Strand-Based Hair Mini-Tutorial

Gordig

Also, since I repeatedly failed to mention it, playing with the random root angle really helps get a realistic look for body hair. I made a crazy, gnarled unibrow earlier where I went nuts with the random root angle, and I really like how it turned out.

marble

Ah yes, the young Tom. You seem to be getting closer.

Leonides02

LOL - pretty damn accurate!

Pendraia

Thanks Divamakeup for an awesome tutorial!

Xellosz

Divamakeup said:

I thought I'd put together a mini-tutorial on Strand-Based Hair, for those who might want to see a quick walkthrough of the basic steps. Disclaimer: This is just how I personally do it, there are probably easier or better ways. So, of course, feel free to point out easier/better ways if you've found some - Strand-Based Hair is still quite new and we're all learning as we go. So feel free to share what you all have learned and any tips/tricks that you've discovered that might make things easier. :)

 

Load the figure you want the hair added to (in this walk-through I'll use Genesis 8 Male).

Select the figure in the scene tab and then go to Create >> New Strand-Based Hair.

1. The Strand-Based Hair Editor should pop up - select Torso and Face.

Then go to the Paint Tab. 

2. Paint where you want the hair to grow. Slide the "Value" to 0.0% for areas you want to "erase" - slide it back to 100% to paint in white the areas you want the hair to grow out from. (Edit: Thank you to L'Adair for pointing out that you can "erase" by holding down "Alt" - no need to slide the Value to 0. Thank you for the great tip, L'Adair!)

Then go to the Distribute Tab.

If you see any strands growing out of any funky or weird areas go back to the Paint Tab and paint them out with the "Value" at 0.0%.

3. Set the "Density" (I usually set it to 50-60 for longer hair but since this is short hair I went with 100). Set the Width (I usually set the Base at .18 and the Tip at .08), but you can always adjust it later if you want thicker or thinner hair strands. Same with the Density, which you can tweak later if you want thicker or thinner hair growth.

4. Go to the Style Tab and scroll to the bottom and select "Show Hairs" and (this is optional) turn the "Amount" to 100%. Depending on your machine though (and personal preference) you might keep it at 20% or slide it to 50%. I like to see all the hairs that I'm working with, and luckily my machine can handle it, so I usually have it at 100%.

5. The "Comb Curves tool" should be selected (it looks like a little comb) if it's not selected, select it. Adjust the Strength, Radius, and Fall Off to suit your taste. I usually like to start out with the settings of Strength 100%, Radius around 100, and Fall Off at 0%. I also recommend setting the Auto Parting around 90.

Start shaping the hair how you want it - adjust the Strength, Radius, and Fall Off to suit your taste. I like to zoom out a bit so that I can get better control over the entire hair and start to "rough out" the general shape that I want. (You can zoom in and use a smaller brush Radius when you're ready to make more minor adjustments.) But for now, keep a focus on the general shape that you want.

6. Once you have the general shape you want, use the "Scale Curves tool" (the one with two arrows coming out of it) to extend the hair length to the general length that you prefer. 

7. Now go in and start refining the shape. This is where I start to zoom in a bit more, using a smaller brush, and tweaking the Strength, Radius, and Fall Off as needed. For more subtle changes you might use a lower Strength with a higher Fall Off, but use the settings you, personally, find easiest to use. 

8. Once you have a general shape down I recommend hitting Accept and then saving the scene. You can call it "Strand Hair Wolverine WIP 1" or whatever helps you remember. I like to save often and at various stages so if I REALLY get funky with it or mess it up badly, I can just reload a previous save. So I'll usually end up with "WIP 1", "WIP 2", "WIP 3". But that's just my own preference. 

9. After you've saved go back into to the Strand-Based Hair Editor (make sure the "Strand-Based Hair 1" is selected in the scene tab then go to Edit >> Edit Strand-Based Hair).

Refine the shape until you have a general shape that you like. If you find you've pushed the hair into the scalp, you can use the Comb to fluff it up and out of the skull or you can use the "Curl Curves tool" (looks a bit like a fish hook) at a negative value to pull the hair out of the scalp. Tweaking and refining the general shape can take a while, so be patient. This is you pretty much sculpting the hair, it may take a while to get it to where you want it. If you find you've really messed up you can just hit "Cancel". If you accidentally hit Accept and don't like the changes, just reload the previous save of the scene. 

