'PolyMarvels' is a dedicated channel focused on Houdini 'hybrid' modeling with a goal to find better and more efficient workflows. And also, just have fun in the process.
Thank you @polymarvels! Your toolset and this video is opening an entirely new dimension for me within houdini. I'm relatively new to houdini in general, but I have some prior experience with other DCC's such as Maya and C4D, so this approach to modeling specific assets is a game-changer for sure! Mighty kind of you to release this for free as well.
Hey man, thanks I am glad you find it eye opening. It was the same for me too. As I am also coming from other DCC's it was eye opening for me too. I spend a lot of time polishing the workflow and in the end, I have realized its not much different from other DCC's once you figure out what Houdini can actually do and how. So my advice is just think how you would approach modeling in other DCC's and its gonna help a lot.
I'm really greatful that you made something like that I love modelling in houdini and this tools and menus makes it even faster and enjoyable. I have one question , how did you use construction planes is there any shortcuts assigned or so ?
Hello! Thank you for the tutorials, i am brand new to 3D, well explained tutorials that are also for the latest version are hard to find, so thanks and keep up your great work!!!!!!
Simples answer is I don't need it. More complicated is that I am 3D software QA and I tend not to use any plugins due to testing, so instead in this case I decided to see if there is more than it meets the eye. All in all, I trained myself to use Houdini like any other 3D software so I really do not need it. Would be nice to have all those tools inside for sure. :)
Hey I somehow missed your post. Which Houdini you are using? If properly installed, everything should be there. It will not work with Apprentice license tho.
very nice! coming from a 3ds max and Maya background. I wonder how good is the auto retopology solution provided by Houdini compared to Max and Maya retopo modifier added some time ago. For hard surface and organic modeling respectively. I found this is quite important for a Boolean approach and max retopo solution to complement it seems to be the best out there. I just wonder how far behind is the Houdini version. Maybe you can do some episodes on that!
Regarding Houdini remesher, it's not there yet when it comes to hard surface remeshing. It's much more adjusted for organic stuff. We can only hope SideFX will work on hard surface algorithms. On the other hand, I would suggest Exodise Quadremesher for Houdini as it's super cheap for what it do. If you look at my sword model, it's all quads due to EQR. It's really great addition to Houdini toolset, pretty much must have.
@@polymarvels Well I would like to see the default remesher in action. It doesn't output quads really? they seem to have been added guided retopology in the 20.5. Maybe they have improved it a bit further in other areas as well.
Well, it can output quads but it's not really meant for hard surface, SideFX also said that. Ao algorithm cannot handle that that good. But I'll make a test and let you know.
@@Kranos_CG So I gave it a go and unfortunately it just don't work, even with the simple Box object, so either Exodise Remesher, which I would definitely recommend, or simply wait until SideFX do something about it.
If you are looking that from SideFX side, there is non, that's why I created my own modeling shortcuts and environment. If you are interested, let me know.
Check this video, at least beginning of it and also check description and you will find the link to shortcut page and files. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ROcOJfJhKQQ.html
so Booleans work differently from C4D? I remember modeling using Booleans was really frowned on because of the nasty geometry it leaves behind. terrific tutorial.
In which sense differently? What I can say is, that's differently obvious, is the workflow and how you see your setup/network of nodes. Plus, I would say it's more capable and convenient to use due to automatic selections. Also, you have few checkboxes you can check and you'll get the same nasty geometry like in C4D. I guess it's a standard option to have with Booleans. And yes, I would say it is much faster tool from C4D.
Great tutorial! But I think it would be even more helpful if you show how one to get from this blockout to proper topology. I think it's what most people struggle with
Really great video as always! Helps a lot to hear the theory about which bits of the mesh to reuse and how to think about it. Much more useful than just following steps. I can really recommend to everyone to install the polymarvels shortcuts and work set up as well, the radial menus are really good!
Hello again Igor. I have returned to Houdini after about 1 1/2 years to learn actual art and a big push to retire this year.. I would like to take up modeling in Houdini again so your tutorials would really help.
Hey Bob, I am really glad to hear that. I hope this time you stick to it and find a way to enjoy it. If you have any questions please let me know and good luck. ☺️
@@polymarvels I do have a question about Houdini and PC specs. I won't be doing any particle work, what specs do you think would be required for modeling only?
Anything average, decent will do for modeling. I assume it also depends what kind of things you would like to model but the way we do things, which doesn't create huge networks should also make things easier for your PC. Exception can be when working with booleans, which can create huge networks, but then again, freezing or caching networks can help. I would buy good keyboard and mouse. In my case MX Keys and MX Master 3 mouse are unbeatable when it comes to Houdini.
Sorry to hear that you are struggling. I wish I can help but I am not sure what is the issue that troubles you...can you try and be more precise?! Making a edge loop should be as easy as it gets with Edge Loop node/SOP/
Tom, I am using only mouse and keyboard for hard surface modeling. Only time I would use tablet is if I am sculpting. Tablet and pen makes my hand tired very quickly.
