Houdini
About Houdini
Houdini is a vector graphics software that helps businesses in filmmaking, game development, and motion graphics industry create multiple iterations, share workflows, build simulations, and create 3D models on a centralized platform. The procedural modeling tool enables staff members to maintain a construction history and create cityscapes, environments, and other surface topology models.
Houdini allows developers to utilize the built-in animation and rigging tools to create custom characters and creatures with muscles, hair, furs, clothing, and more. The terrain system enables employees to create layers and use procedural noise and mask out area tools to edit terrains according to individual preferences. The crowds tool allows graphic designers to manage crowd layouts, rag doll dynamics, steering, collision avoidance, terrain adaptation, and motion blending processes.
Houdini facilitates integration with several third-party solutions, such as RenderMan, Redshift, Octane Render, Mantra, and more. It also allows visual effects artists to create particle and dynamic simulations. The asset creation tool lets users encapsulate node networks into shareable custom nodes.
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- Industry: Motion Pictures & Film
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Houdini best for Fx and simulation FX
Reviewed on 2020/12/06
Its the best software i have ever experienced for FX
Its the best software i have ever experienced for FX
Pros
Interface is easy node based Like nuke which is east and simple to use for any new user
Cons
Complicated Render optimisation, Render timing should be noticed
- Industry: Computer Games
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Houdini: One of the best software for VFX.
Reviewed on 2022/07/10
Houdini is my favorite tool to use for VFX. It's powerful and ultra realistic. There are a ton of...
Houdini is my favorite tool to use for VFX. It's powerful and ultra realistic. There are a ton of tools and features to help me create whatever I want. Houdini is a paid software but very worth it. I will take a little while to learn. Overall I love using Houdini and it has helped me make some incredible creations.
Pros
Houdini is an incredibly powerful tool. It works really great as a 3D modeling tool and I can create highly detailed models and characters. But where Houdini really shines is its particle effects system and physics system to create beautiful VFX. I love using Houdini to create visually stunning VFX for character animations. Its particle system is packed full of tools that allow me to create almost any kind of effect I can imagine. The physics system is incredibly realistic and I can apply forces to my effects. Houdini is one of the best for VFX.
Cons
The only real con I have with Houdini is that it is very confusing to use. It doesn't have the most user-friendly UIs. So it will take you a while to learn everything and get used to it all. But once you do then you have access to a very powerful tool.
- Industry: Defense & Space
- Company size: 10,000+ Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
A humbling experience
Reviewed on 2022/04/14
Overall, Houdini's experience has been a humbling one. I can't see myself ever moving away from it.
Overall, Houdini's experience has been a humbling one. I can't see myself ever moving away from it.
Pros
Houdini is probably one of the hardest pieces of VFX software out there, but if you give it time and patience it's also going to be the most rewarding and flexible to your needs. They spend an incredible amount of time on R&D, so you know the money that is being spent on the product itself is reinvested in the software. SideFX continues to change the game with every release and it's super exciting looking to the next major version to see what they come up with.
Cons
There are tons of reasons why Houdini is an amazing piece of software, but there are also a number of crucial reasons why its not for everyone. Some of these are: the learning curve it takes to get into the software, the cost associated with purchasing the software, the additional render token cost is really high, and some parts of the software feel a little dated or entirely unused by a lot of artists.
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Maya- Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for Free Trial
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Professional VFX software I liked to use
Reviewed on 2023/04/02
Pros
It's important to say that Houdini is really powerful VFX software that is as capable as its user. I used it in trial to try and do some work for myself and I was amazed as of how much is this software capable.
Cons
Steep learning curve and you really need some time, experience and dedication. But that is probably a good thing.
- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Creates
Reviewed on 2021/07/16
Works great with data. The Houdini+Mantra combination creates stunning imagery. I use it for...
Works great with data. The Houdini+Mantra combination creates stunning imagery. I use it for cinematic scientific visualization. I've used Maya, 3DS Max, and Blender to some extent, but Houdini is really the best tool for this sort of work.
Pros
It is a very powerful tool and creates absolutely beautiful effects and imagery. The fact that it's procedural makes life much easier for certain tasks than some competing software products. I do a lot of scripting and coding in/around Houdini, and it's very developer-friendly. You can do just about anything either visually with the node editor or programmatically.
Cons
As is true for all other visual effects / animation software - this has a steep learning curve. I've been using it for 7 years now, and I'm still discovering new features and better ways to do things. It's a very powerful tool but is quite complicated and you never can really know all that it's capable of!
Houdini FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions for Houdini.Q. What type of pricing plans does Houdini offer?
Houdini offers the following pricing plans:
- Starting from: US$175.00/month
- Pricing model: Free Version, Subscription
- Free Trial: Not Available
Houdini is available across several pricing plans, outlined below. It also offers a 30-days free trial. Houdini Apprentice: Free of cost for students, artists, and hobbyists Houdini Indie- · 1 Year rental: $269 · 2 year rental: $399 For Artists (Workstation License)- · Houdini Core: $1,995 (Perpetual license) · Houdini FX: $4,495 (Perpetual license) · Houdini Engine: $499 (Annual rental) For Studios (Floating Licenses) 1. Houdini Core- · Perpetual license: $2,995 · Annual rental: $1,995 · 90 day rental: $1,065 · 60 day rental: $710 · 30 day rental: $355 2. Houdini FX- · Perpetual license: $6,995 · Annual rental: $4,995 · 90 day rental: $2,625 · 60 day rental: $1,750 · 30 day rental: $875 3. Houdini Engine- · Annual rental: $795 · 90 day rental: $525 · 60 day rental: $350 · 30 day rental: $175 · 14 day rental: $150 · 7 day rental: $75 Houdini Education- $75 (Annual rental)
Q. Who are the typical users of Houdini?
Houdini has the following typical customers:
2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000
Q. What languages does Houdini support?
Houdini supports the following languages:
English
Q. Does Houdini support mobile devices?
Houdini supports the following devices:
Q. What other apps does Houdini integrate with?
Houdini integrates with the following applications:
Hydra
Q. What level of support does Houdini offer?
Houdini offers the following support options:
Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base
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Vector Graphics Software
