The Houdini Fundamentals certification is ideal for new Houdini users because it offers courses and exercises that are designed specifically for beginners. If you're not sure if this is the right path for you, then try honestly answering the following questions:

1.  Do you have any work fully rendered out? (not including viewport renders)
2.  Are you somewhat comfortable coding basic things with vex?
3.  Do you understand the various contexts (SOPs, DOPs, VOPs, etc...) and what purposes they are made for?
4.  Do you feel comfortable creating and adjusting attributes?
5.  Are the core concept of attributes, geometry components, data types, groups, and simulations clear to you? 

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, then you are not yet ready to handle the intermediate or advanced certifications.

The Houdini Specialist certification is ideal for Houdini users that are ready to go beyond the basics.  If you're not sure if this is the right path for you, then try honestly answering the following questions:

1.  Do you have multiple renders that can be refined into demo-reel pieces?
2.  Have you established a shading, lighting, rendering, and compositing pipeline for your work?
3.  Have you chosen a specific area of study that you would like to pursue yet?

If you answered "no" to any of those questions, then you are not yet ready for the Houdini Mastery certification.

The Houdini Mastery certification is ideal for those who are close to (or are already) applying for professional work.  The Mastery certification requires more consultation time because this level of professional work requires a high degree of personalized advice, critique, and direction according to your specific goals.  

Run through the questions above for the Houdini Fundamentals and Houdini Specialist certifications first to see if this path is right for you.  If you have a strong idea of what you'd like to specifically do and have established some projects that can be refined or added to your demo reel, then this may be the right path for you.

To submit your work and receive your certification, e-mail tyler@cgforge.com directly with exercise files and a link to your renders (can be YouTube or Vimeo).  From here, your account and work will be reviewed, and if you meet all the requirements, then you will be awarded a certification.

Each course at CG Forge is ranked as either "beginner," "intermediate," or "advanced."

There are many different ways to unlock courses and consultations at CG Forge.  For the latest pricing information, visit the subscriptions page.

As long as you meet the course, video call, and work requirements, you will qualify for a certification.  That's the bottom line.  How you gather those requirements is up to you.  Everyone works at different speeds, so that means 4 months might be ideal for one person while another person may need 12 months to accomplish the same thing.

Here are some recommendations I have for each certification level:


Houdini Fundamentals Certification:

--  Start off by watching Houdini For The New Artist for free
--  Then, consider subscribing for a month at $199
--  To meet the video call requirements, book a 90 minute session ($199)

If you can get everything accomplished in one month, then it takes $398 to get the Fundamentals Certification.

If you plan on staying with CG Forge longer than that, then consider joining as a premium subscriber because that will save you money in the long-run.


Houdini Specialist Certification:

--  You'll need more than a month to meet these requirements, so I would suggest choosing the premium subscription option.
--  The best value is with the premium subscription because it comes with a free 90 minute session. ($699)
--  To meet the one-on-one requirements, you'll also need to add on two mentorship calls. ($398)
--  In total that would be $1097 for the Houdini Specialist Certification.



Houdini Mastery Certification:

--  This option is best suited for the premium subscription option, and it will take you at least a year to complete.
--  So, for 4 months of access + 3 mentorship calls that would be ($2097)
--  Then, you would need to add three more mentorship calls ($597)
--  That would be a total of $2694

These are all just examples of how you can do it.  There's many ways to purchase what you need at CG Forge because everyone has different preferences.  Bottom line is this: as long as you meet the requirements, you can earn a certification.  If you have any other questions, feel free to get in contact, and I'd be happy to help you out.

For beginners, it is important to take the courses in the order described above in the course requirements (starting with Houdini For the New Artist).  For intermediate and advanced users, the order doesn't matter as much, and you can safely take the relevant courses in whichever order you'd prefer.

If you earn the certification, you'll receive a pdf containing a unique certification ID, LinkedIn awards/recommendations, and (optionally) social media posts from CG Forge celebrating your achievements to industry leaders, recruiters, and other artists.