What if you want to discuss generative AI in the context of Houdini?

MOPs Plus (the commercial add-on to MOPs) has previously only supported node-locked licensing, but there is now a floating license server (FLS) option available for users who want the flexibility to share a pool of licenses between multiple computers.

The license server currently runs on Linux only but will eventually be expanded to all platforms. The client HDAs remain completely cross-platform.

You can get more information about MOPs Plus here: https://motionoperators.com/info/mopsplus/

Does anyone know why this is happening and how to fix it.

was experimenting with a 3d wooden grain system last night. thinking about adding knots next.

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to Houdini. I know it's famous for simulations like fire, smoke, water and destruction, but I'm curious which other areas it really shines in.
What do you use it for outside of sims? Procedural modelling, motion graphics, game dev, something else? I'd love to hear about it.
Thanks!

Hey there! I have made this fractal generator using OpenCL in Houdini. I made it using the ray marching algorithm sampling in all directions and from random positions. I have also made a tutorial on Youtube showing how I made it. You can check it here: https://youtu.be/WUI84Ct3gvc

Hi there! I just added a Material Builder tool to my free NH Tools for Houdini, and thought maybe I share it here. Hope is ok, and hope it finds a good home ❤️

https://reddit.com/link/1xeyfum/video/3spnes5a6lxh1/player

You just need a portable app in Windows, a QR code and a plugin I made inside Houdini, you dont need to install anything inside your phone, works natively.

I just made it and i want to polish it before sharing the source code, but pm me if you are interested, might be easy to port to any other software such Blender, C4D, etc

Also, using almost same code, you can also use your phone as a Gamepad inside Windows, its detected as an USB normal gamepad.

Hi everyone,

I'm planning my long-term career as a Houdini FX Artist and would like advice from people working in the VFX industry, especially those working abroad.

I'm confused about which degree would be the most useful alongside developing strong Houdini skills and building a professional showreel.

I'm considering these options:

\- BSc Animation or a related design degree

\- BCA (Computer Applications)

\- BTech in Computer Science or a related technical field

My questions are:

1. For an FX Artist career: Do studios care about which degree you have, or are your showreel, technical skills, and production experience more important?

2. For becoming an FX TD: Would a BCA or BTech provide a meaningful advantage because of programming, mathematics, and computer science fundamentals?

3. Working abroad: If I eventually want to work in countries like Canada, the UK, Australia, or other major VFX hubs, which degree would be more useful for employment opportunities and work visa eligibility?

4. Career flexibility: If I later want to transition from VFX into software development, pipeline TD work, or another technical role, would a computer science degree make that transition easier?

5. Real-world experience: For those already working internationally, has your degree significantly affected your hiring opportunities or career progression?

I'm trying to choose a degree that supports my FX career while also keeping future technical career options open.

I'd appreciate honest advice based on your actual studio experience, especially from people who have studied these degrees or moved abroad for work.

Thanks!

I’m planning to buy a laptop primarily for Houdini product visualization, Solaris, Karma XPU, and VFX simulations.
Would a MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon be a good choice, or should I go with an NVIDIA RTX Windows laptop?
Does Houdini on macOS support all the features available on Windows, including simulations, GPU acceleration, Copernicus and rendering? Are there any major limitations due to the lack of NVIDIA CUDA/OptiX support?
I’d appreciate recommendations from Houdini artists, especially anyone using a MacBook Pro professionally. Which would you choose and why?

Hello I'm a beginner in Houdini and I just want to put the wheat at the end point of the line. I grouped it and selected it in copy to points but its floating for some reason? Please help I don't know where to start

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Been using houdini for 5months.

Open to criticism😭.

Used houdini for everything you see and nuke to combine them.

Wanted to create something from my favorite movie(DUNE).

Hey everyone! I literally got Houdini today and just finished my first project, following the “Houdini Isn’t Scary” tutorial. Still feel like I’m in a different universe with all the nodes, but I’m loving it so far.

What do you guys think? I know it’s a tutorial project, but any tips are welcome.

I’ve had a look at the wiki, but I’d love to hear what you’d recommend tackling after a first project like this. Eventually I want to get into FX like fire, smoke and water, but I know that’s a long way off and I need to get the basics down first. What would you recommend learning next?

Thanks!

Wherever the collider moves through the fluid it gets thicker, so the strokes hold their shape, then it relaxes back to its original viscosity and the surface slowly settles. There’s no sparkle geometry either. I randomized the normals on the gel, so tiny patches catch the light at different angles as it moves.

Hi everyone!
I’ve been working with Blender for the past 3 years. Since I mainly specialize in VFX, I’ve decided to make the switch to Houdini.
I’m currently using a PC with an RX 7900 XTX, but from what I’ve read, AMD GPUs aren’t fully supported by Houdini.
Lately, I’ve also been looking for a more portable setup for traveling, so I’ve started considering switching to a MacBook.
That brings me to my question: How well do MacBooks handle Houdini? Would an M5 Pro with 24GB of RAM be enough, or should I go straight for the M5 Max with 48GB of RAM?
Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations!

Does anyone know how to fix these holes in an imported gltf?

