Houdini Apprentice HD that is. Houdini Apprentice HD is a 100 dollar version of the 8000 dollar (yes 8-0-0-0) Houdini Master edition with no watermark. The downside is that it is for non-commercial work only and is restrictied to a max resolution of 1920×1080. Knowing that Houdini has been used in many many films (Harry Potter and the OotP comes to mind), there is a part of me that sees something like this and begins wringing his hands laughing maniacally. I have oft missed the warm blanket that was XSI Foundation, but this Houdini deal goes well beyond that having all the features of the “big-boy version.”

Who knows how long it will last. This marketing plan might fail in less than a year giving these newly Houdini-trained users a glimpse of what might have been. Or it might be a success and be around for a long time, but always keep users in a non-commercial environment since they’ll never be able to afford the commercial stuff. Still though, one has to take pause at this news.

1. Robert Says:
   November 15th, 2007 at 11:01 pm

   Our free Houdini Apprentice which limits renderings to PAL and adds a wordmark has been around for five years now and is going strong. It has proven a great way to help people develop skills and enriches the Houdini community with fresh ideas.

   The new HD version of Apprentice is an extension of our core values which center around our passion for production. With home computers now as powerful as work computers, individual artists can achieve great things. Houdini Apprentice HD will help us support those people while again benefiting from more Houdini skills in the CG industry and a more active Houdini community providing us with constant inspiration.

   Robert Magee
   Product Marketing Manager and 3D artist
   Side Effects