Houdini is enormously powerful.
We make it easy to learn.
Clear, comprehensive online courses to help you master Houdini.
Designed for beginners by an award-winning 3D artist.
Deep knowledge
Step-by-step fundamental training to understand how Houdini works, and why.
Deliberate pathways
Structured tutorials from beginning to end, so you can learn fast and learn properly.
Ultimate resource
Jump straight to the tool, technique or topic you need with our clear and searchable courses.
Real-world skills
Feel comfortable and confident using Houdini to create exceptional, original work.
Featured Courses
Houdini Geometry Essentials 01
Components & Primitive Types
Let’s examine Houdini’s geometry components – points, vertices, primitives, edges and breakpoints. Constructing geometry is all about connecting points, but it’s grasping vertices that will give you true power in controlling that connectivity. We also tackle the concepts, theories and practical uses of the different primitive types – polygons, nurbs, beziers, meshes, polysoups, and more....
$99.99
Houdini Geometry Essentials 06
Scattering & Distribution
Whether you’re here to create breathtaking environments, or just to sprinkle some sugar on that donut you made in Blender, you’ll need to master scattering and distribution first. We’ll set you up for success by showing you how to control attributes using noise & random functions, and how to manipulate attributes using colour correction techniques...
$59.99
With Hipflask you’ll actually understand Houdini
“I've seen a lot, and I mean a LOT of tutorials and courses, for every software I learned. And this is by far the best, really there is no match. Looking forward to future content! Keep up your great work!!!”
Bogdan Popovic
3D Artist
“As a new Houdini user (six months!) I want to tell you how amazing I think your Core Essentials course is! It's without a doubt the best learning resource for Houdini that I've found and can't wait for future courses. I've been recommending it everywhere I've found a post from frustrated new Houdini users. Your explanations are very detailed, very clear and a wonderful lifesaver to people like me. Thank you for everything!”
Bob Howard-Horst
“Just want to say to anyone interested in watching this tutorial series, I've found it incredibly helpful. Honestly, this is by far the best Houdini essential training I've found. So clearly explained. Thank you, thank you so much.”
Roja Huchez
VFX Creature Modeler / Facial Rigger
Why Hipflask Works
Take a handful of all the major CG applications and roll them into one – that’s about the scale of Houdini’s toolset and capabilities. That’s a lot to learn. For many, Houdini ends up straight in the too-hard basket. We’re here to pull it out.
Other courses just aren’t comprehensive enough for beginners. So we made our own to help CG professionals thrive. Straightforward, high quality training that progressively builds deep understanding.
We got stuck learning the hard way, but you don’t have to.
Complete and structured learning
It’s a wild world of tutorials out there. Some are great, but figuring out where to start, and where to go next, can be tougher than mastering the skills themselves. Piecing together one-off lessons takes a mammoth amount of time – time that’s better spent learning.
Mastering it is a big investment and we make sure you’re learning as effectively and efficiently as possible, so that your investment pays off. We’ve researched and designed a precise path, turning years of learning into bite-sized tutorials, and taking you from complete beginner to confident and capable in using Houdini as your main CG software. With Hipflask you’ll progressively and logically build solid generalist skills to take into real-world production.
True depth of knowledge
Houdini is like other 3D software on steroids. Even with a good grasp of the core concepts used in these applications, Houdini requires a deeper understanding than most people realise, beginners and 3D professionals alike – even basic things like surface normals.
Hipflask isn’t a quick how-to guide that teaches you to make one thing. We unpack the vital stuff other courses breeze over, covering the fundamentals in depth, showing you why these principles are so integral to Houdini and just how to wield them. We’re here to arm you with technically sound knowledge to craft, finesse and refine original pieces. And the next time a client asks for changes, you’ll have the know-how to make them happen.
Clear and thorough explanations
There’s a myth that Houdini is too technical to be an artist-friendly tool, but that’s not the case at all. Most tutorials assume a level of base understanding, that you already know the inner workings of Houdini well enough to follow along. Even experts forget how much there is to it. One minute you’re with them, and the next they may as well be speaking Shyriiwook.
It’s true, Houdini is a powerful application, and to really get under the hood and harness that power for yourself, you need to understand its ins and outs. This might seem complex, but after years of using Houdini as our go-to software, we realised it just needs to be better explained. A lot of work goes into Hipflask courses to make sure we break these foundational concepts down in a way everyone can understand.
Ultimate reference resource
It’s impossible to remember everything you learn, and trying to hunt down the right tutorial when you get stuck is just as exhausting. We want to make it easier.
The Hipflask structured learning paths take you from A to Z – but we know you sometimes need to go back to B (or C, or F, or N) to really wrap your head around the information. So within each course library, you can search for the term, topic or technique you need and we’ll take you to the straight there. And if you’re still having trouble, you can always reach out to us directly and we’ll help you find wherever it is you need to go.
Houdini Made Easy 01
The Core Essentials Collection
“Super good stuff. Anytime Houdini comes up people always ask, "But did you model in it?" All the snapping methods you covered made modeling so much easier to get into. I am kinda shocked that after all the classes and tuts I have done no one ever went into that so in-depth. This is going to make it so much easier and opens up a lot of ideas. Thank you! Will buy the next module for sure.”
Daniel Kopton
Owner at Danklife
"This is one of the few courses I will not hesitate to purchase immediately. I grew up learning software from hard-cover books and this meant that all essential concepts needed to be conveyed concisely and in a straightforward manner. This is one of the reasons I am so fond of the Hipflask tutorial series – it captures the essence of learning a software from the core basics. Houdini being the powerful software it is, I believe that Hipflask is the perfect tool you need to demystify concepts that will form the foundation of any work you create."
Nouhad
"This course is the course I will be recommending to everyone to get started! Houdini is actually not as crazy a software and as hard to understand as I thought. With this course it actually makes far more sense than C4D! Who knew?! I want to give a sincere thank you! Might have changed my life as an artist forever. Your layout and planning was great – must have taken a while and it shows! Can’t wait to get another course from you."
Jeffrey Buoncristiano
Who's Hipflask for?
3D artists transitioning from other software
If you're an artist with experience in another 3D application – such as Maya, 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, or Blender – then these courses will teach you all the essentials you need to transition to Houdini with confidence and put those skills into practice.
Complete Beginners
If you're looking to get into 3D content creation for the first time and want to get started using Houdini, then this structured learning path will see you pick it up as quickly and easily as you would any other major 3D application. Houdini is not only for experienced 3D artists!
Why Houdini?
There’s many reasons! Here’s a few:
- Houdini is the most powerful 3D software on the market. The most intricate, jaw-dropping work around? Most of it’s done in Houdini.
- Want to future-proof your career? Houdini is moving out of the sidelines and into the spotlight. No longer just for specialists, it will soon play a leading role in the industry-wide CG pipeline.
- SideFX (the team behind Houdini) are developing the capabilities, toolset and user friendliness at breakneck speed. No painful waiting for new features.
- Houdini is the ultimate procedural tool, which saves you time with iterative work, client changes, automating repeated tasks, and building custom tools you’ll use across multiple projects and share with others
High quality training based on years of industry experience
Fraser Shiers is an award-winning creative director, 3D artist and university lecturer. He’s produced work for some of the world’s best known brands and advertising agencies, and has taught thousands of students how to get up and running with Houdini.
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