I'm just about to pull my own hair out trying to figure out how to create hair trans maps. I ran some of the default Poser hair props through UV Mapper to try and re-map them in a more sensible way (the original templates are really weird and hard to follow, though I did try to work with them first). OK, fine. But no matter what I do I can't trans map them. Any way you map them, you end up with a map for BOTH SIDES of each part of the mesh (front, back, you know?) and, of course, there's no way to make a trans for both that will match up, so you end up with these weird untextured parts sticking out that where one side is transparent but the other side isn't. I've studied tex and trans maps from other, SUCCESSFULLY transmapped hair props, and they all seem to have just ONE map per part (NO front & back, just one universal map). HOW CAN I GET THIS?!? Not with UV Mapper, I guess. Do I need some specific modeler, is there some secret trick I need to learn, or what? I have Carrara Studio, if there's a way I can do it with that. HELP!!!

Those hair object files are too thick to actually transmap successfully. If you can "flatten" them a bit in carrara, or, even get rid of some of the mesh, you might find a solution.

Hmm, I'll try that. Thanks, Poppi.

The trick Kozaburo uses with his hair objects is that they're layered. He has two or three actual objects layered together and mapped. The default hair objects are not layered, they're just one solid object, so they really won't transmap effectively. If you can re-do them so they're layered, maybe it would work. Melanie

Melanie...you said it perfectly....They are like thin sheets above one another. I don't know what you can do in carrara...but, if you can copy....the base layer of the default "helmet" hair...and then, copy the part that makes up the top....then model them as a very thin, 2 layered mesh...and then transmap...it could work. I would be interested in these results.

I guess you nailed it. I decided to try remapping Koz's Alice Hair and see what I could do with that, and it worked fine. As far as the default hair, I was just using that as a test. Now I know why no one else has done anything with it! Well, at least now I know what to do and what to avoid in making my own hair props. Painting the texture maps may take me a while to master (though I have been practicing), but we WILL have more quality hair props, dammit! And I'm going to focus on male hair to start with. SOMEBODY'S got to do it. Poor P4 Dork ain't never gonna git none with some ugly lump of clay on his head. Like he doesn't have enough problems already ;) Thanks for your help.

Anton's changeable pony works wonderfully, for men, too.

X2K! You got my encouragement! That clay hair has got to go...and I've seen enough bald dorks to make me laugh just thinking about it. I was thinking (I'm still a newbie so this may be totally out there). Do the layers have to be "thin?" Seems that the top layer would just need to lay on top of the lower layer and map to the appropriate surfaces. If that were the case, couldn't you just resize a copy and place it slightly above the other (or below depending on which way you size it)?

Actually, as Poppi pointed out, they DO need to be thin. What I found is that if the layer is thin enough, UV Mapper will map it as a single part, whereas if it's thicker, you get the separate front/back pieces, which make it impossible to create a working transmapping because the two sides won't match up and you get the problem I had, where one side is transparent and the other isn't, got it? I guess this is one of those things you learn from expirience, 'cause I've certainly never read it anywhere. Someone should write a book of little-known, off-beat facts like this, as well as hidden stuff like Poser's "Hair" feature where you type in "hair" and an undocumented window pops up, or the "secret" export feature in Bryce involving the edit pop-up (I don't remember the full procedure at the moment). In fact, I have the Real World Bryce 4 book, which has about 1,385,985.7 pages, and I don't think the export trick is even in there!

By the way, if you REALLY wanted to use the default hair, you'd not only have to thin out the mesh, but you'd pretty much have to re-map it, because as I mentioned in my first post, the original map is really strange and just about impossible to create a quality tex for (forget about drawing straight lines!!!). In fact, you'd really need to kind of tear it apart into separate pieces in order to draw the hair going to right direction everywhere. It'll be easier to just start from scratch.

Ok, that all makes sense. Like I said, I'm a newbie. I've attempted to use the "hair" utility in poser to make a fur rug. Never could get the density and direction right...was thinking about just tweaking an existing grass model instead.

Attached Link: http://digitalbabes2.com/tutorial/hair.html

or.. you could learn from the master himself? 8 ) it's very well written and illustrated.. and shows you how he makes his wonderous hair props... the thick default hair can be fudged a bit.... usually involving adding a second hair prop to the first and playing with transparent settings and scale.. but give Kozoburo-sama's tute a read...

The only problem is that, being the master, he makes it look so-o-o easy. But when you actually try to do it yourself... :/

hahahahhahaaaa... it's the same with most tutorials I"m afraid 8 ) a bigger thing is when talking with someone in "how to do", there's shortcuts that you use that have become second nature.. so you think everyone knows them.... and thereby confuse everyone 8 ) but.. of all the hair tutes I"ve seen his was the easiest to follow 8 ) all it takes is time my friend... give it a go CHeers