Making Progress
by Daniel J Lee · in Artist Corner · 10/09/2008 (7:09 pm) · 5 replies
I have been playing with Houdini for couple of days now... watching tutorial videos, reading manual, just playing around with app...
I have been using lightwave for long time since version 6 and I feel comfortable creating character, uv map it, rigging and IK. For some odd reason, my export with lightwave dts exporter have been a failure. Maybe its me... or maybe its new lightwave 9.5 or outdated exporter.
Out of frustration, i bought houdini and was able to import one of my char from lightwave using collada format... (fbx is broke... i think... >.>) I first started playing with static mesh exporter and was able to set dts_material and export all the skins and mesh as static shape.
Ok to next step... autorigging... one of the weakest area of LW is rigging and one of the reason that attracted me to houdini was autorigging feature... but man following quad autorigging video was just too much steps for me... so i decided to bone the character, weight map it following online manual. One of the difficut tasks that I had was actual weight mapping in houdini was pain... it wasn't as cleanly done like in lightwave.
well bottom line is, i was able to weight map everything and was able to test few FK animation and exported fine and played like it should in showtool.
Few things that I learned was that houdini is powerful tool and I would love to be good as I am good with lightwave... btw, exporter will not export if you have even a single point w/o weightmap assigned... >.>;;
Next step will be put in IK and try exporter that way...
Omg we really need houdini guru to show us the way. Anyone with solid experience with houdini and TGE.. give us some kind of tutuorial... please... neways wish me luck!
Cheers!
I have been using lightwave for long time since version 6 and I feel comfortable creating character, uv map it, rigging and IK. For some odd reason, my export with lightwave dts exporter have been a failure. Maybe its me... or maybe its new lightwave 9.5 or outdated exporter.
Out of frustration, i bought houdini and was able to import one of my char from lightwave using collada format... (fbx is broke... i think... >.>) I first started playing with static mesh exporter and was able to set dts_material and export all the skins and mesh as static shape.
Ok to next step... autorigging... one of the weakest area of LW is rigging and one of the reason that attracted me to houdini was autorigging feature... but man following quad autorigging video was just too much steps for me... so i decided to bone the character, weight map it following online manual. One of the difficut tasks that I had was actual weight mapping in houdini was pain... it wasn't as cleanly done like in lightwave.
well bottom line is, i was able to weight map everything and was able to test few FK animation and exported fine and played like it should in showtool.
Few things that I learned was that houdini is powerful tool and I would love to be good as I am good with lightwave... btw, exporter will not export if you have even a single point w/o weightmap assigned... >.>;;
Next step will be put in IK and try exporter that way...
Omg we really need houdini guru to show us the way. Anyone with solid experience with houdini and TGE.. give us some kind of tutuorial... please... neways wish me luck!
Cheers!
#2
I bought the Apprentice HD version.
I really feel as though Houdini could be the next best thing for Torque honestly. But I also feel as though the online Help at SideFX could be a bit more helpful for the beginner.
3D Buzz has training videos though. Looks like I will be investing alot more just for real training videos.
We all want to use this software package and get up to speed quickly. I for one, do not want to waste even a penny for some pretty Logo on my desktop.. I have game content to make.
Well. Atleast buying Houdini was a smart choice. Atleast i keep telling myself that it was/ is.
See ya's in a few months after I have watched a few Training Videos from 3D Buzz.
10/10/2008 (6:38 pm)
I posted elsewhere about my recent purchase of Houdini 9.5 and recent attempts to export.I bought the Apprentice HD version.
I really feel as though Houdini could be the next best thing for Torque honestly. But I also feel as though the online Help at SideFX could be a bit more helpful for the beginner.
3D Buzz has training videos though. Looks like I will be investing alot more just for real training videos.
We all want to use this software package and get up to speed quickly. I for one, do not want to waste even a penny for some pretty Logo on my desktop.. I have game content to make.
Well. Atleast buying Houdini was a smart choice. Atleast i keep telling myself that it was/ is.
See ya's in a few months after I have watched a few Training Videos from 3D Buzz.
#3
After playing with lightwave 9.5 and exporter, and many hours of messed up animation, I said thats it and exported my char in collada and started playing with houdini.
I myself is kinda waiting on Digital Tutors video for houdini and torque exporter but so far, I feel comfortable rigging, weighing, and exporting using Houdini.
