is a 3D modeling, animation, compositing and texturing software. It’s used throughout the movie and games industry, it’s used in the creation of many movies like; Chicken Little, Frozen, Rio, Toy Story 3 and Battle:LA. It was also used in the reaction of many games like; Halo 4 Spartan Ops, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, SSX and KillZone 3. A list of games and movies in which Houdini was used could be found .

Learning Houdini is very important for anyone working in the computer graphics field, this post is a road map for anyone willing  to start learning Houdini online for free from scratch, the post will present and compare  between the best online sources where beginners can start from and follow along, the  sources stated in this post are full structured courses so you won’t find a link to a single  video or a group of unrelated tutorials.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Houdini) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Getting started with Houdini for Free from Scratch

Side Effects Software Website

is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning Houdini through video tutorials. You don’t have to register to have access to the training. It’s worth noting that Side Effects Software is the company developing Houdini.

Structure: The training is divided into 5 sections, each of the sections is divided into lessons that cover various topics in Houdini.

Interface: The interface is simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new page where the video resides, you need to download the video as you can’t stream them directly.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured for beginners.
3. The training covers most of the topics beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using Houdini.

Cons

1. The training isn’t well-organized for beginners.
2. Videos can’t be streamed and they’ve to be downloaded.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Houdini online through video tutorials.

3D Tutorials

3D Tutorials is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Houdini through video tutorials, as the above source you don’t need to register to have access to the training.

Structure: There’s no real structure or organization for the training. The training is divide into 96 video tutorials, these tutorials cover many topics in Houdini.

Interface: Click on the lesson you’re interested in and the video will start.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros  

1. Free.
2. A huge number of tutorials.

Cons

1. There’s no structure or organization for the training.
2. There’s no way by which the training could be organized to make it helpful for beginners.

Verdict: Though this outlet has a huge number of video tutorials, but the lack of structure and organization makes this outlet not suitable for beginners.

3D Buzz

3D Buzz is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Houdini through a video tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 5 sections, each section is divided into video lessons, and each of the video lessons covers certain topics in Houdini.

Interface: The interface is simple,  just select the section you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the section’s page where the lessons resides, then you select the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the lesson’s video.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized and structured for beginners.

Cons

1. The training covers a very old release of Houdini.

Verdict: The training covers a very old release of Houdini which will be a real problem for beginners.

PQ Houdini

PQ Houdini is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Houdini through video tutorials.

Structure: The training is divided into 9 sections, and each of the sections is divided into lessons that cover various topics in Houdini.

Interface: The interface is very simple,  just select the section you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the section’s page, then select the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the lesson’s video.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is well-structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training covers an old release of Houdini though that won’t be a problem for complete beginners.

Verdict: This is a very good outlets where beginners can start learning Houdini through video tutorials.

AppleSoldier YouTube Channel

AppleSoldier YouTube Channel is the fifth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Houdini through video tutorials.

Structure: The training is divided into 7 video tutorials, each video tutorial covers a certain topic in Houdini, this is more of an overview about Houdini.

Interface: The standard YouTube Interface.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.

Cons

1. This is just an overview about Houdini.

Verdict: This is more of an overview about Houdini, and it’s suitable for those who’re using another software and want to have an overview about Houdini.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning Houdini for Free

1. and PQ Houdini are  the best outlet for beginners to start learning Houdini through video tutorials.
2. if you just want to have an overview about Houdini, then AppleSoldier YouTube Channel is your best option.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in Houdini.