In this
Create a new scene
Hit tab in the network editor and add a ‘Platonic Solids’ node:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-1.png?fit=800%2C428)
Double click the node to enter its internal network, select the In the platonic node properties change the type to ‘Soccer ball’:
![](https://i2.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-2.png?fit=800%2C438)
Add more detail to the ball by creating a subdivide node and connecting the platonic node to its 1st input:
![](https://i1.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-3.png?fit=800%2C493)
If you want to add more detail, adjust the Depth slider in the subdivide node properties:
![](https://i1.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-4.png?fit=800%2C351)
Create a new transform node, and attach the subdivide node to its input, Hold R and drag to select the transform node to move the display flags over to it.
Update the translate Y value so our ball moves up vertically, this will be the starting point for the animation:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-5.png?fit=800%2C403)
Hold ALT on the keyboard and left click on the Translate Y value to add a keyframe, you’ll notice that a keyframe is added to the timeline at frame 1 (the current, starting frame):
![](https://i2.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-6.png?fit=800%2C388)
A quick note on the animation timeline, the 2 numbers highlighted below define the number of visible frames in the timeline (first number), and the total frames in the entire animation (second number):
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-7.png?fit=800%2C73)
I’m going to reduce both of these numbers for this simple animation.
Move the time slider to a frame in the future, activate the manipulator tool and move the ball down:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-8.png?fit=800%2C394)
ALT + left click on the translate Y channel again to set another keyframe:
![](https://i2.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-9.png?fit=800%2C402)
Now go to the last frame in the animation and adjust the translate Y value to put the ball back up to its original point (5):
![](https://i1.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-10.png?fit=800%2C412)
If you play the animation from the timeline and it plays too fast, click on the timeline settings button and check the ‘Realtime Playback’ option:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-11.png?fit=800%2C507)
Open in the Animation Editor
Right click on the channel which has animation keys applied, and select Channels > Add to Channel List:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-12.png?fit=800%2C422)
This will open the Animation Editor window:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-13.png?fit=800%2C359)
I won
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.john-player.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/houdini-simple-animation-14.png?fit=800%2C354)
See my post on Maya’s tangent types for some useful information on curve functions