I do not mean to be critical of hair creators, and I buy most of the hair as I do not paint it well, but I can not help but notice the absence of realistic hair parts and shine. By part I mean real scalp showing where someone parts their hair. Most of the commercial hair does not have the scalp showing, making it look like a wig. I'm sure you have seen those. Is Kozaburo hair hard to make? His also has a realistic texture and shine. Thanks, Sherrie

Some find that Kozaburo's "built-in" shine is the only thing that makes his hair   unrealistic...

Personally I like Koz' hair a lot but there ARE other hair out there with similar features. I admit that Koz is especially great at getting the hairline "just right" - it's more or less a question of a really good transmap there, and therefor a model that you CAN transmap properly at that spot.

Koz's hair is not substantially different from any other conforming/parented hair out there.

His modelling is very good but not outstandingly better than many other creators.

IMO, the textures for his hair are not to my liking.  I don't like to take a generous person to task for something that's strictly my opinion, nor can I fault the gentleman's generosity but I do not feel the baked in specularity of the textures adds to realism at all. 

In short, I think modelling hair and transmapping it is relatively straightforward - compared to many other modelling projects - but coming up with a good, realistic texture is extremely difficult.

I think Koz's textures are the reason his hair looks so realistic.  Yes, the baked-in highlights can be a problem, especially for animators, but they do add to the realism, if you're careful to match the lighting.

And he does "edges" - hairlines, parts, etc. - better than anyone.

Lighting shouldn't be dictated by props. This is why texture artists who make overuse of drop-shadow for their decorative elements drive me up the wall. They don't know what direction light and shadow will fall in at render time, and create potential contradictions that distract the eye and make verisimiltude less likely. The same is true with baked specularity in hair props. It's less realistic than adding your own in your application or in post-work. Having said that, of course we all appreciate Koz and his reputation for quality and generosity. I just prefer to have full control of light and shade in my work; it's one of my favorite challenges.

he had to do 'em like that so they work in poser artist (P4, pro pak). but they're freebies. once P7 comes out, we may see something different.

I agree baked on highlights are a P4 thing. Unfortunatly, there are merchants that do this still and worse, on figure textures.

Koz hair is well done and still matches any and most of the hair modeled now with such wonderful generosity. I fix or create new textures for them. Not a big deal.

I too, don't like to be told where to put my lights.

Well, I didn't want to see this turn into a "let's baxh Koz" thread or the "Let's defend Koz from his detractors", either.

Favt is, the gent makes some great hair and is unbelievably kind to offer them for free.  It's only the textures I don't dig on and that's not the end of the world, is it?

To put it in perspective, when I start paying for the good gent's hair is when I tell him how he should be making his stuff and not before.

I love Koz’s hair (and the man’s generosity!).

The hairline fit and trans maps are fantastic.

They are modern looking and stylish.

I don’t really think anyone is bashing Koz here, just stating their like/dislike preference for baked on highlights.

The baked on highlights (which I find problematic for my lighting/rendering solution) are very easy to get rid of….

Just open the texture in your 2D image program and make a new layer on top.

Pick the darkest color of the hair, and with any old brush set to either “Overlay” or “Softlight” mode, paint on the new layer where the highlights show.

Adjust that layer’s opacity lower if you want to keep a hint of highlight and then flatten.

Chuck

That's an excellent tip, SWAP!!!!! I think it's the hairline that really impresses me. I would like to learn to model hair, since it is one of my favorite things. Are there any tutorials out there? I have Carrara 5 and Max 7. Thanks

I thought koz had a hair-painting tutorial on his site, but I just checked and it wasn't there. maybe somebody knows where it went.

Attached Link: http://market.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?message_id=2660639&ebot_calc_page#message_2660639

Please follow the link - you can get rid of the baked in highlights pretty easily.

bagginsbill - i was just about to mention that thread.  i will add that it shows that a) the map is good without the baked on highlights.  it's got some of the best variation and detail out there. b) his styles are good, solid classic styles.    most people try to make something with lots of strands and messiness and then give the strands a very banded repeating and obvious texture.   cool and all, but not very versatile.  you can use koz hair in almost any scene, where a lot of other artists go with more specific looks.  c) he has some of the best morphs in his hair you can find.  people rarely tax them, but even his early works have very changeable hair.   d) he pays attention to detail.  look at the part on that hair.it's not flat against the head like many, nor does it completely hide the scalp.  the edges of his transmaps are great too. 

just in general, koz makes great hair.  the baked highlights make it less realistic imho (same for 3Dream), but all i had to do was a quick search in these forums to find a way around that.

only problem I have with it is parking it on someone's head..;) great lookin' stuff..and you can't beat the price..

I haven't seen any hair that was even close to perfect, and that includes mine (both my Poser hair and what little is still on my real head). 

Some women do have beautiful hair though, it is a shame we can't get closer to duplicating that without post work.

