[Houdini] an alternative/addition for Character and HS Modeling?

OccultMonk

I understand that Houdini is very flexible and procedural. (Advanced/flexible version of max modifiers?) But can and should it be incorporated in character modeling workflows and hard surface modeling? Or is it more for procedural level design and FX at the moment?

jlazzaro

I'm finding Houdini to be increasingly more useful for hard surface modeling with each release, but the workflow is still pretty slow compared to the software normally used for modeling.  I really can't speak to how useful it is for characters, but while it does have a sculpting feature, it's doesn't really seem on par with dedicated sculpting apps.

Where I find Houdini really useful is in the hard surface blockout stage. You can go back to any previous operation and make tweaks that get updated all the way down to your current operation.  You can also branch off and experiment with no fear of losing your past progress and needing to start over, or revert to an older incremental save file.  

You can think of the houdini workflow like having infinate 3ds max modifiers, but I'd say it's more like Substance designer for geometry (and substance designer for every other part of the 3d pipeline too).  Pretty much everything you do is a node operation, with very few exceptions.  

As you can imagine, for very detailed models this can result in a super long string of operations, and even with their new radial menu workflow, you'll often find yourself typing in the node editor to get the node you need.  That time adds up to being slower vs hotkey based modeling, but if you ever find yourself needing to start over to make a revision, it can makeup for lost time there. 

Recently I've been doing simple blockouts in Houdini, then moving to another app for detailing, but then back to houdini for instancing modular assets in environment work.  

Just like substance designer it can be slow and tedious when you're first starting out, but over time, you can create your own Houdini Digital Assets for the things you do quite often and that can dramatically speed up the process.

SideFX software recently stated during their Houdini 16 release event that they are committed to making Houdini into a world class modeling app and that they realize it's not there yet.  It's already awesome for procedural assets, but I think in the coming years it will be an increasingly important modeling app.   

It's worth playing around with since the apprentice version is free.

OccultMonk

@jlazzaro Thanks for the informative reply. I understand what you are saying since I use Modo meshfusion in that way. I could begin introducing Houdini as part of the workflow for some assets. I believe the apprentice edition is suited for this? Or does it have major restrictions for modeling or import/export?

jlazzaro

It looks like apprentice can export OBJ but can't export FBX (only import).

You can see the full comparison here: 
https://www.sidefx.com/filmtv/compare/

For what it's worth, if you do end up liking the workflow, Houdini Indie is basically the full blown version of Houdini FX with only a few restrictions and is a very affordable subscription compared to it's competitors. 

OccultMonk

Ok Thanks!