Houdini Expression advice pls. for clouds effects/animation
node
So I watched literally all beginner videos on pluralsight, also intermediate stuff a fuckton of Youtube and much more - I want to make a cloudscape and a airship flying through it so the different looking clouds make puffy effects.
However, you cannot do that if you don't know how Houdinis reference system works and what $ Code bracket open whatever you have to enter so you get a nice effect...
Where do you learn to do that?? I need to understand that else i have shit boring effects.
However, you cannot do that if you don't know how Houdinis reference system works and what $ Code bracket open whatever you have to enter so you get a nice effect...
Where do you learn to do that?? I need to understand that else i have shit boring effects.
Replies
It would also help greatly if you show the work you have up till now with this rendering.
also - https://www.youtube.com/user/FXHIVE
No dude i dont? $Hip was red, why do you change it to job? You cannot get a proper understanding of how you modify your own cloud space.
Firstly that guy has a terrible english, secondly he explains nothing, and thirdly it's so fucking advanced without any regards for newbies although they have only one pyro fx tutorial that I can't keep up with the expressions at all
Do i need to emit particles from a sphere, or convert polygons into points then scatter them and randomize them for an explained reason so i can modify them further later or do i already need a certain cloud shape with like 6 spheres liek elementacular requires it to work, how can i make clouds add up some spheres by themselves.
Normally it shouldnt be neckbreaking to fucking staple some spheres to create clouds, but it is
[Houdini] stumped on expressions for cloud fx
Please see the sticky:
http://polycount.com/discussion/63361/information-about-polycount-new-member-introductions/p1#use
It would help if you posted screenshots of your current efforts, and the reference you're heading towards.
I would suggest editing your first post to clearly state your questions. More clarity will help others help you.
http://polycount.com/discussion/63361/information-about-polycount-new-member-introductions/p1#asking
It seems to me that you need to learn Houdini basics first, then gradually progress to more complex stuff. What you want to achieve is somewhat advanced. You can't expect to do cloud / object collision FX by asking someone on forum to tell you which nodes to use. If that was the case Houdini TD's wouldn't earn nearly as much as they do at the moment.
Also, you might find more luck asking specific Houdini questions on od force forum, Side FX forum or Houdini Discord server. But IMHO you should get firm grasp of basics first.
The basic tuts on sidefx are nice at parts but still give me no clues on the nodes, so my last option would be the docs and reading through all of them, which is rlly the last case scenario I would go for..
I know how the Viewport works. Not all of it, but the most important things: How to switch views between grids for example, how to split panes, to put objects, enter subobject level and reference geometry via Null(s?).
Now when it comes to creating something I'm lost.
For example using the skyrig - No idea how to modify the shape of the clouds.
Or using expressions like $Job and what they all stand for. Nothing in the quick start.W ell a bit, but not enough. as stated idk how to combine certain nodes to make cool things, when to use transform to points for example
If you want to learn you have to start from basics, you cant go after "I know how viewport works and I can switch views between grids" into cloud collisions.
Do you know difference between various Houdini operators? (vop, sop, pop, dop etc)? Do you understand what is VEX, what are vops and how are they interconnected? Do you understand when to use wrangles, how procedural grouping works in Houdini, when and how to use expressions in channels etc?
If on the other hand you just want to hack some simulation for particular job and expect someone on forums will solve it for you - good luck.
Yeah sure. Sop is when you enter geometry, dop is network, pop i forgot and vop is vex, which i can't deal with yet.
And no, i don't know when to use wrangles cuz i don't know what to type into them. Sure i saw a video where someone hit I@Id(point) into it which refers to points from the object before, but then again, i did not see anything else, or stuff that is far beyond my understanding at this level which i can't track.I don't even know when to use point transforms or all the different nodes, that's why I am asking for a little support where to find a good series that explains these expressions, or uses practical examples to go step by step through them so you can apply them to different situations.
I understand, it's boring to you to watch videos where people use ramp to control curve, or make simple deformations with Mountain node or whatever, but I'm sorry to break it to you, you won't be able to work in Houdini at all without dedicating SIGNIFICANT amount of time to cover many areas. It just isn't possible.
I think you have some misconception about how Houdini works, that it's just necessary to know some secret powerful nodes and then magic simulations will happen. That just isn't the case. Even if someone told you which nodes you need to use for this cloud sim, there's so much more beyond just connecting nodes to make everything work. You can't skip steps.
First you have to watch some Houdini videos where basic Houdini paradigm is explained, then go to beginner videos for basic geometry manipulations, grouping, geometry spreadsheet, operators, referencing parameters, attributes etc etc. After you have understanding of those basics you can go to some beginner videos for particular problems, for example some simple procedural modelling, scattering objects in certain patterns based on dynamic grouping, then maybe delve into some solvers, wrangles and attribute manipulation.
Houdini is rather complex application, you need to dedicate months and years to learn it. You just can't skip steps, trust me. Sure, if you aren't interested in particle simulation, but only into procedural modelling and animation, you can avoid particle parts, but basic paradigms, principles and workflows are the same, you can't go anywhere in Houdini without learning those.
As said, I sticked to pluralsight so far and watched their basics. Then some stuff on youtube. However, most of the stuff was too advanced.
The things I watched on sidefx were tooo basic so I didn't learn much from them.
Like.. i know how to do packet geometry or import and convert from nurbs and all that nice stuff..
But knowing these basics is only practical stuff. I don't even get to the point of working with it if I can't maake aanything with my geo.
eg. the intermediate ocean tut on pluralsight is great. Explains every single thing and how it works. what needs to be manipulated for more detail. Even the little expressions he uses and how they reference are explained. This is awesome.
VS
I place dis node and here i type some vex.
which is not in my reach right now and in the cloud tut on pluralsight for advanced guys
I thought the other way around. Since I model with max, I really don't care for Houdinis modeling, so I straight up went for that.
But now if you tell me this is only explained in connection with houdinis modeling tuts, of which there truely are a few, this is terrible.