Introduction to VOPs

This tutorial is an introduction to the VOP network which is too large a subject to cover in a single tutorial. We look at the attribute VOP and explain how it is used to manipulate and create point attributes.The tutorial covers position and colour manipulation using math nodes and looks at noise and pattern generation. Then it shows how to create a low polygon planet using noise for continents and seas, and shows how to add a new attribute called "pscale" which can be used to scale objects placed on the points.


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HoudiniKitchen
SUSIE GREEN

Houdini Kitchen tutorials are aimed at experienced 3D artists who are new to Houdini, and focus on creating procedural geometry for video games. Each tutorial covers a single node or concept, and will usually finish with a demonstration of how that tool might be used in asset creation. There are easier ways to use Houdini – commonly used nodes can be set up automatically using shelf tools, and useful networks are now embedded in higher level nodes – but I believe that to be able to fully harness the power of Houdini it is important to understand the basics. I have worked as a Technical Artist in the Video Game industry for 15 years, and my credits include Killzone 2 & 3, The Getaway 1 & 2 and Playstation VR Worlds. I have been learning Houdini since 2005, and have been using it in production for the last 5 years. I also have a degree in Archaeology and have completed several 3D projects for the British Museum.

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COMMENTS

  • OneBigTree 4 years, 5 months ago  | 

    Great series. No fuzz, clear explanatory language and you always learn a bit more than what the topic of the tut actually is.
    Thanks!

  • Mieke 3 years, 4 months ago  | 

    Hi Susie,
    first of all: this is the best Tutorial Series I've ever worked my way through. Not just "hey, follow my steps" but packed with a lot of fundamentals that I miss elsewhere.

    I have a question regarding the CopyToPoints Node - around min 30-34 (working with Houdini 18.0.597 on Windows 10).
    Taking into account that ^ does prevent the specified Attribute from being copied/applied to the Geometry - how comes that ^pscale does not have any effect on the result?
    Just as expected, if I disable the Bind-Node in the VOP, all Trees have a uniform scale. However, I would expect the same to happen if I remove this attribute from the CopyToPoints by adding ^pscale to the list (which is the default with the newer nodes). Technically speaking, I see the effect in the Geometry Spreadsheet as pscale is not included in the spreadsheet anymore. But why don't I see this effect in the scene view?
    Help ^^

    Thanks a lot :)

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