Houdini Intro to VEX Programming for Absolute Beginners

Name: Houdini Intro to VEX Programming for Absolute Beginners
Rating: 5.0 (10 reviews)

Houdini, VEX, Python

Highest Rated

Created byDeepak Gayan

Last updated 10/2024

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

BUY FROM GUMROAD AND GET AT ONLY $20.99.
New lessons coming in January 2025
Basics of Python in the beginning of the couse to get a clear idea of programming
This course is for beginners who want to learn VEX in Houdini
Basics of Arrays in VEX
For loops, while and do while loops including nexting of loops
Functions and overloads of functions
Basics of point, prim and detail functions
Intro to bbox functions in VEX and HScript
pcfind and pcfind_radius along with neighbour, neighbours and neighbourcount

Course content

2 sections • 34 lectures • 7h 43m total length

Introduction1:31
Explore Python basics for Houdini, from integers and strings to loops and functions, using VS code. See how these concepts translate to VEX as we cover wrangle nodes and geometries.
Installing VSCode and Python3:32
Install VSCode and Python, choose a version (3.x preferred), and configure the system path and environment variables so Python runs from the command prompt.
Setting up VSCode6:11
Set up a vscode workspace for python tutorials by creating a project folder and installing the Python and Pylance extensions. Add and run Python files in the integrated terminal.
Intro to variables and declarations8:43
Explore variables in Python and VEX, including integers, floats, strings, and lists or arrays, with declarations, descriptive names, and readability. Print in Python and send data to Houdini attribute spreadsheet.
Basics of Math using variables4:25
Learn basics of math in Python by declaring variables, performing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, printing results, and noting that variable names cannot start with a number or include spaces.
Concatenating Strings with numbers6:27
Learn to concatenate strings with numbers in Houdini's VEX by converting integers to strings, using the plus operator, and managing spaces for clean output.
if elif else statements15:53
Learn Python conditional statements with if, elif, and else to compare numbers and strings, distinguish assignment from comparison, and understand how only one branch executes.
and or operators5:49
Explore how to compare multiple variables using and and or operators in conditional statements. Write if-else logic to test combined conditions (and, or) and print results.
Arrays12:48
Explore arrays in VEX programming, learn how to create, index, print, append, remove, and count items, and understand zero-based indexing and common errors.
Loop and Break and Continue13:02
Explore Python loops, including for, while, and do while, iterate over an array of numbers, print values, and use break and continue to control flow.
Nested Loops7:26
Demonstrate nested loops by placing an inner loop inside an outer for loop, using I and J counters and arrays, and printing sequence patterns to illustrate iteration.
While Loops7:46
Explore while loops, their relation to for and do while loops, and starting an index at zero with increments. Use Len to size arrays and access elements via brackets.
Functions10:16
Learn to define and call VEX functions with def, explore void and return types, and pass arguments, then see how overloading enables different input counts.
Practice Lessons 019:52
Create a two-argument function in Houdini Intro to Vex programming for absolute beginners that adds or subtracts based on a comparison, then print even and odd numbers using modulus.
Practice Lesson 02 - Percentage Calculation6:49
Compute a student's total score across seven subjects with a for loop, then derive the percentage by dividing by the number of subjects, demonstrating accumulation and verification through prints.
Practice Lesson 03 - Nested Loops Exercise14:54
Practice using nested loops to compare two arrays with outer and inner loops, find common values, and populate found and not found lists in Houdini's VEX.
Practice Lesson 04 - Removing Array Elements using Loop12:23
Learn how to remove duplicates from arrays using loops in vex within Houdini, identifying duplicates and unique values, and safely removing elements with outer and inner loops.