I strongly suggest that we should start some sort of community project to put together a tutorial or player setup files or something... and post them in TDN or something. :O
Just a thought... ^^
10/10/2008 (11:18 pm)
Scott, I have been telling myself that buying houdini was smart choice for while but didn't have the time to dig in and play with it... for long time... I even emailed someone in GG to see, if i could return it... >.>;;;After playing with lightwave 9.5 and exporter, and many hours of messed up animation, I said thats it and exported my char in collada and started playing with houdini.
I myself is kinda waiting on Digital Tutors video for houdini and torque exporter but so far, I feel comfortable rigging, weighing, and exporting using Houdini.
I strongly suggest that we should start some sort of community project to put together a tutorial or player setup files or something... and post them in TDN or something. :O
Just a thought... ^^
#4
A community project for Houdini tutorials is a good thing.
I'd even assist with some tid-bits of things If I could learn Houdini enough to teach it.
I dropped my project for months now, simply because I need a Modelers assistance, So I decided I'd
learn this Modeling software and get back to my project.
With Houdini being so new to the community in general terms, I see alot more questions then answers.
I'll go hunt for Digital Tutors videos and see what they have.
But certianly, some form of tutorial for Modeling with Houdini is in order.
If the community had a set of Tutorials for the very Beginner to the Intermediate, That alone would help to Unify the the whole issue of Import / Export, Models for content packs, people buying MilkShape just for exporting, etc etc.. you know the list continues. 3Ds Max, Maya, LightWave, Blender etc.. so many Modeling packages, Some too pricey for the Hobbyist while others are just not comfortable or desireable to use.
Houdini has everything I can imagine ever needing.. if only I knew how to use it. =/
Of course others can buy the Videos Tuts as well.. but your idea of a community project of Tutorials might just be the key to making the Indie more aware and perhaps even partake in the motion to get this underway.
10/11/2008 (6:21 am)
I would be an avid reader of said forum if the tutorials the community made for Houdini, would explain things in a simple manner. Similar to the way the "...for Dummies" books are.A community project for Houdini tutorials is a good thing.
I'd even assist with some tid-bits of things If I could learn Houdini enough to teach it.
I dropped my project for months now, simply because I need a Modelers assistance, So I decided I'd
learn this Modeling software and get back to my project.
With Houdini being so new to the community in general terms, I see alot more questions then answers.
I'll go hunt for Digital Tutors videos and see what they have.
But certianly, some form of tutorial for Modeling with Houdini is in order.
If the community had a set of Tutorials for the very Beginner to the Intermediate, That alone would help to Unify the the whole issue of Import / Export, Models for content packs, people buying MilkShape just for exporting, etc etc.. you know the list continues. 3Ds Max, Maya, LightWave, Blender etc.. so many Modeling packages, Some too pricey for the Hobbyist while others are just not comfortable or desireable to use.
Houdini has everything I can imagine ever needing.. if only I knew how to use it. =/
Of course others can buy the Videos Tuts as well.. but your idea of a community project of Tutorials might just be the key to making the Indie more aware and perhaps even partake in the motion to get this underway.
#5
3D Buzz site offers a DVD set ( of 3 DVD's) for learning Houdini the right way.
The right way? ... Well, Houdini is not like other 3D software for modeling,.. it's procedural, It's mathematical, it's Logical, and once you understand all the various windows, sliders, buttons etc. that show up when you choose an option, is there to give access to all that selection offers,.. then it's also Intuitive.
In Houdini you can Model directly in the window and the Network will update for you.
Even better is you can Model most accurately if you start with the network first. ;-)
Access to thousands of Nodes, each designed to show the pertinent information for that specific node, and each designed to do a specific function ( much like programming ).. Using Houdini is a real treat.
You can even make your own form of Node to do a specific function on your model and even mix nodes together to get a final result.
I admit that at first I thought to myself "wow, what did I get myself into"... But after watching some of the DVD video content from the Fundamentals all the way to the Bouncing Ball "Stage" that you will make, I came to realize that Houdini has got to be the worlds Number One 3D modeling software.
Everything just "Works" as they say in the video training and I have to agree. The digital assets that are made along the way can be used for other modeling projects in and of themselves or I can modify the digital assets to tweak them to fit my need.
I have not finished watching all of the movies on the set of DVD's yet. There are 50+ hours of Video to learn from. And each Video will take time to absorb all of the information from while I practice the lessons of each Video. I fully expect to have a solid knowledge of the basics of Houdini by the time I complete this set.