If you want to make any parts longer you can uncheck the "Retain Curve Lengths" option and use the comb to "pull out" longer strands. You can also increase or decrease the length with the "Scale Curves tool" (the tool with two arrows coming out of it), or if you want to just shorten a specific area you can trim it with the "Cut Curves tool" (it looks like a pair of scissors).

10. Once you have the general shape down in the Style Tab I recommend adding some Clump and Tweaks. 

Here are the settings I used for Clump:

And the settings I used for Tweak:

 

This is just a quick walk-through and doesn't go super in-depth. Hopefully, though, it can be of help to those who are wanted to get started with learning how to make Strand-Based Hair. Feel free to experiment with the different settings and tools once you're more comfortable with the basics. 

Anyone else who has tips and advice, feel free to leave your comments. We're all just learning how to do this, so sharing what you've learned would be greatly appreciated. :)

thx for the workflow so many things comes to my mind to play with using this settings. 

marble

I wonder if anyone has found a way to save the Strand-Based Hair as a wearable or prop or asset? Seems somewhat limiting to have to recreate the hair for every different character yet if the only way to save the hair is to save the whole scene or scene subset, then the hair will only load with that character. Or am I missing something obvious?

[EDIT] I did miss something obvious previously suggested by @Divamakeup - that is to save as a base G8F and then bring her into a new scene, apply a saved character shape and saved MAT preset. I just tried that and it worked. However, I still think it would be better (and a basic requirement) to be able to save the hair itself and fit it to any G8F character.

Exeter

I wonder if anyone has found a way to save the Strand-Based Hair as a wearable or prop or asset? Seems somewhat limiting to have to recreate the hair for every different character yet if the only way to save the hair is to save the whole scene or scene subset, then the hair will only load with that character. Or am I missing something obvious?

marble said:

[EDIT] I did miss something obvious previously suggested by @Divamakeup - that is to save as a base G8F and then bring her into a new scene, apply a saved character shape and saved MAT preset. I just tried that and it worked. However, I still think it would be better (and a basic requirement) to be able to save the hair itself and fit it to any G8F character.

I used strand based hair to make my Neolithic fur outfits for G8F and G8M over at Rendo. If you save the item as a scene subset, then load into the scene and put it onto the target character using 'fit-to', it works fine for multiple characters. The same approach should work for an invisible hair cap with SBH attached, though you'll wind up with a static hair shape that will have to be restyled depending on your character pose. 

lilweep

What is the limitation of using the 'fit to' selector for the SBH hair node?  is a successful fit based on the geometry of the surface, so it should work on characters within any generation of figure it was created on?

I wish there was some formal documentation of sbh.  even garibaldi wiki has a bunch of broken images and unfinished wiki entries.

https://www.garibaldiexpress.com/docs/Garibaldi_Express_Documentation

Exeter

peenwolf said:

What is the limitation of using the 'fit to' selector for the SBH hair node?  is a successful fit based on the geometry of the surface, so it should work on characters within any generation of figure it was created on?

I wish there was some formal documentation of sbh.  even garibaldi wiki has a bunch of broken images and unfinished wiki entries.

https://www.garibaldiexpress.com/docs/Garibaldi_Express_Documentation

The 'fit-to' selection is made on the item that has SBH created on it, NOT on the SBH itself. The only issues I've seen across generations is the arm and leg position differences between gen3 and gen8.  Within a generation, 'fit-to' seems to work fine.

marble

Exeter said:

I wonder if anyone has found a way to save the Strand-Based Hair as a wearable or prop or asset? Seems somewhat limiting to have to recreate the hair for every different character yet if the only way to save the hair is to save the whole scene or scene subset, then the hair will only load with that character. Or am I missing something obvious?

marble said:

[EDIT] I did miss something obvious previously suggested by @Divamakeup - that is to save as a base G8F and then bring her into a new scene, apply a saved character shape and saved MAT preset. I just tried that and it worked. However, I still think it would be better (and a basic requirement) to be able to save the hair itself and fit it to any G8F character.

I used strand based hair to make my Neolithic fur outfits for G8F and G8M over at Rendo. If you save the item as a scene subset, then load into the scene and put it onto the target character using 'fit-to', it works fine for multiple characters. The same approach should work for an invisible hair cap with SBH attached, though you'll wind up with a static hair shape that will have to be restyled depending on your character pose. 

