but drawing simple curves in Houdini is a nightmare, my workflow at the moment is to create them in Illustrator, import them into 3dsmax and then import into Houdini, which is ridiculous….

With the exception of re-establishing two handles of the same anchors linear tangency (which can be done in two ways that I know of),

The only difference between the curve tool(as bezier) in Houdini and that of say those of photoshop and illustrator is that the handles in Houdini do not have a user interface line drawn to the anchors they own/control.

But they are still there and are just as easy to use (curve tool) as other programs.(with the exception as mentioned before, which is also easy to accomplish but I do admit it slows down the workflow somewhat to accomplish).

Even so, if one is resorting to drawing those curves outside of Houdini then bringing them back in, the extra time to do that would be saved if one understood how Houdinis' curve tool in its' execution is more similar to other programs curve tools than it is different.

The reason it is more alike than different is because bezier curves are constructed the same way mathematically no matter what program they are done in - and they require the same input.

I've seen this ‘complaint’ in the forums from time to time but cannot help think it is because they don't understand how a bezier curve works from a mathematical point of view.

One doesn't need to do or know the math but - to Olaf:

Maybe in your video, in part, you could do a side by side comparison of the same end resulting curve being drawn Houdini to other programs.

This would as mentioned before show the similarities (because they are both bezier and under the hood need/use the same input);

I think most ‘problems’ would be ‘solved’ if people could be shown the difference between an anchor point and a controlling handle point in houdini (because the lines aren't drawn for you showing this) - and how if a point is added or subtracted changes what are the controlling handles and what are the anchors.

To be fair here the workflow for drawing/editing/deleting bezier curves in illustrator/photoshop has had a lot more love than houdini. If you need a ton of curves the houdini tool could drive you crazy so I don't think the import route is that unreasonable. If you just have a handful I would try and learn the houdini tool as BabaJ suggested.

To be fair here the workflow for drawing/editing/deleting bezier curves in illustrator/photoshop has had a lot more love than houdini. If you need a ton of curves the houdini tool could drive you crazy so I don't think the import route is that unreasonable. If you just have a handful I would try and learn the houdini tool as BabaJ suggested.

To be fair to you as well, I can appreciate the differences and how less ‘artist’ friendly it can be in Houdini.

Hopefully if Olaf follows through on the tut and people have had time to watch and attempt to use, the specific differences can be addressed in discussion and ultimately clear RFEs submitted.

As an example even without a tut, I am sure many would appreciate UI handle lines.

But at the same time - you'll probably see some chimes on this thread of people saying they've been submitting RFEs on the curve tool for years without any changes, just saying.

@BabaJ
I am actually not talking about editing bezier curves with the “handles”.
I was talking about creating curves (also bezier but also poly) in general.

@all
I was serious about wanting to know what kind of curves/profiles you want to create/draw and struggle to do so in houdini.
Please, please send me examples. Is it more technical or more organic? Is it floor plans? Or logos typo? Or profiles? 2D or 3D?
Please give me a challenge!

I am currently working on a font/curve optimization tutorial. see screenshot: top is the input and below is the optimized version.

greetings
Olaf

@BabaJ
I am actually not talking about editing bezier curves with the “handles”.
I was talking about creating curves (also bezier but also poly) in general.

But to create a curve the ‘handles’ are required.

Also, it's rare that anyone, no matter what program they use, to get the desired curve with the initial lay down.

There has to be some moving of the anchor points and/or handle points to get the final curve one is satisfied with.

Olaf Finkbeiner
@all
I was serious about wanting to know what kind of curves/profiles you want to create/draw and struggle to do so in houdini.
Please, please send me examples. Is it more technical or more organic? Is it floor plans? Or logos typo? Or profiles? 2D or 3D?
Please give me a challenge!

Select & Edit multiple points at a time in Curve SOP is still not possible currently in Houdini. It's not about what Houdini can't do, it's about the user experience.

BabaJ
But to create a curve the ‘handles’ are required.

Also, it's rare that anyone, no matter what program they use, to get the desired curve with the initial lay down.

There has to be some moving of the anchor points and/or handle points to get the final curve one is satisfied with.

Sure editing and adjustments to the curve should be possible and should be easy and intuitive…
I will record a tutorial to show how i go about it in different scenarios. Will be published early next year.

Wondering if there has been any progress with your tutorial here?

I am a relatively new Houdini user and the tool I miss the most is a decent spline drawing tool.

I am used to using splines a ton in my procedural scenes in 3dsMax.
I haven't been successful at all ever drawing a spline in Houdini. I think it is bad that it is by far faster for me to jump into Max and draw my curve, export it and then import it to Houdini.

To those who say the Houdini curve tool is powerful, I respectfully ask, have you ever used a decent curve tool? Something like the one in Nuke or 3DS Max?

It is completely useless compared to those.
There are no functions such as fillets and bevels, or trims. Even basic functions like inserting knots and editing tangencies seem to be missing.

Splines are a key control method in procedural workflows, I am really surprised that Houdini can't do this basic thing.

I Am a senior 3D Artist, that worked with 3DsMax for 20+ Years. Then 3 more years with Maya, 1 Year with C4D and now I am on Houdini. I am in love with it, but this topic called my attention because I am "new to this club" and I was afraid to talk about the downsides of the software. For me every software has flaws, and I am starting to learn Houdini is no exception. I really hope SideFx gives Houdini curve manipulation some love. The resampler in Houdini is amazing! Fast and reliable, but curve editing is a nightmare (to be very mild). I am not mocking up the software. It is still amazing, and our honest feedback is the best thing we can do to ask for improvements. I will keep an eye on updates and user forums to follow about this subject. I use curves all the time on other software. And today, I am still doing my curves on Max to export to Houdini. I would prefer to do everything in Houdini.

Marcelo Souza
I really hope SideFx gives Houdini curve manipulation some love. The resampler in Houdini is amazing! Fast and reliable, but curve editing is a nightmare (to be very mild).

Your post is very vague and is very unclear what improvements exactly you'd like to see

This thread started before Houdini had updated Curve SOP where bezier handles were missing etc..
Many complains on here were addressed
Are you reacting to the updates in 19? Do you still find it a nightmare?

If so feel free to provide more constructive feedback or submit RFE for features you want to see

It's true that MAX has a lot of great curve manipulation tools beyond just bezier editing, but it always helps to be specific

Sorry for the Vague post above. I should give more details about my complaints, and yes this was posted before I had the chance to check the updates on the CurveSOP (H19) and yes, now everything is addressed!
They turned hell into heaven with that single update! Thanks for the heads up on that, and apologies for it. (At the time of my post, our studio pipeline wasn't using H19 yet and I was starting to learn Houdini using H18.)

tamte

Marcelo Souza
I really hope SideFx gives Houdini curve manipulation some love. The resampler in Houdini is amazing! Fast and reliable, but curve editing is a nightmare (to be very mild).

Your post is very vague and is very unclear about what improvements exactly you'd like to see

This thread started before Houdini had updated Curve SOP where bezier handles were missing etc..
Many complaints on here were addressed
Are you reacting to the updates in 19? Do you still find it a nightmare?

If so feel free to provide more constructive feedback or submit RFE for features you want to see

It's true that MAX has a lot of great curve manipulation tools beyond just bezier editing, but it always helps to be specific