Houdini Rendering¶

How to Houdini command line rendering works. Let me show you an example on an instance with AWS Spot. Of course, you can use any other provider as you like.

First things we know to do. You have to do them to start rendering.

Command Line Rendering¶

Now we can start the actual rendering of our scenes in the Houdini and Mantra render engine. We will use Houdini Command Line Rendering.

Download Houdini¶

I will use this Python Script to Download Houdini. Auto install Houdini script for Windows and Linux developed by @paulwinex

Just clone this repository to our AWS Linux Ubuntu Instance. Put this code in the terminal.

cd /mnt/efs/
git clone https://github.com/paulwinex/houdini_install_script.git

Then run this script like this.

cd /mnt/efs/
sudo python ./houdini_install.py -u username -p password -i /opt/houdini -s y

Replace username and password with your login details from SideFx Website

Now upload your houidni files to the server you want to render. Use this method of uploading files to the server.

Houdini is Installed and then running this command.

source houdini_setup
hkey

Install Houdini License¶

The next steps is to install the Houdini License on the server. Put this command in the terminal.

sesictrl -L

Follow the instructions to download the Server Licenses.

Render Your Scene¶

When everything installed properly, we can start rendering on this server.

You need to create a file like this.

cd /mnt/efs/
nano render.cmd

Then put this code in to the render.cmd file.

# Rendering From the Command Line
# Open the Hip File
mread your_scene_aws.hiplc

# Bake FEM Simulation
#render -V /obj/roberto/filecache1/render

# Turn on Load From Disk
#opparm /obj/roberto/filecache1/ loadfromdisk on
#python -c 'hou.parm("/obj/roberto/filecache1/loadfromdisk").set(1)'

# Render Camera
render -V cam01

# quit

Now you can start rendering by typing.

hscript render.cmd

That’s it, now you are waiting for the result.

Warning

Remember your paths in the .hip file must be relative path. Otherwise it won’t render properly.

Download Output File¶

Now it’s time to download your render file output. Use this method of downloading files from the server.

That’s it, exit the server and delete it. Now you know how to render Houdini file in the cloud with command line rendering. So just now use my Render Time Package and calculate render time for your scenes.

Just type in the terminal.

python -m pip install mdsanima

Now go into this step