SIgor420 I want to be an artist that can do cool stuff without ever touching the code. If I wanted to a programmer, I would go to programming school.
I think it's not Houdini's fault, it's just the generative/procedural design methodology that is hard. I'm not a programmer myself but it seems sometimes the code might be the most approachable/readable way of expressing the complicated procedural system. Anyway I think SideFX is doing a great job with making these advanced paradigms relatively accessible and pleasant to work with (Rhino Grasshopper, I'm looking at you シ)
Dont get me wrong, I love how Houdini works actually. Its so different from anything else I tried and I simply love it. My decision to jump ships was best decision I could made simply because spark for 3D is back so as motivation, all because Houdini. There is so much you can do even without Vex and it can be challenging but also fun and in the end, rewarding. I am also lucky that I met some Houdini users who are very kind an generous in helping out. Kudos to you guys.
SIgor420 Its so different from anything else I tried and I simply love it.
you will be surprised that actually it's not different at all. it's just the actual operations that are "in your face" in H are hidden between buttons and toggles in C4D for example. Geometric operations, be it scattering+copy, point displacement, etc etc - eerily reminiscent of what H does in any other app. modeling is literally same (in most cases you have more options in H actually, extrude operation being my personal highlight) Where other DCCs fall apart is the sims though, and lack of interoperability, since usually other DCCs are just stacking 3rd party solutions on top of another, and they do not talk very well with each other (as a rule, there are exceptions ofc)
BrianHanke It does raise the question though: at some point are there going to be like 1000 Labs tools that are more useful to your average artist than core Houdini is?
best of both worlds for intermediate/advanced users it is a good reverse-engineering learning experience, and for newcomers a nifty simple solution
SIgor420 Its so different from anything else I tried and I simply love it.
you will be surprised that actually it's not different at all. it's just the actual operations that are "in your face" in H are hidden between buttons and toggles in C4D for example.
What makes Houdini work so well for me is how it handles attributes. It seems obvious, but other applications don't expose this stuff as well. You can do just about anything with attributes: define groups, normals, colors, modeling information, material names, AOVs, per-component simulation data, etc. etc. etc.
Attributes are everything, it is such a wholesome and unified system that works in every part of the application. I remember the days of Softimage, where we also had an okay attribute workflow at least in ICE. But for one, this was pretty much limited to the ICE context, and converting (e.g. between a primitive and a point attribute) was very cumbersome and complicated.
Andr For a future xx.5 update, I would like they put all the effort and the science they are known for to work out a better and faster User Experience and User Interface, and overhauling already existing stuff and nodes (like COPs).
Maybe you could put together a mockup of what you would like the UI to look like and explain how the Houdini user experience could be enhanced, then get users behind your proposal and suggest it to the developers!
Alright here's a ui/ux exercise, trying to solve installation and version management, and licensing issues, and few other stuff, prompted by SideFX Launcher release which was on the "good enough" side...
wanglifu So when will houdini update the UI/UX to modern?Nothing changed in H19.
How do you know that and who knows, H20 seems like a good number for doing those. Unfortunately UI UX changes are not that easy as some might think. Even if they decide to do it it will probably be only reskin of it, nothinh drastic. The thing they could do is to give us better customisation options, customising H interface od just making a shelf is real pain in the butt.
Well a button and a view don't make a tab, the whole ui is just a slap-on of whatever qt allows, I blame Qt rather than SideFX, although...
tsiwt Obviously SideFX needs to revamp its U.I/U.X I have to jump between so many windows just to render. This is absurd. Material assignment and the material interface is such a drag visually. Parameter windows needs better organization not everything on the same hierarchy. Just making some text bolder than other to differentiate the operations can go a long way. What if you hover over a node and there is another icon that if you click it gives you an example of how to use that node in a small window.
These are things at the top of my head, what if improving houdini was my job? hummm.
I can't agree with any of that, I'd say Houdini UI is great as is and certainly doesn't need a revamp.
Except the ladder that is more trouble than it's worth, seems ok now, but cutting out a drag move because you crossed the screen, or often picking up a wrong decimal place that gets you into trouble - say 0.001 voxel instead of 0.1 (crude example) or the fact that the main window does not initialize to fullscreen so if you hide the dock after the fact you cant resize the window, or that the closed windows remain as ghost in the dock, or how bout the viewport gizmos that are just ridiculous... those are just the few, but the list goes on...
tsiwt Obviously SideFX needs to revamp its U.I/U.X I have to jump between so many windows just to render. This is absurd. Material assignment and the material interface is such a drag visually. Parameter windows needs better organization not everything on the same hierarchy. Just making some text bolder than other to differentiate the operations can go a long way. What if you hover over a node and there is another icon that if you click it gives you an example of how to use that node in a small window.