No question that Koz's hair is beautiful and is the best "bang for the buck."  A "commercial" hair artist I really like is Lisbeth.  She has some beautiful long hair styles, and I love long hair. 

I have seen certain hair such as by AprilYSH and Neftis that have a characteristic "translucence" to them. The geometry is ghosted and the strands very parallel. Is this what the first post might be in part about?

I have notice a difference between painted hair strands in a texture and sampled ones. The painted ones seem very uniform in width and distribution with each strand running from end to end on the geometry piece while the samples tend to show strands of finer less regular width strands that begin and end along the geometry piece and criss-cross each other to give an illusion of layering and depth. The painted hair also seems to often suffer from a low contrast tonality while the sample seem much more contrasty and to me more realistic.

If one is against baked highlights would one not need a bump or displacement map for the rendered highlights to look good?

Having started with Koz hair I have been sorely disappointed with most commercial hair I have bought. Strange translucence, obvious geometry (tubes etc.), overly regular strands, but most of all a horrid mat quality where blond is ocher etc. It is amazing how often I must purchase a 3Dream texture for a DAZ or other hair! Then of course is the issue of realistic styles as opposed to fantasy... there must be a market for ordinary hair styles? I see only a few such as ernyoka1's Comb Over.

My own aborted attempts at hair were done entirely in Poser. I took sections of ball prop and morphed them into shape and assembled them according to Geep's prop building tutorials. Then I used UV mapper to create a template and painted the textures using the methods shown in the pure post-work hair painting tutorials; lots of fine over painting for layering depth illusion and dodge and burn for baked highlights. The results were so-so so-so but it was a learning experience..

I think one of the best things about the Koz hair is it looks so good in the bits where the hair meets the scalp including the parting on top. Love esther

Quote - I think one of the best things about the Koz hair is it looks so good in the bits where the hair meets the scalp including the parting on top. Love esther

I agree.  Regardless how the texture is colored, I really like the way it fits the character so realistically. 

Also, you can't beat Koz's mastery of the pose morphs in his hair props!

before i go any further, let me  clarify that i am grateful that koz has provided the community with such great hair for as long as i can remember. theyve always been free, even though his hair is/was often far better than what was offered in the  marketplaces and he could have made a killing as a merchant. i used to use his hair exclusively because it was so much better than anything else out there. that said, ill tell you why i personally stopped using it:

koz's hair is very nice, but its also very static.
i used to like it a lot - its the only thing i would use. but the problem is that with the exception of the 'messy hair' theyre like a helmet of hair which is made even more static by the fact that they have very strong baked-in highlights.
these days my favorite hair  model is by far the sappphire fox hair from daz, with the 'in love again' poses/textures by eowyn/firebirdz. its a nice quick, dynamic looking  base which rio or myself can touch up with a bit of postwork.
either that, or just handpainting the hair entirely. hopefully poser7 will have a more refined hair room, something along  the lines of sasquatch. as it stands, IMO, the only thing holding poser back is the hair room and the character rigging system. get those two up to par and the average  level of poser realism will go through the roof.

cheers,
-gabriel

Actually, most Koz hair has a lot of morphs so that it does not have to look like a helmet. It can fly in the wind and so on.

Speaking of helmets -- A couple of highly respected artists have long hair products where the hair style is cut and curled to fit the shoulders and upper body!!  Talk about unrealistic!!  And these are commercial items.

I was cruising the gallery here yesterday (after karen mentioned that some guys were in the habit of posting x-rated stuff that hadda be quickly deleted) and I noticed several thumbnails where the poser girls had these knobs sticking out of their heads. I don't know if this was an hairstyle, an helmet or maybe head morphs.

Neftis also makes realistic hair (mostly for male characters).

I think her Anders Hair and Perfect Touch Hair look realistic, too.

As far as Koz's hair being static...I beg to differ: A few test images...Akemi vrs porn-star warrior...Karen, will get a kick out of this one! From Koz's most recent LHE! From the bimbo's perspective! This is koz's 2nd long hair model...A very early test render... And another one Koz's FIRST Long hair evo! This last one is used with extreme dial turning! So ya see You can get some pretty dynamic motion with his meshes!

Your "bimbo" is pretty cool, takezo3001.   And yes, Koz's hair can flow realistically as demonstrated in your work.   Koz also released a special hair pose package for Long Hair Evo V3 that adds to the variety of the hair poses.

BTW, I find that As Shanim's  Liltsure Long Hair  flows like wind  --  another realistic-looking hair with great poses.

.

The old-fashioned flip hair like Ali's and other vintage hair styles are perfect for vintage 1950's etc. renders. My own hair did not look very realistic in 1966, after I teased it into a poof on top and had a wonderful big shoulder-lenght flip. It was also glued into place with strong hairspray. Ugh!!!