Back to Houdini16:13
Explore the basics of vex in Houdini through point, primitive, and detail wrangles, learning to create attributes and use point numbers to drive geometry.
Variable Declaration14:21
Learn to declare and initialize variables in vex, covering integers, floats, strings, vectors, and arrays, with proper comments and type rules. Use concatenation, casting rules, and print f.
rand and fit functions12:59
Explore rand and fit in VEX to generate per-point random values and map 0–1 results to custom ranges, enabling randomized scales, rotations, and velocities.
random velocity using Rand Time Fit17:46
Learn to assign and randomize point velocities in houdini using vex with rand and time-based functions, including setting velocity components, using fit for ranges, and applying seeds for scatter-based experiments.
if elseif, else, removepoint, addpoint21:56
Master if, elseif, and else logic in vex to color points with rand values and at cd. Learn add point and remove point in point and detail contexts.
Common attributes in VEX16:04
Discover Houdini VEX's most common attributes, including position, color (CD), point velocity, volume velocity, width, scale and pscale, id, acceleration, normal, up vector, orient, uv, and group, with usage guidance.
for, foreach, while, do while19:05
Master Houdini loops for point geometry using for each, for, while, and do while; process arrays, index elements, measure lengths, and apply modulus with PC find and PC find_radius.
Break and Continue keywords8:05
Learn how to use break and continue in vex wrangle to control loops, including stopping at the first even value or first point and skipping iterations.
Array Add and Remove elements7:27
Add and remove elements in arrays by building even and odd arrays, using append or push, and removing items with nested loops and careful indexing in VEX.
Functions and Overloads31:57
Explore functions and overloading in Houdini VEX, including void and non void returns, parameters, and returning types like int, float, string, and vector. Practice printing, concatenation, and basic debugging.
bbox functions and HScripts29:18
Explore Houdini bbox functions in HScript, retrieving center, min, max, and size for objects; use get box and get bbox variants to drive procedural bounds.
distance and xyzdist functions10:43
Learn to compute distances in VEX with the distance function and xyz distance function, using box centers and point positions to measure distances between geometries and surfaces.
Sin and Cos Functions18:20
Explore sine and cosine as wave functions, learn degrees vs radians, and apply them in Houdini VEX to create patterns, spirals, and time-based motion using curve view and attributes.
Basic Functions in Houdini Wrangle Point, Prim, Detail13:54
Learn how to read and transfer point, primitive, and detail attributes in Houdini wrangles using point functions, ensuring topology alignment and applying attributes like color and velocity.
Houdini HScript Point, Detail23:48
Explore reading detail and point attributes in Houdini VEX, using detail and point contexts, and create a center point by averaging positions with a for loop.
neighbour, neighbours and neighbourcount functions17:54
Explore point finding functions in Houdini's VEX: neighbor, neighbors, and neighbor count, and learn how these tools target specific points and handle arrays.
pcfind and pcfind radius functions35:55
learn to use pcfind and pcfind radius to locate neighboring points within a radius, control with max points, and apply two-input or varying-radius setups.

Requirements

No VEX programming knowledge needed to start this course
Basics of Houdini is a MUST
Passion to Code in VEX

Description

In this series of lessons we will learn basics of Python language. We start with installing and setting up Python and Visual Studio Code for programming. Then will cover types of variables in Python then move towards basics of math and concatenating strings. After that towards conditionals in Python then to Arrays, Loops and Functions. We will also do some exercises in Python. After we finish Python we will start doing VEX in Houdini. We will start with basic attributes in VEX to variables then moving to loops and its types such as for, while and do while and foreach loop which is specially used for arrays. Discussing nested loops is also a very important part of this course. We will learn how to add and remove elements from the array using loops. From there we will move to bbox functions and point, detail and HScript functions not to miss out on Sin and Cos functions. distance and xyzdist are also discussed in full detail which are important as well. Functions such as neighbours, neighbours and neighbourcount are also addressed in full detail. We will finish with point finding functions such as pcfind and pcfind radius. I will keep adding more lesson as we progress further. So, stay focused and lets go Code.

Who this course is for:

Intended for Generalists, FX Artists, Lighters.
Passionate Artists

Houdini Intro to VEX Programming for Absolute Beginners

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Intro to programming basics using Python17 lectures • 2hr 28min

Back to Houdini now17 lectures • 5hr 16min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: