Houdini
Submitted by susheel02 on Mon, 12/14/2009 - 20:45.
The Houdini family of animation software offers digital artists an unprecedented level of power, flexibility and control based on award-winning procedural technology. The comprehensive feature set includes: modeling, rigging, animation, particle effects, dynamics, compositing, integrated rendering, and more. All Houdini applications work together seamlessly and are available for the Mac OS X, Linux and Windows operating systems.
Houdini has been used to create stunning digital animation in blockbuster films, including: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Terminator Salvation, Monsters vs. Aliens, Coraline, Watchmen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bolt, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Transformers, The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Superman Returns, The Wild, X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man (1, 2 & 3), the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Matrix trilogy and more.
A world leader in the development of advanced 3D animation and special effects software for use in film, commercials and video games, Side Effects Software leads the field of procedural animation with its unique, award-winning Houdini technology. Houdini is used by numerous digital content creation leaders including: Disney Feature Animation, PSYOP, Framestore-CFC, Asylum FX, Guerilla Games, EA, The Mill, Method Studios, C.O.R.E., Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues, and Sony Pictures Imageworks among others.
Products
Houdini Master
Perfect for Visual Effects artists and technical directors with its integrated particle and dynamics environment. All users, including artists, can build tools and assets using Houdini's simple, interactive workflow then encapsulate their work into Houdini Digital Assets. These assets can then be referenced into multiple scenes then edited and updated seamlessly. This makes it easy to step back and make changes even late into the production cycle, letting customers quickly present multiple iterations to their client. Houdini Master also includes Mantra, a production-proven, built-in renderer as well as strong hooks to other renderers such as Pixar's RenderMan(tm).
Houdini Escape
Ideal for modelers, lighters, character riggers and animators with such features as compositing, motion editing and third party rendering to name a few. 3D Artists can use Houdini Escape on its own or use it as a layout and lighting tool for visual effects created in Houdini Master. Scenes can be easily shared between both packages.
Houdini Escape also includes Mantra, a production-proven, built-in renderer as well as strong hooks to other renderers such as Pixar's RenderMan(tm).
Houdini Batch
Houdini Batch provides command-line control of Houdini's powerful node-based architecture. Studios can make their artists more productive by letting Houdini Batch feed the rendering farm with renderings and by using Batch to create dynamic simulations. With complete access to all of Houdini, studios can even build scenes procedurally to make sure they are working with the latest assets. Houdini Batch also integrates with Python for even greater control.
Free Apprentice Edition
For both artists and students, the Houdini Apprentice edition offers virtually all of Houdini Master's features and can be used for personal projects and learning. Go to www.sidefx.com/apprentice to download Houdini today.