When Hairy met LightWave

[WilliamVaughan]

I had some time this weekend to test drive Fiber FX in 9.5 and wanted to share some of the images. Some are just simple tests and some are more complete but all were fun and easy to setup!

He's a fun one to start with

[WilliamVaughan]

And ANother

[WilliamVaughan]

You new this was coming...

[WilliamVaughan]

coarse hair

[WilliamVaughan]

another shot of coarse hair

[WilliamVaughan]

short hair that still shows off shape of mesh

[WilliamVaughan]

even shorter

[WilliamVaughan]

have to do the classic furball tests

[WilliamVaughan]

another furball

[WilliamVaughan]

controlling placement

[WilliamVaughan]

more limiting on placement

[WilliamVaughan]

Tofu's pet dog "Jack" needed some hair

[mav3rick]

now that is when william goes mad :)
great work proton

[WilliamVaughan]

Kungu Fu Fur

[WilliamVaughan]

I'm extremely busy with work atm but I shall return with more tests. I'm blown away with the speed of the renders and the quality. It's soooo easy to get styles and good renders. Most of the furball renders were in the 20-30 second time frame.

I did a lecture on Fiber FX this morning to a class and was getting really nice results quickly...which is something I would have never of attempted before these tools.

The sculpting tools in Layout are brilliant!

[dballesg]

Nice examples William.

Have you tried any long hair and animate it with dynamics?

Cheers,
David

[WilliamVaughan]

I did some long hair in my lecture this morning but didnt save anything... will probably do some when I get a chance to work with it more.

[Iain]

Ahhh you make that look so easy. When will you have time for tutorials????

[Kuzey]

That first one is a killer :thumbsup:

Hey William, have you seen this thread....maybe you could play around with feathers too :thumbsup:

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88791

Kuzey

[mav3rick]

proton would be nice if you can give more ideas to expand layout sculpt tools..... but again great

[digitaldoc]

Ick!
I think I found fur in my tofu!:D

[Mrjack]

Wow well done william
i love the characters and specially the first one
thnx for sharing ;)

[liquidik]

William it would be nice to see some test with motion and dynamics. I think these fur/hairs renders really really well.

-Gian

[hrgiger]

William, any chance you'd do a higher resolution render of the course hair? I'd like to see the quality a little better.

[Andyjaggy]

Look good, except the panda which looks awful to me.

It's nice to finally see some good examples of Fiber FX trickling in.

[WilliamVaughan]

Feather ball...couldnt resist after seeing this amazing work:
http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88949

[WilliamVaughan]

I uploaded some cheat sheets here that I made awhile back...hope they help:
http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88985

[scratch33]

Awesome Proton. Thank for sharing your tests with us.

Tutorials... We want tutorials... :D

[akademus]

Awesome stuff! Thanks William.

[Tobian]

Cool proton! Though I do agree about the Panda, could use some work. Otherwise excellent examples, can't wait to see what else you do! :)

[UnCommonGrafx]

That first image is so sexy, William. Truly, a captured personality (or a few) in that character.
Nice examples.

[-EsHrA-]

nice tests, although i think all fibers are too thick in a way, not 'hairy' enough.

mlon

[ghostlight]

Awesome! Can't wait to play.

[OOZZEE]

hi William, thanks for sharing your stuff again... can you ( when you have time ) just explain how you did the placement...on post 10 and 11

nice pics.... except for the panda is a bit off or maybe just its too far from camera and we dont see the how the fur is... it just looks off... but the rest is very cool.

The Coarse hair would really look on a couple of ICE AGE characters we all know !!

[WilliamVaughan]

Squeezed in a few minutes to dress this guy up a bit..

[WilliamVaughan]

These were two test without using the beard weightmap...saved the settings off for a starting point for short fur...

[Cougar12dk]

That last one looks like a Wolfman version of you :)

[Ztreem]

Great work! FiberFX has really grown from the first beta version, it's so easy to get nice looking fur and hair now with default settings.

[WilliamVaughan]

toon grass...

[zapper1998]

yes
thanks

Michael

[Tobian]

So when you doing the demo video's then William :D

Looking fantastic!

[Paul24]

Thanks for sharing William :thumbsup:

[WilliamVaughan]

quick tennis ball..... very rough start

[savagery]

you're great man.
video video video :) :)

[WilliamVaughan]

Teddy Scares....might have to revisit the animated short using fur :)

James Willmott showed me some amazing tips on this one. I wasnt aware of the cloning feature. That is going to open up soooo many options for me.

Big thanx to James on this one...he is always full of great ideas and solutions... looks amazing!

1280*960
enhanced low AA
16 seconds

[gaushell]

Very cool stuff William!

[WilliamVaughan]

Very cool stuff William!

You and the team are going to love the FFX in Modeler for creating bushes and trees... priceless and fast

[WilliamVaughan]

more cloning tests

[WilliamVaughan]

too much fun to stop

[WilliamVaughan]

new look for Jack

[WilliamVaughan]

found this under the couch

[biliousfrog]

Something that has always bugged me with CG hair/fur is when you can see the growth point...y'know, where the hair exits the skin. It never looks 'right'.

Is there a way to adjust the skin surface per hair strand? For example, have the skin dent inwards a little at the hair's root?

[Iain]

Hey! A furball that's actually impressive!

These are great. I'm inspired to play with ffx over the weekend now.

[HowardM]

cool stuff, how well does it do long wavy hair, and does it work with LW dynamics?

[WilliamVaughan]

cool stuff, how well does it do long wavy hair, and does it work with LW dynamics?


Havernt attempted long wavy hair but yes...it would work perfectly with dynamics. Jason Willmott has a killer example of this that I'll see if I can get my hands on

[evolross]

The Teddy Scares image is really nice. The fur really adds to it.

[silviotoledo]

Wow! It seems there will be cool Presets on the next Lw version, right?

[WilliamVaughan]

update to my Tennis ball

[Andyjaggy]

Yay, my faith in fiber FX is restored. It's great to see some nice stuff done with it.

[mav3rick]

keep it up proton.... you are making BRIGHT light on FFX which is lot welcoome

[silviotoledo]

Hey Proton! I'd love to see also some long hair ( with settings shared, of course, he he ).

See mine http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?p=752963#post752963

An antialising bug reported too.

[WilliamVaughan]

Quick update to the tennis ball

[WilliamVaughan]

under 10 seconds and you too can have a dog that needs a haircut :P

[WilliamVaughan]

ooops...posted wrong version... I like this one better

[pauhana]

And ANother

Awesome work...can you give a break down of how you did the fur on this guy? What your maps look like? Any kind of tips would be appreciated...

