Houdini permitted himself to be thrown, manacled, into the Hudson River to be nailed into packing cases and lowered into the ocean to be suspended by the ankles, strait-jacketed, hundreds of feet above the ground-and in every case, he escaped easily.

Many of his fabulous escapes, indeed, now sound more like legend than history, yet they really happened! Written by an experienced 3D animator and teacher, the book provides an approachable and accurate introduction to Houdini.Harry Houdini’s fame is secure as the greatest magician of modern times. Integrated exercises, tips, illustrations, and end-of-chapter quizzes help readers feel confident with the new skills they are learning.

Upon completion of the book, readers will be able to understand and utilize the interdependency of the various Houdini contexts and tackle a project using all of the techniques available including modeling, character animation, particle effects animation, dynamic simulation animation, shading, simple shader creation, lighting, rendering, and compositing. The Magic of Houdini teaches readers all of the skills and information necessary to be proficient in this application. With the introduction of Apprentice, the free learning edition of Houdini, more and more people are experiencing Houdini and looking for an accurate and complete reference guide to the software. Houdini is one of the premier 3D animation software packages on the market, used by top post-production studios in Hollywood.

Magic of houdini