These are things at the top of my head, what if improving houdini was my job? hummm.
I can't agree with any of that, I'd say Houdini UI is great as is and certainly doesn't need a revamp.
It's not nowhere near where it should be in terms of organizing and keeping everything readable... a hybrid between grid based and "freeflowing" should be the goal...
At the end of the day perhaps all that is not just that important, but given the fact that most of us spend more than eight hours a day living with it, it should be. To put that in context you keep staring at a ui that is equivalent of a donkeys behind and having the same ui/ux issues for upwards of 480 hours a year...
sekow The current method is to copy the node, drop down an Object Merge, and then paste the path as text in the Object parameter - something that takes about 2-3 seconds to execute. However, a SideFX staff member acknowledged that the proposal would make a good RFE and encouraged us to submit it as such.
The correct way for doing this is writing a few lines of Python
Tongue-in-cheek factor aside, investing some time in learning how to quickly make these adhoc automation tools can make a world of difference for anyone's workflow.
copy: shelftool/hotkeyed script to copy selected node path string to regular clipboard
paste: shelftool/hotkeyed script that checks is clipboard content is a path and resolves to a node, check if in SOP context, create a merge node, set merge path to clipboard contents. (and optionally fancy stuff like auto rename the merge node to reflect the source node's name, toggle rel/abs using shift-clicks etc)
Once you're up to speed on these things it will take about 10 minutes to make.. first tool will involve crying in a corner for a few hours but after that it will go faster and faster.
edit: not to say useful general tools shouldn't be added, more a matter of not being depended on SideFX for these little things. They are busy enough with core stuff I hope
That is all great and I'm glad that you can do that, but all that shifts you from being an artist to being a TD/developer and all of a sudden you are developing custom tools, and shortcuts and workflows and then you are maintaining all that code, and the guy/gal next to you is doing the same thing only slightly differently instead of just making cool looking stuff...
Jonathan de Blok the problem solving aspect of a job is the most rewarding part of it all.
Trust me, that part will never go away. We have to remember that "easy" in the CG world is a relative term which still requires a ton of problem solving skills and smarts. I look at video editors frowning at having to learn a new editing app like Premiere or Resolve and all I can think of is "hold my beer!"
I think that most people when they say "easy" mean less time consuming, streamlining the repetitive task - a good example is the previously posted script...
tamte seems like Sidefx is doing something right when the only thing people hope for these days are improvements in UX and convenience tools quite opposite to what we see in C4D where people are getting UX and convenience updates as opposite to features I'm personally happy with features, tech and building blocks having priority and convenience tools creeping in later based on what people came up with and what workflows emerged, but I do consider solid UX and ease of use important
Those are two different threads that can operate independent of each other, why is everyone immediately thinking that ui/ux is something that should be developed by a lead mathematician at SideFX!?
Lead developers make feature X then UI devs humanize it and everybody's happy.
As far as c4d goes they are being groomed for acquisition by adobe who are only interested in making ui changes, since that is what's perceived by most users as a change on psychological level, followed by a bitter disappointment... the acquisition may seem far fetched now but just wait few more years...
Just to hype it up and to not make you guys sleep in the next days:
Talk Houdini 19 Reveal on Mon Oct 18 from 18:00-20:00 CET Talk Karma XPU, MaterialX, & Vellum Grains in Houdini 19 on Tue Oct 19 from 09:00-10:00 CET Talk Using Vellum Fluids & Crowd Updates in Houdini 19 on Tue Oct 19 from 10:15-11:15 CET
Andrea Sbabo Just to hype it up and to not make you guys sleep in the next days:
Talk Houdini 19 Reveal on Mon Oct 18 from 18:00-20:00 CET Talk Karma XPU, MaterialX, & Vellum Grains in Houdini 19 on Tue Oct 19 from 09:00-10:00 CET Talk Using Vellum Fluids & Crowd Updates in Houdini 19 on Tue Oct 19 from 10:15-11:15 CET
From VIEW conference program
Karma XPU :O Now we are talking... let's see what else will blow our minds.
I am also lucky that I met some Houdini users who are very kind an generous in helping out. Kudos to you guys.