[WilliamVaughan]

Awesome work...can you give a break down of how you did the fur on this guy? What your maps look like? Any kind of tips would be appreciated...


no image maps or weight maps on the one above...this one uses one weight map for the head to control the density and scale so that his face can get better definition.

[WilliamVaughan]

First attempt at Long hair... needs lots of work but wanted to get some long hair posts started..

[WilliamVaughan]

80's Rocker...Hair guides from Modeler

[Wade]

nice thanks - up late are we. :)

[WilliamVaughan]

one more... going to tackle more hair this weekend if time allows..

[bobakabob]

Most inspiring! These are all great; the rocker especially (very Robert Crumb).

Looking forward to trying this out. I hope you can do some video tutorials William.

[safarifx]

hi proton :)

check this link. you will find massiv examples generated with FF >>

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?p=752801#post752801

:beerchug:

http://www.safari-fx.de/monat_september_2008/donkey11.jpg

:lol:

snip safx

[WilliamVaughan]

Crazy busy so not much time to experiment this weekend. Here are two very basic hairstyles using guides created with the Fiber Modeler.

[WilliamVaughan]

second one

[DiscreetFX]

Very nice William.

[WilliamVaughan]

I've been avoiding using kink on 98% of my hair....so I thought i could put it to use...

[WilliamVaughan]

quicky

[WilliamVaughan]

Oggie revisted

[WilliamVaughan]

Oggie : The Ostrich who lost his feathers
by William Vaughan

Oggie never was among the brightest of creatures,
One day he misplaced one of his best features!

He came home exhausted from staying out all night,
That's when he realized that all was not right.

Oggie looked in the mirror only to see,
that his feathers were missing, but where could they be?

He looked out of the window and under the bed,
he had a very big think and felt pain in his head.

Oggie looked to the left, then looked to the right,
the searching went on for most of the night.

Time passed and passed, and then even more,
Oggie forgot just what he was looking for.

The sun was rising, and coming up fast,
Oggie then realized, he had better move fast.

What could it be, that had left him that night?
It wasn't his health, he was feeling alright

It wasn't until Oggie sat right back down,
that he felt a sharp pain, that came from the ground

Oggie spun around, as quick as a fox,
he felt behind him, was it a rock?

With a quick glance, Oggie could see,
it was a feather that jabbed him, how could that be?

He sighed in confusion, "I haven't seen this before"
"It must have crept in, when I came through the door,"

With a pluck of the feather, and a turn of his head,
Oggie settled down, it was time for his bed.

[WilliamVaughan]

Anime Style Hair....first attempt

[WilliamVaughan]

small update

[WilliamVaughan]

Had to see it in Blue :)

[WilliamVaughan]

punk toon style

[alqadi]

wow your work is awesome as usual .
and the feather on your oggie is the best .
I hope to see a new vidoe tut for that .
thanks for sharing .

[WilliamVaughan]

wow your work is awesome as usual .
and the feather on your oggie is the best .
I hope to see a new vidoe tut for that .
thanks for sharing .


Your bird is simply amazing...video tuts for most of this stuff will be coming soon... I want to get as good with this as possible before then tho

[WilliamVaughan]

someone was asking for thick grass:

[WilliamVaughan]

the grass is greener on the....erm

[WilliamVaughan]

birds eye shot to show that it's a solid patch

[jin choung]

wow, some really nice results.

hmmm, i'm wondering if there's a limit to how "fine" the fur can look with ffx though. there's lots of good looking examples here but they all seem to to be relatively coarse, thick and therefore somewhat sparse (in terms of hairs count)... has anyone been able to do any hair renders that looks extremely fine and fluffy (and numerous) like the thermal underlayers of furry animals?

or is there a low upper limit on the density of hair strands before things really start choking?

jin

[Mr Rid]

... has anyone been able to do any hair renders that looks extremely fine and fluffy (and numerous) like the thermal underlayers of furry animals?...
jin

Have not touched FFX myself yet. Am similarly wondering how easy it is to get something realistically fine... how does it animate and take various light and shade.

shading (click on turnaround)
http://www.darkblueanimation.co.uk/new-fur-renderings-with-blender.html
63551
dynamics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc7rd8zgukw&feature=related

[mav3rick]

And than comes rid ans spoinls d fun :)

[Thomas M.]

There are some nice examples and tests in this thread. But I'd rather see one or two styled and realistic hairdos then many toonish/funny images. Of course there'll be a lot of times when this kind of style will do, but how realistic can it get? Anybody came up with something yet? Especially the long hair looks bad at the root (see Williams examples). Looks still like patches of hair glued to a surface. Is this something which can be avoided and if yes, at which cost?

Cheers
Thomas

[HowardM]

good to see dynamics work! nice demo mr. rid, and rabbit looks nice! (damn just realized its Blender?!) :(
lets see an example without the underwater/slow mo effect...

nice grass and feathers too guys!

bet Worleys a lil pissed off with FFX! ;)

so what are the pros/cons between the 2, besides FFX now coming with LW :)

how does FFX work, volumetric plugin? does it work well with shadows/reflections etc?

can it be used somehow for instancing like HDInstance?

[Philbert]

so what are the pros/cons between the 2, besides FFX now coming with LW :)


One thing Sas has that I wish FFX did is the ability to adjust length or color based on an image map. Unless this feature has been added and I missed it. Haven't played with it since earlier in the 9.5 beta.

[cagey5]

Sure you can

[cagey5]

And one for length

[WilliamVaughan]

One thing Sas has that I wish FFX did is the ability to adjust length or color based on an image map. Unless this feature has been added and I missed it. Haven't played with it since earlier in the 9.5 beta.

Almost all of the attributes can be controlled with an image map, procedural, gradient...so you should be set

[WilliamVaughan]

I see no reason why this cant be done with FFX:
http://www.newtek.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=63551&d=1221986358

I'll give it a shot when there is time...

[hrgiger]

Give it some eyes though, it's a bit creepy otherwise. William, you must have a pair of cartoon eyes laying around somewhere.

[hrgiger]

Well, I was just talking about this in the community section but Sas still has some advantages over FiberFX but at least we know it's sill being developed unlike Sas which is a total mystery.

[WilliamVaughan]

quick start on softer hair

[WilliamVaughan]

17 Second render @ 1280x960

[cagey5]

That's looking really nice. Care to share the settings, or do we have to wait for the tutorial.. :)

[WilliamVaughan]

twice the haircount, 24 seconds....and I forgot to mention that I have Background Radiosity going as well

[hrgiger]

That's nice soft fur Proton. Here's a quick test I did today.