OK thanks ... a bit of an advance on the apply shape/mat method so I'll try it later today. I'm assuming that, once fitted, you can again save that character as a subset without issues (obviosly I'll find out for myself later).

By the way, this is the first time I've tried creating the hair and I chose a rather unusual place to start: a third-party geograft. Yes, I'm talking about the hairy nether regions and I have to say that I'm impressed with the results (thanks in no small part to the excellent tutorial that is the subject of this thread). I checked on the R'otica website and a similar "hairpiece" is being sold for $16 and I can modestly claim that my initial effort looks just as natural as the commercial version though it doesn't have the list of adjustments and shapes that  the R'otica product boasts.

marble

Exeter said:

 

I used strand based hair to make my Neolithic fur outfits for G8F and G8M over at Rendo. If you save the item as a scene subset, then load into the scene and put it onto the target character using 'fit-to', it works fine for multiple characters. The same approach should work for an invisible hair cap with SBH attached, though you'll wind up with a static hair shape that will have to be restyled depending on your character pose. 

OK - I tried it and it works. Source was G8F base wearing SBH and I had a target G8 character in the scene. Used Fit To and then Change Parent and now my character is no longer shaved bald.

Many thanks.

[EDIT] Oops, sorry - just discovered a hitch. I moved my character and the hair didn't move with her. I had parented to the geograft so I tried parenting to the main figure hip but it still wouldn't move. In the end I tried "unparent" and now it moves with the figure. Not sure I understand why but it works.

 

TheKD

That sounds bass ackkwards lol

Exeter

One of the more peculiar quirks of SBH... DON'T parent it to the surface you create it on. If you do it won't move properly when you move the figure. Just leave it alone and it will be fine, except that you'll have a separate entry for it in your scene list. It helps to give it a unique name when you create the hair, so you can tell them apart if you have more than one in your scene.

marble

Exeter said:

One of the more peculiar quirks of SBH... DON'T parent it to the surface you create it on. If you do it won't move properly when you move the figure. Just leave it alone and it will be fine, except that you'll have a separate entry for it in your scene list. It helps to give it a unique name when you create the hair, so you can tell them apart if you have more than one in your scene.

Yes, as @TheKD said - seems all wrong but that's what I found. Good tip about the unique name (I do that for geografts too as multiple characters can be "wearing" the same item).

 

Gordig

Posted this in another thread, so I thought I'd share it here, too. I spent some time playing around with surface settings so that fur would match the creature's base texture. I present to you the Daz Jaguar, without the base texture (meaning that all the coloring is coming from the hair itself) and with, and my settings. The hair itself is completely default since I was only interested in the surface settings.

lilweep

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

Exeter

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

lilweep

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

marble

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

lilweep

marble said:

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

Gordig above showed how to change colours on surfaces tab with texture maps on the root and tip (or just choose a colour).  I guess these are the parameters you change to change colour.

Garibaldi wiki has some really vague explanations of other parameters on surface tab: https://www.garibaldiexpress.com/wiki/index.php?title=Garibaldi_Shader

Gordig also mentioned curly hair in other thread: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/4721676/#Comment_4721676

Gordig

peenwolf said:

marble said:

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

Gordig above showed how to change colours on surfaces tab with texture maps on the root and tip (or just choose a colour).  I guess these are the parameters you change to change colour.

Garibaldi wiki has some really vague explanations of other parameters on surface tab: https://www.garibaldiexpress.com/wiki/index.php?title=Garibaldi_Shader

Gordig also mentioned curly hair in other thread: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/4721676/#Comment_4721676

The texture maps aren't strictly necessary in all cases. I used it for that example because I wanted the fur to match the pattern of the base texture. For most other uses of SBH, you can simply change the colors.

marble

peenwolf said:

marble said:

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

Gordig above showed how to change colours on surfaces tab with texture maps on the root and tip (or just choose a colour).  I guess these are the parameters you change to change colour.

Garibaldi wiki has some really vague explanations of other parameters on surface tab: https://www.garibaldiexpress.com/wiki/index.php?title=Garibaldi_Shader

Gordig also mentioned curly hair in other thread: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/4721676/#Comment_4721676

Isn't that Garibaldi shader for 3Delight? I read somewhere that it doesn't work with IRay - as I said, whether I play with colours in the Surfaces tab or inside the editor, I see no change in the render.

