will have to evolve. The newer tools like polydraw and bevel with their direct viewport interaction features are pretty clever and user friendly. That doesn't mean Houdini beats other DCC apps in the modelling area but it is catching up and starts becoming a viable all-round tool instead of a VFX toolbox.

I am very critical in that respect and I waited a long time (I started using apprentice in 2010) until I decided to make the full transition and I am only now confident I can do everything I need for my all round work in Houdini - in a reasonable time. Switching between apps is not a viable workflow for me. It just generates more work and introduces errors and obstacles.

Hey OP, a phrase I've seen being thrown around concerning Houdini is that most things in the application start with SOPs (That is Surface Operators, or geometry operations) and end with SOPs. Meaning in order to start becoming comfortable with Houdini you must learn how to modify geometry, this includes direct modeling which you can certainly do. I recommend this course [www.udemy.com] by indie-pixel to get started. It approaches the problem with a hybrid of direct and procedural modeling, each employed when it is appropriate to do so. I find it to be an excellent introduction. It does lean on the lengthy side but it is worth in order to start getting comfortable with Houdini. After this I recommend hipflask tutorials which covers fundamentals quite deeply, making sure they stay with you in the future.

Concerning your original question I think it is worth learning modeling in Houdini because at the end of the day it is an application built to modify 3D geometry and it lets you do so very well. In fact it grants you that possibility so efficiently it then becomes a matter of you learning how to employ its tools for your needs. But rest assured that Houdini has the sufficient tools to mostly do what you want.

Hope you find the response useful.