[WilliamVaughan]

That's looking really nice. Care to share the settings, or do we have to wait for the tutorial.. :)


for softer hair/fur up the tip transparency...for coarser hair lower it

[WilliamVaughan]

That's nice soft fur Proton. Here's a quick test I did today.

very cool! Glad to see more people using the tool.... I was feeling lonely :P

Play with the tip transparency as mention above...it shoudl soften some of that hair...keep going!

[hrgiger]

Ok, I'll play with that and see what I come up with. Here's the top and back with the same settings as before. (almost typed Sas before...har)

[WilliamVaughan]

Ok, I'll play with that and see what I come up with. Here's the top and back with the same settings as before. (almost typed Sas before...har)


loving the results!

[hrgiger]

I really like the fiber editor in modeler. It's the first time I've played with it. It only took me a few minutes to figure out how the guides worked and only took a few minutes more to comb the hair. Nice.

[WilliamVaughan]

I really like the fiber editor in modeler. It's the first time I've played with it. It only took me a few minutes to figure out how the guides worked and only took a few minutes more to comb the hair. Nice.


dont forget you can further refine with the strand tool once you've got teh guides :)

[hrgiger]

Yeah, I haven't played around with that. So many things to do, so little time.

[geothefaust]

Yeah man, I wasn't sure what people were complaining about before, when using it. I felt it was thoughtfully developed and easy to use. THEN I discovered the brushing tools in layout, and was completely in awe.

Anyway, thanks William & HR for the examples. :D

[WilliamVaughan]

I'd like to make a suggestion to the community here that I hope comes across the way it is intended.

It seems that a lot of users are quick to dismiss. I'd like to suggest going into things with a “can do” attitude. I have to have this conversation with students all the time and once they get past the “not possible”, “I don't know how” or “I can't” attitude they seem to accomplish things that they never knew they could. Also, you have the opportunity to accomplish things that even the programmers weren't aware the software can do.

It's all about problem solving with the tools that you have at hand instead of waiting for the tools of tomorrow. This is what has made LightWave users what they are in the past. When your CG Supervisor called for a flag blowing in the wind, we didn't give up and say we needed Dynamics..... we ran a procedural though a segmented poly plane and gave them a flag blowing in the wind. We have had dynamics for awhile now but we created the effect long before the tools came about.

This is how studios like Digital Domain, Cafe FX, Eden FX, Flash Film Works and other studios have been able to accomplish amazing things with much smaller budgets, smaller crews, and a lot less time then some of the larger studios.... of course some of them have grown bigger like DD over the years.

I'm not saying we shouldn't push for new tools...Hell, I push for new tools all the time, but I don't let it slow me down with the tools I have in hand right now.

If everyone took some time to work with the tools and explore what they are capable of we could end up not only pushing the tools farther...but we could get the development team incredible feedback that would in turn, give us even more powerful tools.

We are all going to approach problem solving from different angles and we all have different methods...so we could all learn from each other. In a 6 minute conversation with James Willmott, he introduced me to the ability to Clone a FFX object....that changed everything about the way I setup the hair/fur..... get what I'm saying here?

If you'd like to see a certain look produced with any given tool....go for it...attack that problem and come up with a solution....when you hit a roadblock, share your findings and your problem and see what the collective can introduce as possible solutions. I'd like to through out this quote that I tell my students:

“I know everything I need to know to do the things I've already done”

Meaning...you are constantly going to be asked to do things you've never done...accept that you haven't done it and know that you'll be able to do it once you've done it....you'll then have that experience to throw at the next challenge. This is what makes us production artists.... Problem Solving.

There is no hidden Star Wars button or Setting in our industry...we have to work at getting good results. With that said... I can't believe the amazing results with the default settings of FFX...right away you get great looking hair....and it renders incredibly fast.

The tools will continue to improve but they are working NOW....are there still bugs that need to be squashed and improvements needed...of course...but has that stopped us from creating amazing work in the past...not me...not any of the amazing artists that I look up to....

I'll close with this.... The next time you “wonder” if something is possible...say “I bet it is, just need to figure out how to do it” and I believe you'll have far better results then giving up before you begin.... it's called a self fulfilling prophecy.

No go and create and share your results...... you can do it! (in the voice of Rob Schneider, althought if you could hear me say it it would sound like a robot....which is also what my Zombie voice sounds like...and well...every other voice I try and do )

-William

ps- Really good to see more artists exploring these tools!

[Kajico]

Well it comes down to effort and willpower, sticking it through until you accomplish your goal. Every new tool or program you try and learn seems hard at first, but just look back at how much you already know about lightwave now and consider how much you didn't know at the beginning.

If nobody uses the new tools, then there won't be anybody around to complain about the bugs, and the areas that may need improvement so that the tool can get better.

If you pick up a new tool and say:"Wow this is crap, it's buggy, it's terrible, I'm not gonna use it", you're not helping improve anything, you're just letting something with great potential die.

Of course, when its a mission critical deadline and you have to finish a project on time, learning a new tool then is probably not the right time to do so.

[jat]

Will, I agree with you except that Mac users are ALWAYS crippled somehow in not having workable tools and being left for last even if its not intended. We don't even have a released version of 9.5 yet (still beta!!!!!!!) and Fibre FX just doesn't work for us so you can see how we might feel a little differently at this point.........all is not well in LW land......sorry, off topic but I had to state the frustration of the Mac community.

[jat]

and might I add that the hair effects so far are VERY nice.........just wish I could try it :(

[Ztreem]

I'd like to make a suggestion to the community here that I hope comes across the way it is intended.

It seems that a lot of users are quick to dismiss. I'd like to suggest going into things with a “can do” attitude. I have to have this conversation with students all the time and once they get past the “not possible”, “I don't know how” or “I can't” attitude they seem to accomplish things that they never knew they could. Also, you have the opportunity to accomplish things that even the programmers weren't aware the software can do.

It's all about problem solving with the tools that you have at hand instead of waiting for the tools of tomorrow. This is what has made LightWave users what they are in the past. When your CG Supervisor called for a flag blowing in the wind, we didn't give up and say we needed Dynamics..... we ran a procedural though a segmented poly plane and gave them a flag blowing in the wind. We have had dynamics for awhile now but we created the effect long before the tools came about.

This is how studios like Digital Domain, Cafe FX, Eden FX, Flash Film Works and other studios have been able to accomplish amazing things with much smaller budgets, smaller crews, and a lot less time then some of the larger studios.... of course some of them have grown bigger like DD over the years.