After learning all I can get from the Houdini FastTrack set, There is still much more to learn with other Videos from 3DBuzz that I fully intend to purchase and perhaps one day I will even enter one of their Contests.
Apprentice Houdini HD when purchased for USD 99 dollars, becomes Houdini Master ( non-commercial ).
The license for this version of Houdini was changed ( Thanks to the people at GG and SideFX I assume ) to accommodate those people that are interested in using Houdini HD for their Game content which includes movies, modeling, animations digital assets etc, for the purpose of making Game Content for the Torque engine.
This means your getting the worlds very best modeling software for 99 dollars, you get to use the Master edition to make your content, ( it includes everything, nothing left out ) to make your Torque engine game one of those games that truly standout from the crowd... and eventually make enough money generated from your AAA game to purchase the full blown Houdini HD Master edition. ( That's something I hope to have in the next 3 years ).
Anyways, for anyone looking to get serious about their Modeling and having a direct export of your models for Torque, my humble opinion is that your really missing out if your not using Houdini.
The 3DBuzz site will get you on your way with Houdini FastTrack which is far better then any " .. for Dummies" books. They truly do a great job of explaining in detail and in bite size pieces, all the information you need to get your final result.
Don't know how long it will take me to reach the point when I can consider myself a Master but I can say I am really enjoying the ride to get there.
12/06/2008 (4:22 pm)
Just wanted to update the thread about Houdini tutorials.3D Buzz site offers a DVD set ( of 3 DVD's) for learning Houdini the right way.
The right way? ... Well, Houdini is not like other 3D software for modeling,.. it's procedural, It's mathematical, it's Logical, and once you understand all the various windows, sliders, buttons etc. that show up when you choose an option, is there to give access to all that selection offers,.. then it's also Intuitive.
In Houdini you can Model directly in the window and the Network will update for you.
Even better is you can Model most accurately if you start with the network first. ;-)
Access to thousands of Nodes, each designed to show the pertinent information for that specific node, and each designed to do a specific function ( much like programming ).. Using Houdini is a real treat.
You can even make your own form of Node to do a specific function on your model and even mix nodes together to get a final result.
I admit that at first I thought to myself "wow, what did I get myself into"... But after watching some of the DVD video content from the Fundamentals all the way to the Bouncing Ball "Stage" that you will make, I came to realize that Houdini has got to be the worlds Number One 3D modeling software.
Everything just "Works" as they say in the video training and I have to agree. The digital assets that are made along the way can be used for other modeling projects in and of themselves or I can modify the digital assets to tweak them to fit my need.
I have not finished watching all of the movies on the set of DVD's yet. There are 50+ hours of Video to learn from. And each Video will take time to absorb all of the information from while I practice the lessons of each Video. I fully expect to have a solid knowledge of the basics of Houdini by the time I complete this set.
After learning all I can get from the Houdini FastTrack set, There is still much more to learn with other Videos from 3DBuzz that I fully intend to purchase and perhaps one day I will even enter one of their Contests.
Apprentice Houdini HD when purchased for USD 99 dollars, becomes Houdini Master ( non-commercial ).
The license for this version of Houdini was changed ( Thanks to the people at GG and SideFX I assume ) to accommodate those people that are interested in using Houdini HD for their Game content which includes movies, modeling, animations digital assets etc, for the purpose of making Game Content for the Torque engine.
This means your getting the worlds very best modeling software for 99 dollars, you get to use the Master edition to make your content, ( it includes everything, nothing left out ) to make your Torque engine game one of those games that truly standout from the crowd... and eventually make enough money generated from your AAA game to purchase the full blown Houdini HD Master edition. ( That's something I hope to have in the next 3 years ).
Anyways, for anyone looking to get serious about their Modeling and having a direct export of your models for Torque, my humble opinion is that your really missing out if your not using Houdini.
The 3DBuzz site will get you on your way with Houdini FastTrack which is far better then any " .. for Dummies" books. They truly do a great job of explaining in detail and in bite size pieces, all the information you need to get your final result.
Don't know how long it will take me to reach the point when I can consider myself a Master but I can say I am really enjoying the ride to get there.
Torque Owner Randy Hearn - Magnum
Default Studio Name
Did you buy the full Houdini or the Apprentice? I have the Apprentice version and have had the best luck exporting ever. I have also exported from MAX with good success, but I like the layout of Houdini a little better..