John Moncrief Explains how Houdini Works From a Maya Artist Point of View.

If you are a Maya artist looking to get into SideFX Houdini, then you should check out this Siggraph presentation by SideFX Software’s Training Lead, John Moncrief. The talk will make it easier for Maya artists to get oriented in Houdini, especially if the interface and workflows are unfamiliar to you. “One of the hardest things to do is to transfer skills from one software to another,” Moncrief says.

That statement was as true for Moncrief as it is for most of us who are mesmerized by Houdini’s capabilities but quickly feel overwhelmed when procedural workflows confound. Maya is a tiny bit procedural, but not like how Houdini operates. I’m sure many of us Maya users open Houdini with excitement and soon had that turned quickly to questions. The above video can help get you started as Moncrief makes it easier by explaining how Houdini works from a Maya context.

Houdini Apprentice

If you want to dive into Houdini, this series from Dalvi is a great way to start. You can follow along by getting your copy of Houdini Apprentice— a free version of Houdini FX which can be used by students, artists and hobbyists to create personal non-commercial projects.