I'm not saying we shouldn't push for new tools...Hell, I push for new tools all the time, but I don't let it slow me down with the tools I have in hand right now.

If everyone took some time to work with the tools and explore what they are capable of we could end up not only pushing the tools farther...but we could get the development team incredible feedback that would in turn, give us even more powerful tools.

We are all going to approach problem solving from different angles and we all have different methods...so we could all learn from each other. In a 6 minute conversation with James Willmott, he introduced me to the ability to Clone a FFX object....that changed everything about the way I setup the hair/fur..... get what I'm saying here?

If you'd like to see a certain look produced with any given tool....go for it...attack that problem and come up with a solution....when you hit a roadblock, share your findings and your problem and see what the collective can introduce as possible solutions. I'd like to through out this quote that I tell my students:

“I know everything I need to know to do the things I've already done”

Meaning...you are constantly going to be asked to do things you've never done...accept that you haven't done it and know that you'll be able to do it once you've done it....you'll then have that experience to throw at the next challenge. This is what makes us production artists.... Problem Solving.

There is no hidden Star Wars button or Setting in our industry...we have to work at getting good results. With that said... I can't believe the amazing results with the default settings of FFX...right away you get great looking hair....and it renders incredibly fast.

The tools will continue to improve but they are working NOW....are there still bugs that need to be squashed and improvements needed...of course...but has that stopped us from creating amazing work in the past...not me...not any of the amazing artists that I look up to....

I'll close with this.... The next time you “wonder” if something is possible...say “I bet it is, just need to figure out how to do it” and I believe you'll have far better results then giving up before you begin.... it's called a self fulfilling prophecy.

No go and create and share your results...... you can do it! (in the voice of Rob Schneider, althought if you could hear me say it it would sound like a robot....which is also what my Zombie voice sounds like...and well...every other voice I try and do )

-William

ps- Really good to see more artists exploring these tools!


I totally agree with you. I work like that my self and always try to find a solution to my or others problems in LW with all tools given to us native in LW, most of the problems is usually solved quite easily if you think a little outside the box. I see alot of people on this forum write off tools even before they seem to have tried them out by them self. Nothing is perfect and will never be.

[Philbert]

“I know everything I need to know to do the things I've already done”

Meaning...you are constantly going to be asked to do things you've never done...accept that you haven't done it and know that you'll be able to do it once you've done it....you'll then have that experience to throw at the next challenge. This is what makes us production artists.... Problem Solving.


I end up learning new things on every job because I'm always asked to do things I wouldn't normally do myself. Right now I'm using audio in LW essentially for the first time thanks to a job.

[AaronJuntunen]

Word! If I never tried things I don't know how to do, then I'd never get anything done.

[Bookman]

The only thing that kills invention in production is when the Boss thinks he knows everything and doesn't give his crew sufficient RnD time. When that happens it screws up the whole pipeline because the artists who may not know any better than the boss about what to do have to go off antiquated ideas about what works and what doesn't. If an artist does not expend his free time trying to figure new things out, or new directions to take then when faced with these situations all you can talk about is what you can or can't do, and that's never the right place to be in.

If you don't think something is possible then your not in the right frame of mind. Sometimes it's possible yet very difficult and unfortunately that's life sometimes when faced with difficult situations. A lot of people I know and talk to are always trying to find the easy answer, and sometimes there is none. If it wasn't difficult then everyone would be doing it, usually you just have to suck it up and deal with it.

That's why I've been very happy to sit back and watch Will's fur/fiber tests. I know when this guy gets going it's going to be a show. I may not always like or agree with a given solution but he always ends up with one, and I usually learn something. That being said It's also funny to watch some of you sit their and clamber for more, and I commend those who open up the software to figure it out on their own. IMHO the best teachers are those who pose questions for the student to figure them out. Few people seem to agree when their the one who have to figure out the answer, but if they do they are stronger for it.

Even though communities like this are a great resource for information, and I like that people are so willing to share information, I think to many people become dependent on that information and can't function without that spoon feeding. In the end people have to be responsible for their own education, if they aren't then what happens when they are on their own in something for what is perhaps the first time. Usually it's an abysmal failure, rarely they surprise you.

And It's not just people here, it's people in every facet in human society, and I think it's the difference between consumers and producers. I just happen to feel that everyone should at least familiarize them selves with what it takes to actually produce something. In Williams case he happens to produce knowledge in Lightwave.

Again as William said don't take anything I just wrote the wrong way, it's just an opinion (or observation on human behavior) not an attack, nor directed any one specific person our group.

[Mr Rid]

And than comes rid ans spoinls d fun :)

Thats me, the cynical old fud. I just see this often with promotional examples of some app/plugin/feature. Mr Vaughan continues to do NT and the LW community a tremendous service. But it is easy to turn out nifty examples for fun that may mask significant tech issues that cause you to personally lose as much hair as you render when having to meet the practical demands of a specific composition, pipeline or picky client. I have posted FX examples that were similarly easier to pull off as only weekend whimsy. Its an altogether different professional animal to wrangle.

I didnt have to read about the inherent problems of FFX on the forum to know not to consider it for production (currently sticking with Sas on a couple of feature film projects). There are enough tedious workarounds required to integrate LW into production. Professional reliability of a new feature usually only comes after a few versions (maybe). Am skeptical anytime I see dazzling demos. How efficient is the control for pleasing finicky clients? How does it handle on a network (is a big problem with FFX on the Mac pros that we use), How does it get along with other needed features and plugins? How does it hold up for photorealism and integration/compositing with live action plates? How does it animate?

I just like to keep a realistic perspective. As a supervisor, I cant afford to guide production down a road still under construction, lined with obscure chugholes, costly detours and other age inducing surprises.

[WilliamVaughan]

Creating Thick Grass with Fiber FX:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/FiberGrass.mov)

Instancing with Fiber FX:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/FiberInstance.mov)

[Julez4001]

Well my time isn't what it use to be to "play" around from scratch so am going ti waut and allwo the community to get enough training material & quick notes to put FF into production. As someone said Sasquatch is handling things beautifully and FF while nice, isn't straight intuitive to get what you want or easily solve problems. Sas at least had a lot of tuts that answerd half the questions. So it sthe waiting game for me, others: knock urselves out.

[Hopper]

Just for fun, I'd like to see Lewis take one of his cool Audi models and put fur on it. Or a VolksWagen Rabbit perhaps... :D

[WilliamVaughan]

Just for fun, I'd like to see Lewis take one of his cool Audi models and put fur on it. Or a VolksWagen Rabbit perhaps... :D

That would rock!

[erikals]

I think this is coming along, the rabbit fur looks very sweet.

