I had the pleasure of working on flash animations and 3d for record labels (Azuli, Platipus, LateNightTales), artists (Jamiroquai, Dave Pearce, Judge Jules) and brands (Smirnoff, Rob Papen / Inspiration Soundware) in the early 2000s and recently began learning Houdini, spurred on by old videos from Jason Busby at 3DBuzz.com. I took an awesome course at cgma (Fundamentals of Houdini for 3D Artists) and learned a ton thanks to Varomix. I'm studying Adam Swaab's excellent Abstract FX in Houdini class at cgma.com.

Since 2011 my company helped Avicii, Sebastian Ingrosso, Boy George, George Lamb, Quaker and other brands to launch and grow their podcasts, working with the team at NoiseHouse.

My noob advice to newcomers to Houdini - play with it, keep a goal in mind and try to solve something on your own, but do ask questions if you get stuck trying to solve something, especially using an old method, there might be a new way. Don't get too lost in trying to realistically simulate a candle in your first 2 months of Houdini unless you want to dream some weird ass stuff and fall behind on your course, but it's OK to explore down the rabbit hole a bit, who knows where it will take you. :)