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SideFX Houdini (a tool for 3D VFX and animation) is by far the most brilliant software I have ever used, it is like Emacs of computer graphics. It is designed a

by rayalez 10y ago

SideFX Houdini (a tool for 3D VFX and animation) is by far the most brilliant software I have ever used, it is like Emacs of computer graphics. It is designed as a system of nodes that gives you a visual interface for visually "programming" 3D scenes and shaders. It is incredibly well thought out, and every time I learn something new about it - it blows my mind how elegantly and beautifully it is implemented.

Buttons840 10y ago
It is commercial software, right? What's the closest open source alternative? (Not that I'm opposed to commercial software, but as a hobbiest I don't want to deal with it.)
- rayalez 10y ago
  It has a free version with almost complete functionality, it's definitely usable for learning or as a hobby. I don't know about any open source alternatives. The closest thing I can think of is Nuke, also commercial, which is a compositing software built around the same principle, and also really well designed. I've heard that Unreal Engine has some sort of a node-based system, but I'm not a game developer, so I haven't used it and don't know how it compares. Also Blender has a node editor, and I think it's the closest open source thing to Houdini, but it's not the same thing, and is nowhere near as good, so I would not call them similar.
  - jkneale 10y ago
    Blender has a few addons that can nearly emulate the procedurality of Houdini. One is 'sverchok', the other which may soon become part of Blender core is 'Animation Nodes.' Jimmy Gunawan of Blendersushi goes into fantastic detail about these two on his youtube channel if you're interested. Oh and the best designed item I own? Swiss Tech Utilikey. A key shaped multitool with such a satisfying opening action. I use mine every day. Others. - the scissors on the tiny swiss army knife. BEST nail scissors ever. - Freeplane . Mind mapping software that I find new uses for on every project. So many export options too.

by rayalez 10y ago

Buttons840 10y ago

It is commercial software, right? What's the closest open source alternative? (Not that I'm opposed to commercial software, but as a hobbiest I don't want to deal with it.)

rayalez 10y ago
It has a free version with almost complete functionality, it's definitely usable for learning or as a hobby. I don't know about any open source alternatives. The closest thing I can think of is Nuke, also commercial, which is a compositing software built around the same principle, and also really well designed. I've heard that Unreal Engine has some sort of a node-based system, but I'm not a game developer, so I haven't used it and don't know how it compares. Also Blender has a node editor, and I think it's the closest open source thing to Houdini, but it's not the same thing, and is nowhere near as good, so I would not call them similar.
- jkneale 10y ago
  Blender has a few addons that can nearly emulate the procedurality of Houdini. One is 'sverchok', the other which may soon become part of Blender core is 'Animation Nodes.' Jimmy Gunawan of Blendersushi goes into fantastic detail about these two on his youtube channel if you're interested. Oh and the best designed item I own? Swiss Tech Utilikey. A key shaped multitool with such a satisfying opening action. I use mine every day. Others. - the scissors on the tiny swiss army knife. BEST nail scissors ever. - Freeplane . Mind mapping software that I find new uses for on every project. So many export options too.