I've tried Sas, but as of now, FF looks to be close enough to match my needs.

Very cool, thanks for posting these.

[WilliamVaughan]

I think this is coming along, the rabbit fur looks very sweet.

I've tried Sas, but as of now, FF looks to be close enough to match my needs.

Very cool, thanks for posting these.

I've seen some amazing results from Sas...unfortunately I struggled with using it. I'm getting better results, Faster with FFX and I have spent far less time with FFX.

Everyone has a different workflow that they like... I like this setup.

What's cool is that if you like Sas...no worries...use FFX with Sas...creating guides for Sas is a snap with the FFX modeling tools.

FFX is free with 9.5..... so it'll be there if you want to use it...if you own Sas...you now have 2 options for creating great looking hair!:thumbsup:

[WilliamVaughan]

Third video uploaded:


Creating a Tennis Ball Surface as seen in this thread earlier:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_TennisBall.mov)


Enjoy!

[WilliamVaughan]

#4:

Introduction to the Strand Maker:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_StrandMaker.mov)


Enjoy!

[Julez4001]

This is what I am talking about, Proton is in the zone again.

:thumbsup:

[WilliamVaughan]

#5:

Introduction to the Strand Tool:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_StrandTool.mov)


Enjoy!

[hrgiger]

Cool, thanx for the vids Vaughn. When I have time I'm going to see what I can do with some long hair for characters.

[hrgiger]

I was just watching the strand tool video. That's very cool. My question is, why can't we have this kind of IK/FK option on bones? I know now in 9.5 we have IK/FK switching but this does it without changing position of the structure. Just an observation.

[Hopper]

5 videos from William in one day. I'm in my "LW Happy Place" right now. :)

I was going to model my plant for the speed modeling challenge, but since it is "Plant Life", I think I'm going for a lawn instead!

Thanks again William.

[simpfendoerfer]

Thank you, William.

[Philbert]

I was going to model my plant for the speed modeling challenge, but since it is "Plant Life", I think I'm going for a lawn instead!


Wouldn't that be cheating a bit since FFX is not really modeling?

[Hopper]

Wouldn't that be cheating a bit since FFX is not really modeling?
Shhhhhhhhhh. Hush you... :neener:

[Philbert]

Shhhhhhhhhh. Hush you... :neener:

:tsktsk: :D

[WilliamVaughan]

#6-9:

Here are a few introductory videos about the FiberFX Strand Modeler:

Fiber Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_FiberTab.mov)

Guides Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_GuidesTab.mov)

Random Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_RandomTab.mov)
Gravity Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_GravityTab.mov)

[Hopper]

And to think I was contemplating sleep...

You're awesome William.

Curious... are you compressing your videos? I think you said you were using CamTasia at one point. I can't seem to get mine as nice and compact as yours.

Thanks again.

[Philbert]

Very nice videos. One question. Something that always bugged me during beta testing... Using Strand Modeler is there some way to make the bangs short and the back long? Suppose I was doing an Elvira model. I could never find a way to do this before, but I haven't had time to play with it for a while.

[ary3d]

nice examples to all!!

I just want to share my result with ffx, easy, fast and very fun tool :rock:

[WilliamVaughan]

Very nice videos. One question. Something that always bugged me during beta testing... Using Strand Modeler is there some way to make the bangs short and the back long? Suppose I was doing an Elvira model. I could never find a way to do this before, but I haven't had time to play with it for a while.


Here is my solution that is dead easy... break teh hair into different surfaces and build guides chunk at a time instead of teh whole head.... I can build guides much faster this way and it's teh way I would build them from scratch.

Top LEft, Top Right, Back , Side Left and Side Right...sounds like an extra step but it is sooo much faster and easier to control

[WilliamVaughan]

Coming in at #10:


I think this really shows off Fiber FX ...easy and quick...check out render time!:thumbsup:

Dog Hair:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_DogHair.mov)

[Hopper]

One thing I noticed about FFX... No matter what lighting or shading I use, the models always look realistic, but the hair is always "cartoony". Does anyone have an example of realistic looking hair? Hell, even a ball with fuzz on it would be nice. I'm sure it's just me, but I still want to see it done.

[Hopper]

Coming in at #10:


I think this really shows off Fiber FX ...easy and quick...check out render time!:thumbsup:

Dog Hair:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_DogHair.mov)
You're a god... but even the gods need sleep. SLEEP MAN.. SLEEP! You need to be fresh for the other 10 videos tomorrow. :)

[hrgiger]

One thing I noticed about FFX... No matter what lighting or shading I use, the models always look realistic, but the hair is always "cartoony". Does anyone have an example of realistic looking hair? Hell, even a ball with fuzz on it would be nice. I'm sure it's just me, but I still want to see it done.
Did you see the hair I posted a few pages back? http://www.newtek.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=63563&d=1222015400 The coloring is a bit extreme and and the shading is off in a few areas but I thought it looked decent enough for what I was after. I'd like to play with some long hair guides next to see what I can come up with.

[WilliamVaughan]

I've seen some killer examples of real looking fibers from the beta testers. I'll see if they will post them on the boards.

[Hopper]

Did you see the hair I posted a few pages back? http://www.newtek.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=63563&d=1222015400 The coloring is a bit extreme and and the shading is off in a few areas but I thought it looked decent enough for what I was after. I'd like to play with some long hair guides next to see what I can come up with.
I saw that one. I thought it was a great render, but I was looking more or less for photorealistic. I'm sure it can be done, but I just haven't seen any good examples yet.

I've seen some killer examples of real looking fibers from the beta testers. I'll see if they will post them on the boards.
Gracias sir!

[WhereMyArm]

Great videos, William, I'm watching them now and can't wait to go in and try some more of this stuff out.

I saw that one. I thought it was a great render, but I was looking more or less for photorealistic. I'm sure it can be done, but I just haven't seen any good examples yet.

I thought this one (http://www.newtek.com/forums/showpost.php?p=753606&postcount=101) was pretty realistic for bunny hair, and just as good as the example (minus the bunny head mesh and direction, it is on a ball after all).

[WilliamVaughan]

OK...so we are officially over 1 hour of free training videos for Fiber FX...and the collection will grow in time. Be sure to watch them all and apply what you learn...I want to see the forums covered in fibers :screwy:

Here is where we are at:

Creating Thick Grass with Fiber FX:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/FiberGrass.mov)

Instancing with Fiber FX:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/FiberInstance.mov)

Creating a Tennis Ball Surface as seen in this thread earlier:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_TennisBall.mov)

Introduction to the Strand Maker:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_StrandMaker.mov)

Introduction to the Strand Tool:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_StrandTool.mov)

Here are a few introductory videos about the FiberFX Strand Modeler:

Fiber Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_FiberTab.mov)

Guides Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_GuidesTab.mov)

Random Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_RandomTab.mov)

Gravity Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_GravityTab.mov)


Dog Hair:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_DogHair.mov)

Using a Bias Vmap to style hair:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_BiasVmap.mov)

[Svenart]

great, thank´s a lot. I was already waiting for a good fiberfx tutorial.