Crowd sim in Houdini: archers aiming at live targets, arrows that actually stick, death after 1 to 3 hits, and a floor collapsing into the abyss with ragdolls going down with it. First version was rendered in Karma, this one in Unreal - lighting isn’t quite as good, but I got tired of waiting for renders.
The hardest part was the archers: Mixamo animations came with the arrow in the wrong place, so I had to re-attach it to the hand, and then hand off the RBD arrow cleanly to the crowd sim.
P.S. Sorry for posting this twice - the video got embedded in the text the first time and didn’t show up in the feed.

Hi all! I've been building a lens flare renderer for Copernicus, and today the first public beta (0.1.5) is out.

Instead of painting sprites, Zenith ray-traces a real lens prescription. It follows every two-bounce ghost, where light reflects off one lens surface, travels back and reflects again before reaching the sensor. The ghosts get their shapes, colours and positions from the optics: dispersion, Fresnel reflectance and anti-reflection coatings, after Hullin et al., Physically-Based Real-Time Lens Flare Rendering (SIGGRAPH 2011).

What it does

• Lights from your plate: bright regions of an HDR plate become lights, calibrated so each flare carries that region's energy. You can also place a manual light.
• Lights from the scene: the manual light can follow a LOP or OBJ light (or a sun direction) through your camera, so the flare keeps going after the sun leaves the frame. Camera is automatically imported from the image metada in a slap comp
• Occlusion: the manual light can be hidden behind objects with a mask or the plate's alpha, and it fades smoothly as it slips behind an edge.
• Starburst and veiling glare: the starburst is computed from the iris shape, plus a glare halo.
• Lenses: built-in lenses (28 mm retrofocus, 50 mm triplet and double Gauss, 135 mm and 300 mm telephotos), or load your own .zmx Zemax file.
• Colour: RGB or full spectral rendering, in Linear Rec.709 or ACEScg.

• Speed: runs on the GPU (CUDA, RTX 20-series / Turing or newer), with a CPU fallback.

  Requirements: Houdini 22.0, Windows or Linux.

Versions: - Non-Commercial: free for personal projects and learning. Renders up to 1920×1080. - Commercial: No resolution limit, and it covers unlimited render nodes.

It's a beta, so scenes may break between 0.x versions. I'd love feedback, bug reports and renders, especially lens files you'd like to see working. I'm reposting with the GR link removed.

For Download & docs: https://sergeneren.com/zenith/

Made with Houdini and Nuke

Hi everyone,

I'm currently focusing on Houdini FX and would like to understand the career path from an FX Artist to an FX Technical Director (FX TD).

I understand that FX Artists primarily focus on creating simulations and delivering shots, but I'm not entirely sure how the role changes when moving towards an FX TD position.

I'd love to hear from experienced artists and TDs about a few things:

1. Skills: What additional skills should an FX Artist learn to become an FX TD? For example, VEX, Python, pipeline tools, optimization, debugging, and procedural workflows.

2. Technical depth: How much programming and technical knowledge is actually expected from an FX TD compared to an FX Artist?

3. Daily responsibilities: What does an FX TD typically do in a studio? Do they spend more time developing tools, solving technical problems, optimizing simulations, or creating shots?

4. Production differences: How do the responsibilities of an FX Artist and an FX TD differ in a real studio environment?

5. Career progression: Is it possible to transition from an FX Artist to an FX TD within the same studio? What skills or experience would help make that transition?

6. Showreel and portfolio: If someone wants to move towards an FX TD role, what kind of projects should they include in their portfolio?

I'm particularly interested in the practical differences between these roles in production, rather than just job descriptions.

I'd appreciate insights from people who have worked as FX Artists, FX TDs, or in both roles.

Thanks!

This project is another complicated challenge and is intended to demonstrate a way to implement work with simulation, procedural modeling, rendering and compositing. No dragons were harmed during the work. #houdinifx #fx #cg #3d

Hello houwizards,

I am coming back with a refreshed, updated version of my Reallusion Importer, introducing Reallusion Rigger HDA! Does everything the importer does (materials, dynamic wrinkles, lookdev control, etc.), plus you also build a full APEX rig that's ready to animate from scratch or to be used to modify incoming animations!

I spent a lot of time on this one and I am very proud of the overall level of polish, so I hope the 8 people who use CC5/iClone here can benefit from the product (:

Link: https://jvtools.dev/products/reallusion-rigger/
Full (22 min) walkthrough on YT of the entire HDA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03yV4UPGfDQ
Docs: https://jvtools.dev/docs/reallusion-rigger/

Cheers all

Distributing multi-row pave on curved and tapered surfaces led to an interesting geometry issue in my procedural setup.

When handling tight inner radii, the inner perimeter is physically shorter than the outer one. As shown in the video, forcing multiple rows along these complex surfaces naturally causes stone collisions and overlaps.

I am currently evaluating three core approaches for the constraint solver:

1. Dynamic Stone Scaling: Scaling down inner stones and scaling up outer ones based on local curvature, clamped to manufacturing limits.
2. Phase and Offset Shifting: Staggering row positions dynamically along the curve to absorb compression.
3. Smart Removal and Redistribution: Dropping overlapping stones when limits are hit and re-centering the remaining gems.

How do you typically handle multi-row grid compression on complex surfaces procedurally? Which direction would you advise?