[mhleo]

Hi Steve, Hi Jason!

I recently received the Fast Track DVDs and I just love it! I wish to thank you for your ability to explain complex concepts in simple and understandable ways. The idea of the "black board" is also very efficient, I find. Looking forward to start the TDs tutorials.
Best regards,

mhleo

[stevetwist]

Awesome!

Thanks for the kind words mhleo, they really mean a lot . It's always nice to hear from people who appreciate our work

I wish you the best of luck learning Houdini,
Steve

[Triple G]

Hi Steve and Jason,

I'm contemplating purchasing the Fast Track DVDs, but have a couple of questions first. One, how relevant are they to Houdini 10? I'm really interested in the new Pyro FX tools, and am kind of bummed that I wouldn't be getting any training for those for my $169.

The other question I have is that I noticed that shipping to an address other than one's billing address is a bit of a problem; that you need to verify it somehow beforehand? What exactly is the process involved in this? I'd really prefer the shipment go to my place of work, if at all possible.

Thanks for your help!

[Triple G]

Is this not the correct place to ask my questions, or is this forum really that inactive?

[stevetwist]

Hi Gregg,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, things are incredibly busy here currently.

The concepts that are taught by Fast Track are very applicable to Houdini 10, since the core architecture of the program hasn't changed. The fundamental concepts of proceduralism, and Houdini digital assets are just as important to Houdini 10 as they are for Houdini 9.

That being said, the videos were recorded with Houdini 9, and I haven't got the time to check if every single step works correctly with Houdini 10. Functionality may have altered slightly, expression functions may have changed etc., and it's simply impossible to give a certain answer as to whether all the videos could be followed step by step without hickups. What I can say, however, is that if someone working through Fast Track in Houdini 10 were to run into problems, then they most certainly could post those problems here, and if not myself, then one of the other members of our Houdini community would certainly be able to help out.

As for the Pyro FX tools, obviously, as they're a new addition in Houdini 10, they're not covered. The point of Fast Track was never to cover specific sets of tools, or specific effects functionality of Houdini. The point of Fast Track was to give an artist who is new to working with Houdini the core knowledge they need to understand working in an application which has a very different approach to many of the other 3D applications (and, in my opinion, that's what makes Houdini so much more powerful than any other 3D application on the market).

If you're interested in learning Houdini, Fast Track would be a fantastic place for you to start. With the knowledge you'll gain, you can quickly become confident working in Houdini. That confidence will be a definite asset for learning the specifics of certain tools, like the Pyro FX tools, for example.

As for the shipping query, that's not my department. If I see Angela today, I'll ask her to look into it. However, I'd recommend PMing "Angela" with your inquiry, as she is responsible for all orders and shipping.

I hope that helps answer your questions,
Kind regards,
Steve

[Triple G]

Thanks for the reply, Steve...that sounds like it's exactly what I need. I've PM'd Angela, hopefully we'll get things sorted out with the shipping.

Thanks again.

[VelariaKnight]

when I redid the renders of teh fast Track in V10 I didn't notice any issues. One nice feature that was added into 10 was the auto-conversion of types in the VOPS context.

VK

[Johnell]

Actually, what I find disturbing is the lack of readily accessible Houdini training. A quick search in Amazon and you get like three books, all of them dated with the last one in 2007 I think. What's up with that? Thank goodness for 3dbuzz!

[Rico]

I think that there are enough topics that cover Houdini. You have the Fasttrack, Rigging and Shader dvds right here at 3dBuzz. Modeling shouldn't be an issue. If you want to learn how to model just watch modeling tutorials from other packages. There are about a gazillion tutorials on modeling. The only thing you'll have to do in Houdini to complete your modeling training is to review the modeling tools.

The only thing that I have haven't seen much off at all is particle based training such as Dynamics, Fluids..... FX based stuff. But... I'm not to worry. I'm sure that type of training will be able sometime soon by someone.