Folks, here is the scene file of the original model I have modeled for Peter. Feel free to inspect the file as much as you like: drive.google.com/file/d/1cBG06g23tf01D_67sunIlkshAGq8agNi/view?usp=sharing PS: Feel free to check Solaris as I also have set the scene for rendering. 😎
This is such fantastic information. As an arch viz specialist coming to Houdini, really wanting to work IN Houdini, this is welcome and fantastic info, as so much of this DCC is pointing at VFX. Now if I could just find a channel or mentor that is breaking down material and texture workflows appropriate to archviz, I would be extremely greateful {I am willing to pay for learning). I've been hard surface modelling for many years in bim, but when I import say Revit, through FBX, it comes into Houdini a mess. This is a discipline Houdini would excel in, but is currently underserved, and we need to explore/configure workflows and tools. Unfortunately, I am a rank newb on Houdini, but my heart is in it deeply. (Your archviz models and models of spaces are beautiful, by the way). Anyway, THANK YOU for this killer gift to the community. I so appreciate what you are doing, and if you are on Patreon, I would gladly support you!
THanks Billy, if you would give me some kind of example of what you are referring to, that would be great or be a bit more specific. Then I might be able to do something about it. Importing files is never fun in Houdini, especially if they come from CAD software.
@@polymarvels Hi Igor, I will see if I can get you some useable info tomorrow (Wednesday, PST). Tough work day today, and it turns out Revit (my primary architectural modeler) is not exporting FXB with mat id's or any info (everything comes into Houdini as a single grey clay model, which is fine if the file is small, but what I'm importing into Houdini is a 3500 square foot home for a set of exterior renders, and so the filmbox file directly from Revit comes in with hundreds of nodes/list tree with nothing but grey clay on everything. (It turns out there is no option to preserve mats in a Revit export FXB, with the exception 3ds max can recognize revit assigned mats, but Revit hides these same mats/id's to all other DCC's)!!!! So I wonder if it is counter productive to start a project in Houdini from an FXB with a list tree with hundreds of elements with all the same material, VS. importing one with at least basic mat id's? At a minimum, even if I don't assign textures or mats, I do like to assign unique colors (easy and fast) so mat id's are assigned upon export/import when moving between apps, provided those colors are preserved. But Revit won't even let me do that, so I'm thinking about exporting the clay FBX file to Sketchup, then placing simple colors on the similar elements (like glass, wood doors, etc) so at least we have some way of differentiating poly's/elements (window glass from window frame, for example) so I can get some kind of mat id's into Houdini? So, if you tell me it's ok to import an arch model into H with a single material, along with the simple naming conventions which Houdini assigns, I'll be happy to go from there and I'll start asking questions which pertain to a potential archive workflow.... The alternative would be assigning at least some basic mat id's, and importing that into Houdini, so to begin, perhaps you could advise me on this issue? Also, if this gets heavy, I am not expecting free advise. I know you mentioned lessons in your video, so don't hold back if this is not appropriate, and will negotiate with you. Most, thank you again for being a mentor, and all around kick-ass dude to the community :). I completely appreciate what you are doing here. THANKS! Bill
@@BillyCoopDraws Bill, thank you and no worries. I am not doing this for money anyway, and I am always glad if I can help. So if you could send me a Revit model example that would help me out to help you. I would need to see exactly how the file looks like before telling you any kind of suggestion. But I am sure we could find a good solution that will work for you. I have some ideas. So if you can send me a model from Revit on email that will do and then we can go from there.
I am really really interested in seeing more of how you work with modeling in Houdini! There are not a lot of good tutorials on how to think and approach modeling in a way that is production (film) ready. I am hoping to work with environment modeling, and struggling to find good resources.
Hi there and thanks for being interested. I am not sure will I be able to help you as primarily I am not environment modeler, for the most part I pretty much enjoy hard surface modeling. Now, if you could be a bit more precise or share with me some kind of example, I might give it a try. Simon Houdini should have few of those you might need.
@@polymarvels ah I should have been more specific sorry ☺️ I am thinking particularly modular buildings, like Soviet apartments or brick temples - there are tutorials on basics of these but I find they often rush the theory or don’t explain why an approach is a good idea. I have checked out Simon Houdini, he is great also!
@@miadoesvfx Ahhh, I understand now. That I might actually do. Interestingly enough, I am yet to try modeling a building in Houdini. So its a good challenge.
Well its hard to say for sure. But it was really not that long. Most time went into actually figuring design as I wanted to make something that makes sense and looks good. Many of the parts are not visible, but in terms of flow and ease of modeling, it wasn't any harder then modeling this robot. What really makes it easier is the fact that every piece is a different object container, pretty much same principals like in any other DCC. Its way more easier to model like this and to keep your networks easy to understand. It also helps with performance. So when it comes to shear modeling, it really didn't took much time.
You need to press F to enable the Transform Front feature that is available with PolyExtrude sop. Or you can enable that through the user interface in parameter settings of the PolyExtrude. Once that mode is active, you can use all 3 transform options to make an extrude. This comes in handy when you want to make curved extrude...which is also something you can do with PolyExtrude.
Thank you Ankit. If you are using UV Flatten then it is possible. If you could be more specific, then I could give you more info. But if you are not using UV Flatten, then try using UV Fuse for sewing seams.
@@polymarvels I have tried both uv flatten and uv fuse. UV fuse works if two UV shells are close to each other. There is no sew uv seams in UV flatten 3.0 in Houdini 19.5. Anyway its so weird that Houdini doesn't have this common feature.
@@polymarvels Sorry for the delay. I also see you made a video about your customizations which I plan on watching over the weekend. (I should have probably watched it before my first comment lol)