# Build Your First Character

### Create A Character Network From The Menu

<figure><img src="https://1361053013-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FczlF1HeE8ElPv7Dygz6P%2Fuploads%2FnuxFWc8KFtEX14VR2Oxv%2F18_createChar.gif?alt=media&#x26;token=afbbc3ee-f7b8-4ef0-b144-2378ec799281" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Recommendations

Set the $JOB variable for your scene:

{% embed url="<https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/basics/project.html>" %}
Set the JOB variable for a scene.
{% endembed %}

I prefer setting the $JOB variable because it enables you to have a top level folder available that we can use for expressions, simplifying the way to access caches and models. &#x20;