The 90% Trap

Ever been in “almost-done” limbo?
You’re 90% there — but instead of finishing, you jump to a shiny new project.

Why?
because starting feels exciting and safe, while finishing feels heavy and overwhelming.

My Houdini Limbo
I lived there for years with my Houdini projects.
Some sat at 90% for months.
Some… for years.

All abandoned for the wrong reasons.

Why “Final” Was Fuzzy

It wasn’t skill or motivation I lacked — it was clarity.
Without a clear definition of done, I drifted in the endless polish phase.

Perfectionism whispered: “Just one more tweak…”
Avoidance replied: “Eh, new project instead.”

The Shift

What changed?
I made finalizing mechanical instead of emotional.

I built a ritual.
A checklist 📋

Once the boxes are ticked — it’s done.
Anything else is a bonus.

The Checklist

So I built myself a Houdini shelf tool — a persistent Finalization Checklist with:

• Qt-Based Scrollable Checklist — Full PySide2 UI with word-wrapped checkboxes for each finalization step.
• State Persistence per .hip — Saves progress in the .hip via userData.
• One-Click Screenshots — High-res viewport captures at “checkpoint” or “final”.
• Checkpoint & Final Screenshots — Capture high-resolution viewport shots with automatic file naming: {scene}_{camera}_{frame}_{timestamp}.png.
• Custom Screenshot Folder — Saves under /screenshots in $HIP, keeping assets organized.
• Absolute Path Checker — Warns about hard-coded paths (use $HIP/$JOB).
• Bulk Actions — “Check All” and “Clear All” buttons for quick resets.
• Non-Modal Workflow — No popups that trap you.
• Versioned Final Save — Automatically appends _final to the .hip filename when marking the project as complete.

It’s my ritual for finishing.

My non-modal checklist with persistent state and one-click screenshots.

Downloads

• ⬇️ Download the .shelf file
  (Copy finalization-checklist.shelf to $HOME/Documents/houdiniXX.X/toolbar/)
• 🔍 Check the Python code

Finalization Checklist in text (click to expand)

1. Core Functionality

• No error flags (red) or warnings that break the result.
• All file paths are relative ($HIP, $JOB) — no hard-coded local drives.
• Parameters behave as intended; sliders/ramps don’t cause explosions.
• Procedural chains still work after changing inputs.

2. Scene Hygiene

• Delete unused test geometry/nodes.
• Consolidate node names (geo1 → rocks_scatter) so another human can follow.
• Organize networks with sticky notes/colors for logical sections.
• Remove or bypass any temp debugging nodes.

3. Look & Presentation

• Basic lighting setup (no default headlight for final).
• Cameras locked with intentional framing.
• Shaders either fully designed or clean procedural placeholders.
• No glaring texture stretching, UV errors, or default material giveaways.

4. Optimization

• Cache heavy sims/meshes to disk.
• Delete history where safe to reduce file size.
• Optimize display flags for smooth playback.

5. Packaging

• Gather all dependencies (textures, caches, Alembics) into one project folder.
• Save a _final version of the .hip file.
• Optional: Wrap as a Digital Asset (HDA) if reusable.

6. Output

• Render beauty still/frame sequence at target resolution.
• Export required formats (Alembic, FBX, EXR, MP4, etc.).
• Make a quick viewport playblast if motion is part of the work.

7. Final Review

• Open the scene on a clean Houdini install—check if it still works.
• Watch final renders/playblast—no flickers, artifacts, or missing frames.
• Ask: “Would I be okay with this in my portfolio tomorrow?”
• ✅ If yes → mark as finished, upload/share. If no → fix only the blockers.

Now, “done” isn’t a vague feeling — it’s a series of boxes I tick. Done just means meets criteria — not perfect.

If you’ve built your own finalizer or have ideas to improve this one, I’d love to hear them. come share your thoughts and connect with other creators in my Discord community, or find me on X (Twitter) — let’s help each other finish.