So, I have been learning Houdini for the past week and here are a few things I have realized as a Blender artist for over 10 years and why Houdini is in its own league.

It’s likely the cheapest 3D application even compared to Blender. It has a free version for learning where you have access to all features except you can only export up to 720p and a cheaper indie version at $269 a year.

I’m sure you are already wondering how $269 a year could be cheaper than $0 a year. Well, hear me out. Bare bones Blender—that’s Blender with no addons except built-in addons—is very hard to use. Most of the functionality is limited, so most artists rely on addons to get the functionality they need.

On average, Blender addons are cheap, costing about $10 to $20, but amazing pro-level addons like RBDLab will cost about $69 to $70 without any discounts. If you buy 5 addons like this to get the same functionality you have in Houdini inside Blender, you can start to see how that adds up to more than the $269 that Houdini charges.

All this functionality comes shipped with Houdini. Before I started Houdini, all I heard people say was Houdini is the most difficult software to learn. But frankly, I think that couldn’t be any further from the truth, especially if you have ever tried any application with a node-based system. If you know some basics of geometry nodes, you are halfway there.

For example, if I want to fracture a wall, all I need is a cube, turn it into a volume, scatter points into that volume, and add a Voronoi fracture node. The whole process is procedural and I can change anything I want at any point. This is not that different from what we do in geometry nodes, except the nodes look different and you connect them from top down instead of left to right like Blender.

So, what else can Houdini do, you ask? Well, just watch any tutorials for 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, or Blender and compare the quality. Nothing compares, especially when it comes to rigid body simulations, fluid simulations, cloth, proceduralism, scattering, and VFX.

In my years of experience, I have used 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Blender, and now Houdini, and this is the true king of 3D production. All the commercials you see, all the movies you see, and animations have used Houdini somewhere. If you have no reason to learn Houdini, at least learn it just as a badge to show that you are better than everyone else. Why not?

Every other application can be a substitute for its competitor. Blender can substitute Maya, Maya can be an alternative to 3ds Max or Cinema 4D, and vice versa. But Houdini cannot be substituted. If you plan to stay in this field or plan to get hired at a professional level, this application is inescapable. It’s what Hollywood uses, it’s what Bollywood uses, Nollywood, Ugawood, and all the ‘woods’ everywhere. But seriously, don’t expect to bid for special effects jobs without a proper understanding of how to use this application.

But if you are not there yet, I’m going to list down all the special effects addons in the description that can do the same things inside Blender.

Addons that bring houdini functionality to blender

Rbdlab

Rbdlab while not a complete substitute for houdini is going to be the best solution for rbd simulation, they added a new tool called metalsoft, that makes bending and deforming of metals more easier than before, and what i like most about this addon is that the simulations and constraints it creates are more stable than the builtin blender tools

Vdblab

From the same creator you have vdb lab is a powerful tool for creating explosions. From emitters, to domain settings and a powerful shader, you can create and save presets of your explosions. Shockwaves, Aerials, Debris… the possibilities are endless.

Fluidlab

and fluid lab is a powerful tool for generating realistic simulations of fluids, viscous bodies, slimes and other fluids. You don’t need a “Domain”, you can create your simulations in real time in viewport, no need to wait for an “invisible” bake. You can interact different emitters with different densities, viscosities or behaviors.

FlipFluids

if that is not enough, there is flipfluids a tool that helps you set up, run, and render liquid simulation effects all within Blender! Our custom built fluid engine is based around the popular FLIP simulation technique that is also found in many other professional liquid simulation tools. The FLIP Fluids engine has been in constant development since 2016 with a large focus on tightly integrating the simulator into Blender as an addon. It just feels like a native Blender tool!