Carrara hair is incredibly realistic since it is strand based, and is dynamic as well, meaning that it is interactive with scene forces and therefore ideally suited for animations as well as still renders.  However the hair room can be intimidating to use, and finding the right settings for realistic hair movement while animated can initially be difficult.

Over the past week (thanks in large part to PhilW's tutorial series) I feel like I've had a breakthrough in understanding the Carrara hair room and what settings to employ to achieve realistic hair movement/simulations.  Check out a few of these test animations to see my progress (I've made mistakes on some of these that I now know how to correct and do better, but I'll just show them anyway to give an idea):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofWd1iAfv4c  (my very first hair animation test)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oq7GW9X_IU  (tucking hair behind her ear, I made a fairly basic mistake on this one that I know how to correct now)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbq-yv-ieJA  (a more complex hair style used on this one, where the proxy figure tucks hair behind her ear again)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDD_AgW6-Fg  (hair blowing in the 'wind' through the application of directional force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePlppX0Zx9I  (V4 going from pose to pose, movement of hair as she moves)

The really great news is that creating Carrara hair and animating it is incredibly easy and quick once you understand a few of the tools and the basic concepts and settings for your animations.  Seriously, I'm doing hair sims that take less than a minute to calculate (usually less than half a minute) and doing test render animations that take less than 5 minutes to render to see how the hair is moving and refine settings.

Carrara hair:

• Looks far more real than prop/figure hair (actually Carrara hair with the right settings just looks real, period)

• Renders faster than prop and figure hair

• Will animate easily and be far more realistic than any sort of prop hair

• In my opinion is the best dynamic strand-based hair solution within the hobbyist-priced software level, and in fact the simulation quality of what Carrara can do with the right settings is on a par with what you see in CG movies by professionals. 

The nice surprise is that Carrara hair is actually very easy to use, I would say even easier/faster than prop hair and figuring out all the endless morphs and parameters for prop/figure hair, and Carrara hair is far more natural and realistic.  So I wanted to put together a tutorial to quickly show, using a very simple hairstyle, how easy Carrara hair is to create, use and pose for animations, and to show which tools in the hair room you need to know how to use, as well as give some settings for realistic natural hair movement within animations.  And animated hair can be stopped at any given frame to do incredibly realistic still renders too, so this stuff isn't just for animators.

I've broken the tutorial into parts for ease in viewing, but bear in mind that even though overall this tutorial is more than an hour long, this is only because I'm trying to take the time to explain all the tools and settings as it goes.  In real life, once you've mastered these tools, you can build an animate this hair very quickly - maybe 5 minutes to create and animate the hair simulation, and another 5 minutes to render out a 4 second animation. 

Another tutorial will follow sometime soon (when I have time to put it together) giving more details of how to make more complex hairstyles, but I'm hoping that just playing with creating a very simple and quick hairstyle will give people some familiarity with the hair room and how easy and quick it is to work with Carrara hair and achieve highly realistic hair renders and animations.

Carrara Hair Tutorial part 1:  Overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC1AV-hcsC4

Carrara Hair Tutorial part 2: Scene setup and Low Poly Proxy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNHOTqi07fE

Carrara Hair Tutorial part 3:  Grow Region Tool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av4OvvgEbHg

Carrara Hair Tutorial part 4: Guide Hair Tools
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZiHp603ypM

Cararra Hair Tutorial part 5: Brush and Push tools, Dynamic Draping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IndFuzP4_IM

Carrara Hair Tutorial part 6: Cut and Length and Straighten tools, Auto Grouping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzYjkgkA_fM

Hair Tutorial part 7, Hair simulation and animation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd3AI71JGh4

 Edit to add:  I also made an add-on side tutorial on the importance of the number of hair segments you choose to use and showing my thoughts on what the ideal number should be for natural looking bends and curves in your hair motion and sims.  Forgot to post this one initially, just adding it in:

Carrara Hair Segments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK5riUH3kEQ

I'm also realizing I forgot to mention the 'Density' setting in the Simulations tab and what that does.  It doesn't actually add thickness to the hair or number of hairs, but instead changes the simulations as if there were more hair density (which impacts the way the hair moves).  I completely forgot to mention what this parameter does in the tutorial but it's such a small description that I'm not sure it warrants another tutorial video all on it's own.

Nice thank you!! Your animations look great.  I look forward to seeing the tutorials!

 Well, thanks!

I have always used the prop hair just because it is conceptually easier. It takes a long time to render, so if the C8 hair room is really easy enough and just as fast or faster, I will be delighted to use it.  :)

 Thanks jonstark,

I always gave up after brushing more hair inside the head than out.  Didn't know what the push tool did!  Thanks for taking the time to make these tutorials.

ncamp 

Thanks, jonstark. Can't wait to watch the videos.

Very interesting, to place in the favorite links of Firefox !