Thanks for the link to the curl parameters - I'll give that a try.

lilweep

marble said:

peenwolf said:

marble said:

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

Gordig above showed how to change colours on surfaces tab with texture maps on the root and tip (or just choose a colour).  I guess these are the parameters you change to change colour.

Garibaldi wiki has some really vague explanations of other parameters on surface tab: https://www.garibaldiexpress.com/wiki/index.php?title=Garibaldi_Shader

Gordig also mentioned curly hair in other thread: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/4721676/#Comment_4721676

Isn't that Garibaldi shader for 3Delight? I read somewhere that it doesn't work with IRay - as I said, whether I play with colours in the Surfaces tab or inside the editor, I see no change in the render.

Thanks for the link to the curl parameters - I'll give that a try.

Oh right.  I see when you create a new SBH it has RSL and MDL surface options.  I assume we just ignore the RSL default surface settings if we are rendering in Iray.

nonesuch00

marble said:

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

You just have to try coloring and render at 640x360 or such low resolutions to see a quick impression of the colors you chose.

Gordig

Did another trial with MilCat. I put a little more effort into styling the fur, but the styling controls are not very satisfying to use at this point, so I'd have to do quite a bit more work to get the full effect I'm after.

marble

nonesuch00 said:

marble said:

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

I'm also confused about colouring the hair. I don't know where to change the colour because the settings in the editor do nothing for IRay renders and the Surfaces tab is a mystery. Playing with the colours in the Surfaces also seems to do little to nothing so I have made hair that is dark brown to black and have no choice in the matter.

Another question: on my first attempt I managed to get short, curly body hair but I have no idea how I did that and have not been able to repeat it. Now I get straight hair (or somewhat bent but certainly not curly) and it points every which way. I have played with clumping and straggles and friz but to no avail.

You just have to try coloring and render at 640x360 or such low resolutions to see a quick impression of the colors you chose.

I think I was using the wrong shader. @peenwolf said that there are two shaders - RSL and MDL - but I wasn't aware of this so when I get a chance later I'll check that out, if I can find the settings.

marble

Gordig said:

Did another trial with MilCat. I put a little more effort into styling the fur, but the styling controls are not very satisfying to use at this point, so I'd have to do quite a bit more work to get the full effect I'm after.

Yeah, I got stuck with that bottle brush style too, only on a much smaller scale. I don't envy your task with the comb!

lilweep

Today I was trying to make a really ragged/clumpy fur collar (simlar to Night's Watch uniform from Game of Thrones).  

Is there any way to smooth out the jagged hair segments?

Eboshijaana

Gordig said:

Posted this in another thread, so I thought I'd share it here, too. I spent some time playing around with surface settings so that fur would match the creature's base texture. I present to you the Daz Jaguar, without the base texture (meaning that all the coloring is coming from the hair itself) and with, and my settings. The hair itself is completely default since I was only interested in the surface settings.

Anisotropy off and the fur looks like its base.

I myself use these settings. It is important to put your base texture in EVERY colour section, so it shows.
 

Exeter

peenwolf said:

Exeter said:

peenwolf said:

I don't understand the texturing of SBH...

I was playing with Exeter's Neolithic set (i liked the texture of the Shawl), but where is the overall texture of the hair pattern actually coming from?  It's not on the SBH surfaces anywhere, or is it?

 

 

SBH isn't a texture, it's appearance is controlled by the density and length the hair when you create it on the target surface. You can edit the hair by using the 'edit strand based hair' function, then under the 'density' tab in the window that pops up you'll see the settings controlling length and density. Be careful about going too far, if you get the density function too high it can bring you system to its knees when you try to render the image.

Thanks.  I think I had it on quite high density on that image i posted.

What I meant to ask is: there is clearly light, dark, and differently-coloured patches of the outfit.  How do those variations of the strand colours arise across the surface without a texture?  Or are they just shadows/highlights?

In the Neolithic clothes I was going for the effect of worn/used furs, so I put a texture on the shawl surface with a bump map, then used a relatively low density for the hair. When the clothing drapes, you get different degrees of the underlying surface showing through. That gives the the variations you see. It results from a combination of the hair, the underlying surface, and the orientation of the hair changing due to dForce.