[geothefaust]

Nice! Thanks a ton for more vids! :thumbsup:

[Hopper]

I thought this one (http://www.newtek.com/forums/showpost.php?p=753606&postcount=101) was pretty realistic for bunny hair, and just as good as the example (minus the bunny head mesh and direction, it is on a ball after all).
Yes it was. I stand corrected. I did say "even a ball with fuzz" didn't I. :foreheads

[alqadi]

OK...so we are officially over 1 hour of free training videos for Fiber FX...and the collection will grow in time. Be sure to watch them all and apply what you learn...I want to see the forums covered in fibers :screwy:

Here is where we are at:

Creating Thick Grass with Fiber FX:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/FiberGrass.mov)

Instancing with Fiber FX:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/FiberInstance.mov)

Creating a Tennis Ball Surface as seen in this thread earlier:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_TennisBall.mov)

Introduction to the Strand Maker:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_StrandMaker.mov)

Introduction to the Strand Tool:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_StrandTool.mov)

Here are a few introductory videos about the FiberFX Strand Modeler:

Fiber Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_FiberTab.mov)

Guides Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_GuidesTab.mov)

Random Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_RandomTab.mov)

Gravity Tab:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/StrandModeler_GravityTab.mov)


Dog Hair:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_DogHair.mov)

Using a Bias Vmap to style hair:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_BiasVmap.mov)
Man you are a hero thanks for your time and your effort.
the soft fur is great and thanks for the tip.
ok what do you think of this ?
yeah it disappears behind transparent objects 8~

[WilliamVaughan]

Man you are a hero thanks for your time and your effort.
the soft fur is great and thanks for the tip.
ok what do you think of this ?
yeah it disappears behind transparent objects 8~


what if you use volume only?

[zapper1998]

thank you so muchhhhhhhh

[Stunt Pixels]

Big thanks, haven't had much of a look at FibreFX yet, and this looks like a great leg up.

[alqadi]

once again you are my hero you saved my live man :)
If i use volume only i get this:

[geothefaust]

William, I didn't know you could clone FFX surfaces like that. Thanks for the heads up.

alqadi, I am noticing there are some horizontal lines in your render there. They appear about midway between the sphere, just to the right of the magnifying lense. Otherwise it looks great. :)

[mav3rick]

proton is there option over boundary in ffx just like sasq works?

[blacksmith]

Thanks again!!!

[colkai]

Word! If I never tried things I don't know how to do, then I'd never get anything done.

Heck, in my job, (coder for a small company), it's essential, I am expected to hit the ground running. Doesn't matter that I've no training in the requirement, I am relied upon to get the answers I need to get the job done.

Sure, sometimes, (often?), it's a hack, it ain't pretty and I'm darn sure it ain't the most efficient method. However, the job gets done on time, boss is happy, client is happy. If i'm lucky, I then get time to go back and massage the code if tweaks and updates are wanted, but either way, I've learned along the way, that much I can guarantee.

As William said, the "surely it is possible" approach means you look for a solution, however "bizzare" or "wrong" it may feel.
The thrill of nailing something has never gone away in over 25 years in the game either. :D

[Tobian]

Awesome Proton! Thanks very much for doing these! :)

and yes I agree sometimes you just have to figure it out and hope you can do it :)

[WilliamVaughan]

proton is there option over boundary in ffx just like sasq works?

You can set the Cluster Radius larger and that can spread beyond teh surface....use that and tuft and I think you'll see similar results

[Dirk]

Thanks for the great Videos, Proton!

However, I'm right now watching the Strand Modeller Guides Vid, and I wonder if the Fibers created in modeller are the Guides in Layout?

[WilliamVaughan]

Thanks for the great Videos, Proton!

However, I'm right now watching the Strand Modeller Guides Vid, and I wonder if the Fibers created in modeller are the Guides in Layout?

Correct. You can use them as the guides or simply as 2 point polys. That is why I keep callingteh fibers guides :P

[walfridson]

Great videos!

[WilliamVaughan]

Just for fun...created from 5 hair guides

[hub73]

Amazing videos ! Thanks

Inside the FiberFX strand modeler is there a way to display all the guide knots and directly move them ? (as you can do inside the lw modeler. The strand tool activated, you can check the 'all knots' option from the numeric window).

[WilliamVaughan]

Amazing videos ! Thanks

Inside the FiberFX strand modeler is there a way to display all the guide knots and directly move them ? (as you can do inside the lw modeler. The strand tool activated, you can check the 'all knots' option from the numeric window).


It shoudl work but in teh current build it does not...in past builds it did so I assume we will get that back....Thats what the "Nodes" options are for.

I'm sure we will see it come back

[zatara]

Thanks William for your effort!!!!

[WilliamVaughan]

Thought about this style setup this morning... kinda fun look!

[Kuzey]

I have to download these as soon as I get the time....mighty fine work :thumbsup:

Kuzey

[JeffrySG]

I can't wait to watch these when I get time today. A million thanks, William!!! :D

[virtualcomposer]

I was wondering to, in the videos when you add gravity, if I animate that, will there be a real world gravity bounce as the dog walks?

[Chuck]

ok what do you think of this ?
yeah it disappears behind transparent objects 8~

For the FiberFX pixel filter to show behind transparent objects, you need to have at least "Raytrace Shadows" turned on. Adding Raytrace Transparency, Raytrace Refractions, and Raytrace Reflections will each add a level of change to the final result, and you can choose options based on the look you want to get. But the one requirement is Raytrace Shadows. I usually also turn on the Reflections option in the FiberFX panel as well.

You may need to change lighting if you set the scene up without Raytrace options first. When I activate Raytrace Shadows I get much darker results on the fiber object.

[Chuck]

HRGiger, I've moved your post referring to a v9.5.1 beta issue to the Open Beta Bug Workshop section.

[WilliamVaughan]

Surfer Style with hair guides

[Castius]

hub73

In Fiber FX Strand Model go to options tab and turn off "Ends only". You should be able to see and edit all knots.