Yes, Koz's hair is unparalleled. Period. All other hair models I've tryed (some very expensive) look like strips of semitranslucent plastic or worse: they do look like (badly) painted-on hair. In some cases, I could paint better with my humble mouse. I've read Koz's tutorial on creating hair in the Poser 3 paleo age. Looked simple, yet is nearly impossible to match his skills.

Is this tutorial still available?? What modeler does he use???

Hi Poserbarbers

Perhaps a little OT but does anyone knows a good curly hairprop, I've tried the some of the market, but I'm not satisfied with it. I'm trying to get 80's big curly hairlook, but there is no hair that comes even close to it. I've tried dynamic hair like the one of adorana, but that takes ages to render, and in my opinion dynamic hair looks creasy as oliveoil and fat as spaghetti, wich will make an italian drool but won't look good in a realistic render. can someone please help?

Thanks in advance.

Holland- servië/montenegro: 1-0;  First step to the finale.

Some of Koz's hair is in Poser 6, a whole bunch for James and Jessi. Despite the weakness on lighting, I think he sets the standard that anyone selling non-dynamic hair has to at least match. There are people who do that. We'd be a lot worse off if he wasn't out there, whether or not his styles suit our particular needs.

The "Frizzed" hair from AprilYSH at DAZ3D may be close enough. It's fairly recent, March this year. Here's the link If you're looking for something more like that huge hairstyle some girl had in the most recent Austin Powers movie, I can't think of anything. Beyonce Knowles, was it? It's an exaggeration of something I vaguely recall as real.

Thank you for your reply, but I'm afraid it looks to "static" to me , I want to have a more fuzzy look.  I think I have to experiment for myself a bit.

regards,

Bopperthijs

While I like Koz's hair, I often don't like the style. For textures and transparencies and realism... I love them. Another hair I use a LOT and that I have never regretted buying is Danae's Bliss Vision Hair. [url=http://market.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?ViewProduct=33363]Bliss Vision Hair[/url] What I don't like, and what puts me off a LOT of the hair I see, is the "fatness" of it. The lack of realism. There is a lot of hair that I like the look of style wise over at Daz - but I loathe the textures. Then there are the morphs.... What I don't like is if I have a character that leans back, the damned hair tucks in at the neck. That often I cannot get the hair to fall down straight (gravity yanno) at the back. Sure, dynamic hair would do this, but I detest dynamic hair because I have never seen dynamic hair that didn't look like the character just stuck his/her fingers into an electrical socket. It's always slightly frizzed. Yes, HMann's dynamic hair is pretty darn good - but it's still frizzed slightly in every render I've seen. I think I got one or two of them myself and I never use them. The biggest killer on hair (for me) is the hairline. Actually not just the hairline, but the continuity of hairline/scalp. Usually I like the hairline, and then I got this flap up top that looks so darn unrealistic that it puts me off using it. This is in NO way meant as a slight to the hair modelers out there. I couldn't even begin to create something like that and my hat off to you guys who can. I'm just saying what puts me off a hair figure. What attracts me to a hair figure are: Outstanding textures / transparency Nice hairline that doesn't sit half way up the scalp Good, usable morphs that let you actually do something. I have the 3Dream Ponytail thingy. While I like the way it looks and the textures etc... there is this "propellor" fluff at the top that I cannot get rid of, disguise, bend out of the way, make invisible... you name it. I actually hate it so much - I gave up using the hair. It annoys the crap out of me. It's little things like that which kill a hair model for me. So lets look at the RDNA hair. In the beginning, I thought oh nice... I don't like them now, because the transparency and morphs and textures are so.. yuck (to me) that I can't stand using them. The Sapphire Fox hair is ok - but I don't like hair that has a side part. If that had a middle part in the fringe - gimme! The male hairs leave a LOT to be desired too. I still want a simple long hair ala the M2 Long Hair, but if possible with a fringe. It has always been my favorite male long hair, because it's just pretty darn simple. Ok, that's about all I can whine about in one shot lol!

It's very hard to find, nor easy to make, a perfect hair model.   My compromise is that I spend my money choosing hair style over texture, then I borrow Koz's hair texture, tone down the highlight and paste it over the poor texture map of the stylish hair.

AprilYSH sells a lot of cool-styled hair at DAZ3D, although most of the textures look fake, they can be modified easily with a graphic program to fit your needs.

I think before we find a perfect hair, that can be a nice compromise, plus a bit of post work.

"I noticed several thumbnails where the poser girls
had these knobs sticking out of their heads. I don't know if this
was an hairstyle, an helmet or maybe head morphs."

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but could it be the weird thingies sticking out of Victoria's head in this render? If so, that's part of a cute sci-fi costume that IIRC is no longer available. I'm pretty sure it was ISOP's, but if anyone rembers with certainty, perhaps you can remind me of where I found these.   :-)

And of course, as always, many thanks to kozaburo.