Hey pals. Reading through this thread and it's neat to see some buzz about Houdini! I've been using Houdini now for over 6 years and cannot put it down! Here are a few observations and considerations, from my experience/perspective.
1. Houdini's overall software design makes it very extendable. Everything is a node. Not a cheap node representation of another element via a loose symbolic link. This modular design allows for SideFX to extend Houdini by new nodes as opposed to major overhauls. Yes, there are nodes in other software, but they are not at the core of the design, but another layer of extrapolation built on a pre-existing core.
2. Houdini is not a black box of compound operations, but also does not hold your hand. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, depending on the goals of the individual. If you are only concerned about high-level 3D artistry and making general pretty-pictures, there are better alternatives out there that will let you paint with broad-strokes, quicker, at much greater accessibility.
3. Houdini is not a plug-in centric software. If you need a feature or tool, Houdini makes building one VERY accessible to the user without having to write C++ code using the Software's SDK (still has that as an option, but not out-of-the-gate necessary). Contrast that with most other major packages that rely heavily on third party plugins. This is very empowering to the standard user, once you understand Houdini's paradigm fully.
4. You can perform most any operation in Houdini, as a standard user (no C++ plugin dev), that other DCC software can perform and much more! Objectively, Houdini is one of the most (if not the most) flexible, extendible DCC softwares, full-stop... BUT, do you need that level of flexibility? Only you can answer that question.
5. Very well put together Python API with awesome documentation all around. This makes Houdini a TREAT for studio setups and collaboration between other software.
Here's my logic and perspective at a more personal level - If I'm going to spend most of my entire life learning a skill, trade that I am very passionate about, I want to spend my time/effort in the most open-ended solution possible (within reason). If I wanted an easy ride with a crutch, I'd be using Keyshot. I choose to live in a world of more absolutes, but everything in reality is in a spectrum (Keyshot => Cinemea4D => Houdini => C++ writing your own DCC).
My goal is to be able to run Houdini just as quick, if not quicker than conventional DCC software. Houdini allows a user to not be beholden to the limitations of black boxed software. Hopefully this means unmatched industry maneuverability and much greater output potential. I do not want to be restricted by what the software will allow me to do.
The real tradeoff is that Houdini's absolute control, brings with it much more complexity and requires more time to learn. Once you learn it though, a lot of doors open.
Hope that helped a bit! If you are interested in Houdini, check out MOPs. Not a plugin per-say, but using Houdini's incredible extendibility to build up compound Houdini functionality - https://www.motionoperators.com/
SideFX has some GREAT training content - https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/
Rohan Dalvi makes some excellent training content (free and paid) - https://www.rohandalvi.net/free
Also... this