[alqadi]

For the FiberFX pixel filter to show behind transparent objects, you need to have at least "Raytrace Shadows" turned on. Adding Raytrace Transparency, Raytrace Refractions, and Raytrace Reflections will each add a level of change to the final result, and you can choose options based on the look you want to get. But the one requirement is Raytrace Shadows. I usually also turn on the Reflections option in the FiberFX panel as well.

You may need to change lighting if you set the scene up without Raytrace options first. When I activate Raytrace Shadows I get much darker results on the fiber object.

thanks for the tips

[WilliamVaughan]

hub73

In Fiber FX Strand Model go to options tab and turn off "Ends only". You should be able to see and edit all knots.


Doh!

That will help...big thanx!

[hrgiger]

Is there a quality value somewhere in the rendering portion of FiberFX? Or AA? I don't believe it's tied to Lightwave's AA.

[Ztreem]

A quick test with long hair on a ball, have no head to put hair on. Default light, default shading, no hair guides, just did a quick comb over in layout with the edit guides tool, made in max 5 min. total. Not photo real but very good with the time spend imho.

Hrgiger: try the classic camera for better AA.

[WilliamVaughan]

A quick test with long hair on a ball, have no head to put hair on. Default light, default shading, no hair guides, just did a quick comb over in layout with the edit guides tool, made in max 5 min. total. Not photo real but very good with the time spend imho.

Hrgiger: try the classic camera for better AA.

cool style...email me and I will send you a character to test on

[Iain]

A quick test with long hair on a ball, have no head to put hair on. Default light, default shading, no hair guides, just did a quick comb over in layout with the edit guides tool

Is that Benny or Bjorn?

[Matt]

Surfer Style with hair guides

Why does this remind me of Deuce! :D

[Thomas M.]

William, is there a way to get rid of the poly-hair feeling at the root of the hair strands (surfer)? Looks like they are aligned and not distributed.

[WilliamVaughan]

William, is there a way to get rid of the poly-hair feeling at the root of the hair strands (surfer)? Looks like they are aligned and not distributed.


could try using bump on the root of the fibers

[hunter]

Thanks Proton for the videos :thumbsup: Nice!
I noticed that your tennis ball is a couple meters wide. Hate to get hit with that. :D I can't quite get a good fiber look at a more real world scale. What settings should i be looking to change?

[Hopper]

Surfer Style with hair guides
Duuuuuude. rad.

[Ztreem]

cool style...email me and I will send you a character to test on

I tried to PM you but your inbox is full.


Is that Benny or Bjorn?

I don't know, maybe both of them.

Why does this remind me of Deuce!

I have no idea :confused:

[Larry_g1s]

Anime Style Hair....first attemptAwesome! I could totally see Goku now :thumbsup:
Thanks so much for the videos, they were very informative.

[WilliamVaughan]

I tried to PM you but your inbox is full.



williamv@newtek.com

[WilliamVaughan]

Thanks Proton for the videos :thumbsup: Nice!
I noticed that your tennis ball is a couple meters wide. Hate to get hit with that. :D I can't quite get a good fiber look at a more real world scale. What settings should i be looking to change?


Scale and Bump would be my first starting point

[Larry_g1s]

Could you show any ideas on how to make stuff for trees and bushes like you mentioned earlier? I really liked the grass vid...wow!

[pauhana]

How about hair on a dog?
Just kidding...seriously, thank you for all the tutorials. I don't know what's more insane...the amount of hair samples you've produced or the speed and quality of the video tutorials you've provided!

[younglion]

Wow all these great examples have got me so inspired!
Thanks for the vids William!

Here's my attempt with fur. I can't seem to get the lighting right though.

[WilliamVaughan]

Wow all these great examples have got me so inspired!
Thanks for the vids William!

Here's my attempt with fur. I can't seem to get the lighting right though.


love teh feather look...I'd tone down the lights

[Hopper]

Wow all these great examples have got me so inspired!
Thanks for the vids William!

Here's my attempt with fur. I can't seem to get the lighting right though.
That's an awesome start. Great look! I've never seen anyone's arm turn into a bald eagle before either!

[younglion]

Well that's the problem I'm having. When I point the light right at it it gets kinda dark in the middle where it should be lit. The image has only 2 point lights; the main one is 100% and the second is 25% (I think).

[Hopper]

Well that's the problem I'm having. When I point the light right at it it gets kinda dark in the middle where it should be lit. The image has only 2 point lights; the main one is 100% and the second is 25% (I think).
Try an area light?

[younglion]

Yeah I could try that. I've only tried distant and point so far.

Haha I just saw your earlier post. I guess I really need to work on my modeling skills if my eagle looks like an arm. :ohmy:

[Hopper]

Yeah I could try that. I've only tried distant and point so far.

Haha I just saw your earlier post. I guess I really need to work on my modeling skills if my eagle looks like an arm. :ohmy:
lol .. no, of course not.. You just hadn't put feathers on the other part so it looked like an arm.

[Elowan]

Proton - you da man! many thnx for these.:thumbsup:

[jasonwestmas]

Great Show all! Thanks.

[WilliamVaughan]

Created this one on Break...back to work..

Creating Teddy Bear Fur:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_TeddyFur.mov)

[jasonwestmas]

That's some great Teddy fur William. I didn't know about the cloning, sounds like something useful for mixing in with hair guides too.

Thanks!

[Larry_g1s]

Just for fun...created from 5 hair guidesIs the glow just Luminosity up?

[WilliamVaughan]

James Willmott created this awesome example of Fiber FX dynamics in action...worth teh download. Renders times are so fast it's like magic!

Fiber Dynamics:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_Dynamics_01.avi)

[Larry_g1s]

Hey William, I was trying to apply some FFX to that free Zombie rig and for what ever reason, it didn't like it. When I clicked render, it would render with out it and then not show the hair/fur in open GL any more. Any suggestion on that?

[pauhana]

Is it just me or is anyone else unable to clone the object in the Fiber FX panel? I don't get any menu when I right click over over the object name

[mav3rick]

not sure u have it in 9.5 build ... maybe to apply on open beta and take 9.5.1

[pauhana]

Thanks Mav3rick...that was it...running 9.5.1 beta now and have the menu

[m0184you]

First of all, William Vaughan THANK YOU FOR GREAT VIDEO TUTS ...
I work with LW longtime (i know many, many things), but with your videos i learn much, much more.
To all guys/girls here in this theme and at the forum THANKS TO!
This is one GREAT COMMUNITY!

And of course LIGHTWAVE IS NO1 TOOL! Always been, always will!

[WilliamVaughan]

Hey William, I was trying to apply some FFX to that free Zombie rig and for what ever reason, it didn't like it. When I clicked render, it would render with out it and then not show the hair/fur in open GL any more. Any suggestion on that?