Thank you !

Nice thank you!! Your animations look great.  I look forward to seeing the tutorials!

Thank you, I hope they are useful  :)  I'm still learning, refining and testing, hopefully sometime soon I'll have the time to put together a few more tutorials on how to make a more complex hairstyle and some of the other useful tools.

 Well, thanks!

I have always used the prop hair just because it is conceptually easier. It takes a long time to render, so if the C8 hair room is really easy enough and just as fast or faster, I will be delighted to use it.  :)

You and me both!  Now I look back and wish I had learned how to use the Carrara hair sooner, would have saved me a bundle of money I shelled out for various prop/figure hairstyles  :) Although I do think there are some good prop/figure hairs out there, and I don't mean to run them down entirely.  Maybe some of the more complex short hairstyles might be just easier to use a prop hair, so it has it's place I guess.  Though now that I have this 'hammer', suddenly everything is looking like a 'nail'.  (I'm probably butchering the old saying).
Although

 Thanks jonstark,

I always gave up after brushing more hair inside the head than out.  Didn't know what the push tool did!  Thanks for taking the time to make these tutorials.

ncamp 

That was exactly my experience too, ncamp!   I never could understand even half the tools or when I would click on them nothing would happen.  When I found out about the push tool I was like 'Eureka!  That will solve sooo many problems!'.   It really is my best friend in the hair room (ok the brush tool is too...)

Thanks, jonstark. Can't wait to watch the videos.

Thanks booksbydavid, I really do hope it's of use and as much fun to play with as it has been for me so far  :)

Very interesting, to place in the favorite links of Firefox !

Thank you !

My pleasure, and I do hope it's useful to you, I know you already do lots of great animation so hopefully it will be helpful (and fun) to use  :)

I have (almost) everything to learn on the dynamic hair, your tutos really will help me !
Thanks !

I've really enjoyed the tutorials. I learned quite a bit. I only have one complaint. Your voice is so soothing that I've had the devil of a time staying awake through the whole set. I have to take them in short sessions because I keep falling asleep. :)

I'm looking forward to learning more (hint, hint). :)

Many Thanks for an excellent tutorial series. I've tried the hair room a couple of times after watching various tutorials from the likes of cripeman, Phil Wilks, etc. Those videos gave me the basic operating procedures but didn't really explain the settings in any depth. I found myself just plugging settings everywhere hoping for some ureka moment (or maybe dumb luck) to get something reasonable, Of course, I totally failed in a very consistent way!

Finally, your complete workflow and simple explanation of the interaction between settings gives a clarity to the Hair room, you have removed the whole mystique for me. I really do hope to see a little more on complex styling if you can find the time. Thanks once again

I've really enjoyed the tutorials. I learned quite a bit. I only have one complaint. Your voice is so soothing that I've had the devil of a time staying awake through the whole set. I have to take them in short sessions because I keep falling asleep. :)

I'm looking forward to learning more (hint, hint). :)

Lol, I do tend to drone on, I'm noticing that myself as I'm watching back my 2nd tutorial now  :)   I keep muttering at the screen as I listen to myself, "you already said that 3 times idiot, stop beating a dead horse and move on!"    Glad that it was of interest and use to you, booksbydavid  :)

Many Thanks for an excellent tutorial series. I've tried the hair room a couple of times after watching various tutorials from the likes of cripeman, Phil Wilks, etc. Those videos gave me the basic operating procedures but didn't really explain the settings in any depth. I found myself just plugging settings everywhere hoping for some ureka moment (or maybe dumb luck) to get something reasonable, Of course, I totally failed in a very consistent way!

Finally, your complete workflow and simple explanation of the interaction between settings gives a clarity to the Hair room, you have removed the whole mystique for me. I really do hope to see a little more on complex styling if you can find the time. Thanks once again

Thanks for the really nice words Dave!  I sincerely appreciate it, and I actually just finished my 2nd tutorial with the (slightly) more complex hair style.  This second tutorial came out a little rougher than I would have liked, I made a few mistakes while building the hair purely by being a little boneheaded or not paying full attention, but they were fairly easily corrected, and I guess mistakes and corrections are useful info too, if for no other reason than it shows how forgiving the tools in the hair room really are.  I'll be posting them soon.

I've really enjoyed the tutorials. I learned quite a bit. I only have one complaint. Your voice is so soothing that I've had the devil of a time staying awake through the whole set. I have to take them in short sessions because I keep falling asleep. :)

I'm looking forward to learning more (hint, hint). :)

Lol, I do tend to drone on, I'm noticing that myself as I'm watching back my 2nd tutorial now  :)   I keep muttering at the screen as I listen to myself, "you already said that 3 times idiot, stop beating a dead horse and move on!"    Glad that it was of interest and use to you, booksbydavid  :)

Heh, heh. :) I needed the rest. I'm off to grab the new tute. Yay!