Hi, I am brand new to Houdini Indie/Apprentice. I have chosen, after many years of being too intimidated to take on Houdini due to its node graph. But I now have a project that needs it.

I have picked up a job that requires me to have bullets shot through car windshield glass. Therefore, the area of shattering needs to be constrained to a roughly circular area, not the entire windshield. There will be three bullet hits in total.

I also have a flocking shot with a bunch of pigeons taking off and flying away.

Thirdly. I have a shot with two guys falling through a glass door from a second or third story apartment and hitting the ground below. This is the most complex shot as it involves bullet physics, cloth physics, and rigged characters that are directable.

Can somebody please point me towards some tutorials/training that will get me to the point that I can do these shots?

Thanks!