Right mouse button click on the link and choose Save Link As…. or if you have Quicktime pro then click on the link then after it has loaded completely RMB on the movie and Save as quicktime….

Side Effects is pleased to release two new tutorial videos covering the setup and capture of skin geometry using the new metaball based muscle system. Product specialist Calin Casian takes you through a simple arm setup and shows how to setup null objects, add the muscles, capture the geometry and paint capture weights.

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=554&Itemid=132 [sidefx.com]

thanks for noticing this. It is now fixed.

This article covers the information presented at the Roadshow and includes a fluids video:

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=545&Itemid=9 [sidefx.com]

In celebration of the release of Houdini 8.1, Side Effects Software and 3D World are giving you the chance to win a first prize of Houdini Master or a runner-up prize of Houdini Escape. Closing date for entries is 1 November 2006.

To create your image for this contest you must use the Houdini Apprentice Edition, which contains all of Houdini Master’s features and lets you develop demo-reel quality work with minor limitations: a small unobtrusive watermark, a non-commercial file format and a maximum render resolution of 720x576.

The entries will be judged on creativity, composition and your use of Houdini. While your image must be created and rendered in Houdini Apprentice, you are free to import models, characters and textures from other packages. You can then create additional models, shaders, lights, and effects using Houdini.

For complete contest details and deadline information, read the September issue of 3D world or go to the Computer Arts website.

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=512&Itemid=66 [sidefx.com]

I find that with polymodeling I like to bevel the edges instead of faceting the points. In real life there are very few “straight” edges and even the slightest bevel on an edge gives a nice definition that empasizes the 3D nature of the object. Usually you need a poly bevel with at least one division to make this work effectively. Bevels also work well if you are using subdivision surface rendering.

Good point. Luckily the reels are digital assets so they will be easy enough to fix.

Robert

Peter,

You are correct. The reel is 16 mm thick. When we composed the shot we actually wanted the reel to be 8mm but when we chose the Bolex D8L camera as our reference then the proper film stock needed to be double Super 8mm which comes out to 16mm.

The one error we did make was to put perforations on only one side of the film since double 8 has perforations on both.

Here is a web site with some info on this format:

http://member.melbpc.org.au/~cksm/Formats.html [member.melbpc.org.au]

Here is some info on the Bolex D8L:

http://www.sci.fi/~animato/filmhist/filmhist.html [sci.fi]

You can access the quick reference card info from the online docs. Click on quick reference on the home page. The contents of the Houdini 6 card have been put here in various categories.

I have posted the Snail compositing lesson as a PDF in the Learning > Tutorials section of the website. This is the same less you are looking for in printable format. Please try out the lesson and post any feedback here.

Robert Magee
Senior Product Specialist
Side Effects Software Inc.

Peter,

There are going to be some new character tutorials posted on the web site over the next couple of months. The rig in the docs is meant to be a light one for initial learning but we are going to leapfrog this one and present a more professional rig based on the older Beatrice we showed at SIGGRAPH.

Robert

The website has been designed at a consistent width of 800 pixels. Is this the narrow column you are talking about or is it being squished even smaller?

Many websites (including odforce) use the 800 pixel fixed width. We originally played with layouts that could resize horizontally but there were serious limits to how we organized information and layed out text. A survey of web sites from companies involved in computer graphics suggested that this limit was typical and we followed suit.

Renderplus is the Third party rendering support option for Escape. This lets Escape users access other renderers such as Renderman and Mental Ray in the same way Master already does. The Renderman VOP tools are also available in Escape with RenderPlus. The prices is mentioned in the article link posted above.

Rscript is a version of Hscript that provides a non-graphical interface for generating ifds or rib files.

Side Effects Software in Toronto Canada is seeking a Lighting Artist Intern (paid) for an 8 month contract. Gain exposure to the high-end Film effects industry while assisting with the development of Houdini training and demo content. This position will focus on building Houdini and Renderman shaders, lighting scenes, setting up camera passes, and compositing the results to generate high quality examples of Houdini's lighting capabilities. Knowledge gained will be turned into training and demo material and images will be profiled on our web site and print materials.

Required Skills:
- Demonstrated ability to create shaders and textures, light a scene, set up cameras, render out and composite animations. Good modeling skills would be an asset.
- Strong Artistic eye – demonstrated ability to convey feeling and emotion through color, space, form and motion.
- High Quality demo reel that demonstrates a strong knowledge of at least one 3D application although knowledge of Houdini and Renderman is preferred.
- Proven communication skills and excellent attention to detail.
- Highly motivated self-starter, ability to organize and work with little supervision in a fast-paced office while meeting necessary deadlines.

This position is located at our Toronto office and will be an 8 month contract position. To apply, please send your cover letter, resume and demo reel to:

Side Effects Software
Attention: Lighting Intern
123 Front St. West, Suite 1401
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5J 2M2

Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions regarding learning DVDs, the web and our product pricing and positioning. It is always helpful to get feedback in these areas.

While we have been quiet lately this does not mean that we have been idle. The tutorials that ship with Houdini have been growing with each release and and the help card demo files, embedded in the documentation, offer great ways of learning by example. The Houdini Exchange (www.sidefx.com/exchange), which is currently in beta, provides another way of exploring Houdini workflows.

As for the web, our current web infrastructure needs updating to facilitate a more regular flow of content. This work is going on right now but I can't promise a particular date for its release. The updated site will provide more comprehensive information on our products and a strong focus on skill development within the Houdini and Apprentice communities. Just like our recent documentation changes, the initial focus is on a flexible and open infrastructure then content, content, content.

There are other things on the go which will be revealed in time but I just wanted to show a pulse and let you know that your loyalty and support mean everything to us.

PS - I am looking into the upgrade process for UK customers. It is most likely that we will contact you when your date gets closer but I will confirm this and let you know the details.

You mentioned that you are using a radeon 9700. I have a 9600 on my laptop and it is slow with complex scenes and rigs that work fine on my office computer. The issue is that Houdini uses opengl for a lot of the UI and when this slows down it will make the rig seem sluggish. The FireGL cards from ATI are recommended and provide the OpenGL capabilities to run Houdini's UI efficiently.

Other people in the office have the nvidia consumer level 5200 and the rigs run properly. The differences between consumer and professional level cards is more obvious with ATI while nvidia blurs the line a little more.

All the tutorial files can be found in the ‘$HFS/demo/lesson_data/’ directory. The folders in here are named to match the chapters and you can load the files from here. In your case you would use the Install Operator type menu then navigate to the file.

Houdini 7.0.192 is now available. This is the shipping version. Check www.sidefx.com for details about the new version.

Houdini 7 beta will be online this afternoon along with a complete list of features.

Houdini 7 beta will be online this afternoon along with a complete list of features.