Hair Wizard

[Paul Forwood]

Here is something that I have been WIPping up:

 

 

 

If you scroll to about 3/8ths of the way through this movie you will notice a frame where the hair completely disappears. Is this a known bug? Anyone else seen this?

 

I have been trying to get a good mix for silvery-white hair but it just comes out looking too flat. Also there seems to be an issue with hair guides not behaving well on the edges of 5-point patches. Does anyone have any hair tips?

 

I am also experimenting with modelled hair. Looking for the best options.

[rusty]

I've done quite a lot of experimenting with hair recently in version 13.q/r/s both NetRender and AM renders. I wish you would have mentioned a) what AM version you are using, if you did your render in AM or using NetRender and, c) if you are using dynamics. Also... Windows or Mac?

 

If you scroll to about 3/8ths of the way through this movie you will notice a frame where the hair completely disappears. Is this a known bug? Anyone else seen this?

 

I have not seen this happen, not once in any of my tests. However, if you are using a render farm (NetRender) I have seen other materials vanish like this when one or more slaves does not have enough virtual memory (easily adjusted... on Windows).

 

I have been trying to get a good mix for silvery-white hair but it just comes out looking too flat.

 

I have not had this problem... well, I guess I should say that I fix this problem either by a) the hair guides or, if you are using dynamics, via the stiffness setting.

 

Also there seems to be an issue with hair guides not behaving well on the edges of 5-point patches.

 

Yes. This is why I use a transparent hair cap set just below the model's mesh. I can not only avoid 5 pt patches but also hooks and, I can reduce any disparity in patch size (patch size affects density). I can also have greater control over the hair line; where it is and making it easier for length maps to create a more natural appearance. Also, individual patches or groups of patches angled to emit hair this way or that add a lot to a natural look.

 

You do not mention the hair shimmer which is evident in your video. My battle against this has come down to render passes... lots of them.

 

I believe that the muhair shaders are important but, I never got far enough to try these before I fell back to helmet hair because of deadlines. I know AM hair is going to be killer (just look at TWO!) but, for myself, I need a lot more time learning how to use it properly.

 

Finally, I'm no longer sure that using one AM hair for every hair strand is the best way to go. I'm now thinking that perhaps one AM hair equaling groups of hair strands (using hair images perhaps with alpha channels) might work out far better (and also render much faster).

 

Hope this helps. Keep posting your progress for all of us!

 

Rusty

[Paul Forwood]

Thanks for your input, Rusty!

 

I wish you would have mentioned a) what AM version you are using, if you did your render in AM or using NetRender and, c) if you are using dynamics. Also... Windows or Mac?

I had been using A:M 14 Beta 3 but that was just foolish. I will wait for the full release before I go back to that version.

So these recent tests were done in A:M13s on a standalone PC. Dynamics are enabled, targeting is "Constraint", Stiffness 50%,Is Rod=On. Collisions are On with Radius=1cm, Bounce=5%, Friction=50%.

 

I have been trying to get a good mix for silvery-white hair but it just comes out looking too flat.

 

 

I have not had this problem... well, I guess I should say that I fix this problem either by a) the hair guides or, if you are using dynamics, via the stiffness setting.

Sorry. I should have made that clearer. I was refering to the colour and shading rather than the shape or volume. I expect that silvery white hair will be more difficult to give definition to because the diffuse colour is already so close to the specular colour. I have a bright, pale blue for the diffuse colour and the specular colour is almost white. I have experimented with other colours but I am not getting the results that I was hoping for. It is such a complex mix, (hair properties, lighting, reflections, dynamics), that I think I need to spend more time experimenting with it. I just realised that none of these tests were done with a sky dome or any reflective geometry and I'm thinking that probably contributes to the quality of the hair render. Must try that next.

 

I use a transparent hair cap set just below the model's mesh.

Yes. So do I. The movie above uses that technique but I have been using cookie-cut strands and helmet hair in a search for a better solution too. Splitting the hair up into transparent strands that have a hair material applied gives me more control of the hair style and the dynamics.

 

I can not only avoid 5 pt patches but also hooks

Duh. I'm so-o-o stupid! I could have removed the 5 point patches from the emmitter! I forgot, when I was grooming, that it was being emmitted from the transparent geometry inside the head. Thanks for waking me up.

 

The attached movie does use Muhair and I will continue to play with the various properties until I feel I have a grasp of how to master it. I need to know if the environment plays an important role in the quality of the finished hair.

I try to avoid very high multi-pass renders because of the time it takes to render. 5 or 9 passes is about the most that I am willing to give to it at the moment. That could be one of the things that drives me back to helmet hair for this project. I'm not giving up on A:M hair yet though.

---------

 

Here is a compilation of some hair that I have tried on this guy so far:

 

 

---------

Cheers!