Designed for the experienced 3D artist new to Houdini, this disc contains over five hours of lecture and extensive example files. With Houdini's strong history as a high-level effects animation package, seasoned feature film effects artist Garman Herigstad helps demystify its unique procedural approach to creating animation. He introduces Houdini's interface to establish familiarity with the software, and then presents its powerful step-by-step procedural approach, which allows for great variations in results leading ultimately to a faster production workflow. Examples include driving animation with audio data, modifying geometry using moving image sequences, particle animation setup, and basic shader creation. Houdini's "Takes" versioning is also introduced. These examples can be used with the apprentice version of the software available at www.sidefx.com.

• Interface Overview
• Procedural Animation
• Procedural Modeling
• Metaballs
• Animation With Audio Data
• Particle Animation Setup
• Basic Shader Creation
• Shader Vector Operations
• Sharing Data Within Houdini
• Expression Writing

1. Finding Help and Using Example Hip Files
2. Learning the GUI, Building a Desktop
3. Basics of Modeling and Animation
4. Using Audio Files to Animate Geometry and Particles
5. NURBS Modeling
6. Introduction to VOP Surface Shader Creation
7. Using 2D Images for Effects Modeling
8. Houdini Speak: Jargon and Slang
9. List of Surface Operators and Expressions
10. About the Cover Art

• Product Code: GHE01
• ISBN: 1-59762-956-1
• UPC: 805366014735
• Duration: 345 minutes
• Formats: DVD-ROM

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Garman Herigstad

Visual Effects Artist

Garman Herigstad is a visual effects artist with nineteen years of computer graphics production experience in television and film. He has been using Houdini extensively since its first release at both large and small facilities. Recently at Digital Domain, Garman was a 3D Sequence Lead on the Rob Cohen feature Stealth, which used Houdini extensively. Other features he has used Houdini on include The Day After Tomorrow, The Time Machine, and X-Men at Digital Domain, and Cast Away and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Prior to his film experience Garman worked on television commercials and broadcast graphics from Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing and Taipei. Garman has also taught particles and procedural modeling classes at the Savannah College of Design. Garman is an alumni of Iowa State University.