Go check the render options of that object. It may have turned off some of teh render flags

[ANS]

James Willmott created this awesome example of Fiber FX dynamics in action...worth teh download. Renders times are so fast it's like magic!

Fiber Dynamics:
Right-Click Here to save (ftp://ftp.newtek.com/multimedia/movies/LW_9/Fiber_Dynamics_01.avi)

This example looks nice, but how about collision? If, for example, this is not a simple ball, but a head with neck and shoulders, are hair intersecting with object, or slide on them?

[WilliamVaughan]

This example looks nice, but how about collision? If, for example, this is not a simple ball, but a head with neck and shoulders, are hair intersecting with object, or slide on them?

Collision is collision. If you can get it to collide with a ball then you can get it to collide with head and shoulders....calculation times would be the only difference IMHO

[younglion]

17 Second render @ 1280x960

Can you please show how you did this?
Whenever I try to make white fur, it turns out dark gray. I can't figure it out.

[younglion]

Sorry I don't know how to copy the images from an earlier post. It was the render of the soft white fur you did William.

[WilliamVaughan]

I have plans for more videos...just need the time...it will happen.

Until then...Here is a quick setup using various patches of fibers:

[WilliamVaughan]

Small lighting tweak

[WilliamVaughan]

Ilike him better with a photobackground...

[Ztreem]

Cool! reminds me of Narnia.

[hunter]

Scale and Bump would be my first starting point

Thanks.

Anyone know what's causing this?

[jasonwestmas]

That is a known issue and NT is working on it.

[jayroth]

Correct. For now, you can avoid this by using the classic camera.

[jasonwestmas]

Funny how I get that same problem with Sasquatch and the Perspective Camera :O

[hunter]

Ah.
Thanks.

[hunter]

What the!?
That's the last time I use Suave shampoo!

[silviotoledo]

Too Suave. lol!

[hyper1]

William,
Whoa dude, I really appreciate what you've done on your FFX tutorials! I have several characters that are going to require hair/fur in a variety of circumstances. I briefly tried FFX with some pre-made guides (the old way), and I did achieve some long hair very similar to what you've done in your dynamics video. My only complaint is that I feel that the hair tends to look like it should have a good combing/washing :). I tried what seemed like a bazillion settings and could never shed that ropey appearance. Like you stated in your eloquent letter to this thread, I probably just need to learn of a way to get around the perceived limitation. However, if anyone comes up with a tried and true method to work around this problem, I'd sure be willing to take a look.
Anyway,
Great stuff
Gary
PS Thanks to Flay who brought these tutorials to my attention in the first place!

[erikals]

Did anyone try it with GI?
..just wondering what the rendertime is in general...

[WilliamVaughan]

Did anyone try it with GI?
..just wondering what the rendertime is in general...

my first samples in this thread had GI...dont remember render times tho...will do tests next time.

[WilliamVaughan]

another quick test

[WilliamVaughan]

Just did a test on the last setup

1280x960 CLassic Camera Enhanced Low AA
Without GI- 1 Minute 4 Seconds

With Background Radiosity- 1 Minute 26 Seconds

[Mr Rid]

Thanks.

Anyone know what's causing this?

Unfortunately Ive read that wont get fixed any time soon. Is one of the surprises I was waxing cynical about that quick tests dont reveal. Its only when you try to do something more practical like a creature, or animate hair on a character's head (not a ball) with realistic dynamics and lighting that the gotchas turn up. c

I keep seeing that nearly every FFX example looks more like thick strands of string or yarn than fine hair except for Mr Vaughan's lovely white bunny-ball.

BTW, I happened to notice the amazing Mr Fedkiw has some interesting hair tests. http://physbam.stanford.edu/~fedkiw/ Do we have a 'curly' tool? :)
63676

[Mr Rid]

A quick test with long hair on a ball, have no head to put hair on.

Daz!

Looks nice and fine.

[khalid]

Hi William
I wanted to thank you so so much on these videos.. you are The best my My good friend-!! I new it the day I met you at school.. Thank you old friend ;)

I have a few questions not sure if you answered the m yet... so excuse me for any troubles..

Can you use an image to show where the hair is short and long? in a very soft way
DOF don't work when rendering- Why? or how do I do that?
is there dynamics, wind?! how do I trigger it?
How to increase render quality?


Thanks So mach again... :)

[jayroth]

Unfortunately Ive read that wont get fixed any time soon.

Not true. This issue will be addressed within the next couple of builds. And, as noted in my previous post, the issue is not present when the Classic Camera is used.

[Larry_g1s]

Not true. This issue will be addressed within the next couple of builds. And, as noted in my previous post, the issue is not present when the Classic Camera is used.Mr Rid, you shouldn't always believe what you you hear. Thanks Jay for the update. ;)

[erikals]

...BTW, I happened to notice the amazing Mr Fedkiw has some interesting hair tests. http://physbam.stanford.edu/~fedkiw/ Do we have a 'curly' tool? :)

..maybe the guides could be modeled manually?

[WilliamVaughan]

Hi William


Can you use an image to show where the hair is short and long? in a very soft way
DOF don't work when rendering- Why? or how do I do that?
is there dynamics, wind?! how do I trigger it?
How to increase render quality?





Yes...you can use images in just about every attribute including scale for short, long

Havent tried DOF yet

Dynamics are driven by CLoth or Soft FX...so anything you can do in there works

Increase quality? Not sure what you mean

[WilliamVaughan]

..maybe the guides could be modeled manually?


yes... just create spilnes and use Strand maker to convert to guides. I have a video that shows making spiral curl curves as well :)

[WilliamVaughan]

new version...off to work..

[WilliamVaughan]

forgot to mention..

1280x960 Classic Enhanced Low AA

34 seconds :)

[pauhana]

Wow! The hardest part for me to tackle is the short hair on the face, neck and clavicle that you have acheived. Really like the feel of the fur in those areas...any tips?

[silviotoledo]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/silviotoledo/HAIRPROB.jpg

For Fur, the FFX system is amazing!

Mr Proton

I'm still fighting with it for long hair. Almost there but got some crazy things here. Any idea about what should this be? It should be smooth.

[khalid]

Yes...you can use images in just about every attribute including scale for short, long

Havent tried DOF yet

Dynamics are driven by CLoth or Soft FX...so anything you can do in there works

Increase quality? Not sure what you mean

Thanks..

-the DOF does not seem to work.. only on objects, but the hair is all in focus..

-Quality of smoothing like more antialias on the hair.. more smooth rendering ... nothing related to the geometry

This Will..