Information

Introduction

A curated toolset for Houdini built to speed up your work and improve ease of use.

Every addition is detailed in the documentation.

Changelog.

Compatibility

Houdini builds 17.0 - 20.5,
Houdini Python 2 & 3 builds,
All platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Drag & Drop

Drag and drop groups of textures, 3D formats, and merge specific nodes from a hip into the network view.

Texture/3D Objects/HDAs

PBR materials will automatically connect to the correct inputs, generate bumps/displacements.

3D Objects can be dropped on Object or Sop level.

Selective Merging

Holding 'Shift' on dropping a hip file will allow you to merge any number of nodes from that file.

Drop onto Nodes

Dropping files onto nodes will put them inside the network.

Modifer Shortcuts

For every drop type you can:
Hold 'Alt' to import a sequence with $F.
Hold Ctrl to use $HOME,$HIP or $JOB in the file path.

You can also hold Shift which will depending on the file type will change how the file is imported:
PBR textures won't connect to available inputs.
VDB files will be brought in as an Arnold Volume if you're on Object level.
Hip files will prompt you to merge in any nodes of your choice.

Drop Overlay

H18 broke external drops. 'Drop Overlay' catches the files before Houdini - I've included a few ways to use it.

1. Via the 'Axis tools' shelf you can initiate it with a click or shortcut.
2. Ctrl/Cmd clicking on the shelf tool gives you a UI window. When files are dragged over top of the window the overlay is started.
3. The afformentioned UI window is also available as a panel to be added to your Houdini desktop/layout.

v008 Changes

Discussing the updates to drag and drop including support for mtlx and all .hip extension files.

Material Creation

Quickly create and assign Octane, Redshift, Arnold or Mantra materials.

Assigns materials to selected OBJ/SOP nodes.
Filter into new or existing network boxes.
Apply Houdini (cog wheel) presets.
Apply to geometry selections/groups.
Loads prior selections on reopen.

SOP/OBJ Nodes

1. Applying a single material to multiple Sop selections.
2. Applying a material per each selected Object level node.

Geometry Selections

Opening 'Assign Material' over top of a scene viewer node will allow you to apply materials to geometry groups.

Material Management

Flipbook to MP4

File Manager

Collect HIP File

Right-Click Menu Additions

Useful scripts, available in context-specific scenarios.

Open Folder

String parameters can be opened in your systems file explorer. Works variables such as $HIP.

Drag & Drop

String parameters allow you to iniate a drop onto them.

Redshift Shaders

Currently right clicking texture shaders allows you to turn it into a sprite.

Normal shaders can be turned into texture and bump shaders.

Active Camera

Fills the parameter with the path to the current scene view camera.

AOV Shader to ROP

Render in Hython

Starts a new process to render 1 or more ROPs in Houdini's command line renderer.

Copy Parameters

Copies the selected nodes parameters to another node when parameters of the name name exist.

Highlight Rings

An out-of-the-box change to Houdini's network editor that highlights materials dependencies for currently selected OBJ/SOP nodes. Changing the camera in the viewport will also highlight cameras/camera switcher nodes. Enabled lights are indicated with a white circle.

Supports Mantra, Octane, Arnold & Redshift.

Lights

Easily see which lights are enabled at a glance.

Material Dependencies

Selecting Object or Sop nodes will highlight any materials assigned within the network.

Current Camera

Changing your camera in the scene viewer will highlight the camera in the network view.

Introduction

Drag & Drop

Material Creation

Material Management

Flipbook to MP4

File Manager

Collect HIP File

Right-Click Menu Additions

Highlight Rings

Deep Copy

Collect HIP File

Append Copied

HIP Defaults

AOV Loader

Versioning

Renamer

Extract

Bulk Apply Parameters

Net Clipboard

Introduction​

​

Drag & Drop​

​

Material Creation

​

Material Management

​

Flipbook to MP4

​

File Manager

​

Collect HIP File

​

Right-Click Menu Additions​

​

Highlight Rings

​

Deep Copy

​

Collect HIP File

​

Append Copied​

​

HIP Defaults​

​

AOV Loader

​

Versioning

​

Renamer

​

Extract

​

Bulk Apply Parameters

​

Net Clipboard

Introduction

Drag & Drop

Right-Click Menu Additions

Append Copied

HIP Defaults