4.3 Side Effects Software's Houdini

The following Houdini integration tips work with later Houdini 9 packages.

• Integration in Houdini is substantially improved by letting Houdini know that 3Delight is the preferred RenderMan renderer. This is done by setting the HOUDINI_DEFAULT_RIB_RENDERER environment variable to `3Delight8.5' for Houdini versions up to 10.0.473, or to `3Delight9.0' for Houdini versions after 10.0.473. This variable will instruct Houdini to use 3Delight for shader compilation and for rendering, and also provides relevant default properties for the RIB output driver.
• Houdini comes with a `houdini' display driver that can be used with 3Delight. This display driver is installed using the proto_install Houdini command.
• 3Delight provides a digital asset library of all the shaders included in the package. Once this file is imported in Houdini, all 3Delight shaders will exist as SHOP nodes. The digital asset library file can be found in the `shaders' directory of the 3Delight installation (`$DELIGHT/shaders').
• Custom shaders can also be packaged in a digital asset library file which can then be imported in Houdini. The sdl2otl.py Python script that comes with Houdini will parse the output of shaderinfo to create the digital asset library file from any compiled shader file.
• While the RIB output driver comes with the most common rendering parameters, several more can be added through the parameter pane's tool menu. It is possible to add new parameters, remove unwanted ones and save the custom parameter set as the default set to be used for future RIB output drivers. This is done through the Save as Permanent Default option of the parameters pane's Tools menu.
• The same mechanism can be used to modifiy any object's rendering properties. Again, it is possible to define a new default set of attributes, better suited for rendering with 3Delight than the default properties that Houdini creates by using the Save as Permanent Default option of the parameters pane's Tools menu.

3Delight 10.0. Copyright 2000-2011 The 3Delight Team. All Rights Reserved.