Customer Reviews

Houdini On the Spot: Time-Saving Tips and Shortcuts from the Pros (On The Spot {Series})

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On the cover it says "POWER USER TIPS AND TRICKS", suggesting an advanced read, but while I'm only 2/3 of the way through the book at this point, it comes across to me as an intermediate level read. Lots of tips and tricks, but only a few have actually been practical to me. Thus the -1 star.

Learn from me: Sadly on my last trip I made the mistake of bringing only this book along to read. Not that I haven't enjoyed this book, but because it is not a good read front-to-back. It's one of those 'bathroom reader' type books as each page contains 1-3 tips/tricks. Reading it nearly front-to-back presents too many tips and tricks to actually absorb and maintain any. It's like saving all the studying for an exam till the night before the test-- you might remember some information for a while--short term, but by the time I got back in front of a computer from my vacation almost all the information had escaped me (except for the one or two pages I bent the corner on). If you purchase this book, and if you're an avid Houdini user I recommend you do, read it slowly. In chunks. A couple pages a day at the most -- and keep a computer with Houdini on it nearby.

Make no mistake, "Houdini On The Spot" is an excellent addition to any Houdini users library. Partially because Side Effects Software's Houdini doesn't have that many books documenting it in any way, shape or form, but mainly because there are a few gems of information in the book. There are definitely just enough of those little "Oh, nifty! I didn't know Houdini could do that..." moments you'll experience by reading through this book. Just do it slowly, and take your time so it sinks in.

(Full Disclosure: I work with the Author)
This is a great book that needs more readers than the technology itself
delivers. Hopefully, Craig will keep at it so we have updates for
successive versions of the Product (Side Effects Software Houdini).
I bought 2 copies, one for home, one for the office, and it brings value
to both the experienced and less so user.

After reading the whole book, I was thrilled by amount of very usefull information it has. It's a Houdini bible. Even the experienced users of the software should get it. I can only warmly recommend it it to everyone.

There is a lot of useful information I guess, I'm still working through Will Cunningham's book, which is packed with useful material.
This one might show some interesting concepts and give a few pointers for ideas, but doesn't go into much detail, perhaps better for more advanced users - as it says on the cover. There are some basic tips though, which may not be officially documented anywhere - ie, Eye-dropper Colour Selection.
Has anyone noticed that pages 67 to 82 are missing? It's not a page numbering mistake, those pages really exist, but sadly not in my printed copy!

firstly .... when I opened the book I thought theres an awful lot of white space here ...

I have about a months worth of houdini learning and I felt the book kind of skims over the surface of houdini without really explaining anything and its not like there was'nt any room to explain each topic a bit more in-depth...

A book of tips really which i guess will help me more in the future..

cheers

Craig (Samphan's friend)

Craig Zerouni has done a great service to the growing Houdini community by putting together a comprehensive collection of tips and tricks. They not only will speed your work, but also will help you understand better "The Houdini Way" of working. With good balance between breadth and depth, this book has something for new and experienced users alike. Highly recommended.

There is not too many books about Houdini (actually two of them). This one is not a regular explanation but a collection of tricks, and definitely is not for beginners, just keep it in mind. But if you are not new in Houdini, at least one of 350 tips from this book may be new and useful for you.

This book joins together two aims. It brings Houdini 9 news to people already knowing Houdini. Plus it uncovers many tiny tricks Houdini is full of. It's simply not so easy to find these all nice features of the application that are covered for you in this title.

Helpful, useful and by no means comprehensive. Just as it was meant to be.