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Overview ¶
The shelf gives you quick access to commonly used functions in Houdini.
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Most tools create new nodes for you in the background.
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Some items on the shelf and in the toolbox are more “actions” than “tools” – they do something immediately when you click them, and don’t enter into a “tool state” or show options on the operation controls toolbar.
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Most tools will use the current selection if possible. Some tools will prompt you for one or more selections if the current selection is not relevant, or if it needs more information. For example, the
Parent tool on the Modify shelf tab prompts you to select the child and then the parent.
After you make a prompted selection, press Enter to finish the selection. (You can also press ⇧ Shift +
or right-click and choose Accept selection).
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Some tools have alternate action-like behavior when you hold ⌃ Ctrl and click them.
You can usually quick-place the object created by a tool at the origin by ⌃ Ctrl-clicking the tool. For example, when you ⌃ Ctrl-click the
Sphere tool, it immediately creates a sphere at the origin instead of asking you to place the sphere in the viewer.
If you ⌃ Ctrl-click the light or camera tools, they create a light/camera from the current view, instead of asking you to place the new object.
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Hold the mouse over an item on the shelf to see its label and a brief description of what it does. While the tooltip is open, press F1 to see the full help page for the item.
Create ¶
Modify ¶
Transforms an object, or inserts a Transform node in a geometry network, to align two faces on separate models.
Moves the pivot of an object to the center of the bounding box for that object.
Deletes input geometry by group, entity number, bounding volume, primitive/point/edge normals, and/or degeneracy.
Model ¶
Combines two polygonal objects with boolean operators, or finds the intersection lines between two polygonal objects.
Lets you interactively draw a reduced quad mesh automatically snapped to existing geometry.
Polygon ¶
Lets you interactively draw a reduced quad mesh automatically snapped to existing geometry.
Smooths out (or “relaxes”) polygons, meshes and curves without increasing the number of points.
Deform ¶
Texture ¶
Smooths out (or “relaxes”) polygons, meshes and curves without increasing the number of points.
Rigging ¶
(Deprecated) Allows you to build an IK bone rig (with or without a Twist Affector) from existing objects in the scene.
(Deprecated) Allows you to build an IK bone rig (with or without a Twist Affector) from existing bone(s) in the scene.
Individually modifies point capture weights using slider handles on bones or via a spreadsheet.
Allows you to adjust the blending of previously captured geometry in the Object Viewer.
Characters ¶
Constraints ¶
Hair Utils ¶
Creates a guide curves from a skin geometry or manipulates the guides of another groom object.
Converts dense hair curves to a polygon card, keeping the style and shape of the groom.
Guide Process ¶
Straightens the hair by bending each segment back so that it’s in the same direction as the previous segment.
Adds the required attribute to mark hairs as white hairs in the standard hair shader.
Terrain FX ¶
Sets up a preset height field network to generate hilly terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Sets up a preset height field network to generate a mountain terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Sets up a preset height field network to generate valley terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Sets up a preset height field network to generate lunar terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Sets up a preset height field network to generate island terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Sets up a preset height field network to generate deep canyon terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Sets up a preset height field network to generate desert dune terrain. This is useful for learning how the terrain tools work together.
Simple FX ¶
Configures SOP-based bullet RBD fractured objects from geometry, collider, and guide geometry.
Creates a fire simulation spreading across the surface of the selected object.
Volume ¶
Lights and Cameras ¶
Creates or edits a USD Distant Light, representing a far-off light source such as the sun. Adds some useful Karma-specific attributes.
Provides parameters to manipulate the interaxial lens distance as well as the zero parallax setting plane in the scene.
Collisions ¶
Create a Static Object from SOP Geometry pre-configured for interaction with cloth.
Particles ¶
Swirls particles based on the simulated drift of “filaments” represented by polylines.
Grains ¶
Takes each particle from your original simulation and replaces it with a cluster of new ones.
Fills an object loosely with grains and creates constraints to hold it together into one object.
Fills the surface of an object with densely packed grains and makes constraints to hold them together.
Allows grains to wake up and go to sleep based on the velocity of nearby particles.
Slices a particle fluid using a set number of slicing planes evenly spaced along a certain direction.
Distribute shelf tools set up an object’s sim network so it can be solved in parallel on a farm of multiple machines using HQueue.
Vellum ¶
Create a Static Object from SOP Geometry pre-configured for interaction with cloth.
Configures Vellum strut softbody from geometry and adds to current Vellum simulation.
Tetrahedralizes input geometry, configures it as a Vellum softbody, and adds it to current Vellum simulation.
Rigid Bodies ¶
Creates a rigid body at each point of some source geometry, similarly to how the Copy SOP copies geometry onto points.
Creates a number of rigid bodies from SOP geometry, which use proxy geometry from a convex decomposition.
Creates a number of rigid bodies from SOP geometry, which use proxy geometry composed of adaptively-sized spheres.
Creates a number of RBD Objects from SOP Geometry. These individual RBD Objects are created from the geometry primitive groups.
Stores filtered information about impacts on an RBD object. The shelf tool has no effect in the viewport, it just sets up nodes in the network to record the impact data.
Constrains an object to remain a certain distance from the constraint, and limits the object’s rotation.
Constrains an object to rotate and translate on a single axis, and limits the rotation and translation on that axis
Constrains the rotation of an object so it attempts to rotate naturally, but bounces back to its original rotation.
Particle Fluids ¶
Generates node networks to create a half-filled box of FLIP fluid material, with proper boundary conditions to contain the fluid in the box.
Calculates and creates particle fluid between the surface and container of fluid in a particle fluid simulation.
Slices a particle fluid using a set number of slicing planes evenly spaced along a certain direction.
Distribute shelf tools set up an object’s sim network so it can be solved in parallel on a farm of multiple machines using HQueue.
Viscous Fluids ¶
Slices a particle fluid using a set number of slicing planes evenly spaced along a certain direction.
Distribute shelf tools set up an object’s sim network so it can be solved in parallel on a farm of multiple machines using HQueue.
Oceans ¶
Creates a FLIP fluid simulation that simulates a thin layer of the ocean surface.
Pyro FX ¶
FEM ¶
Create a Static Object from SOP Geometry pre-configured for interaction with cloth.
Wires ¶
Creates soft body constraints between a set of points on a target object and the closest points on a goal object. This is useful for attaching wire to dynamics objects.
Wire Angular Spring Constraint
Constrains a wire point’s orientation to a certain direction, with a set amount of springiness.
Attach Constraint to Dynamics Point
Connects an existing soft body constraint to a point on a dynamic object.
Distribute shelf tools set up an object’s sim network so it can be solved in parallel on a farm of multiple machines using HQueue.
Crowds ¶
Allows you to paint areas of high and low crowd density on terrain to affect the random placement of agents.
Creates an example of using fuzzy logic for obstacle avoidance and path following.
Drive Simulation ¶
Applies a vortex-like force on objects, causing them to orbit about an axis along a circular path.
Subtopics ¶
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