I purchased the same a few days ago and can't for the life of me figure it out. What is the difference between the Beard and Michael when they show both. I see no difference. How do I eliminate say, for instance the hair and just keep the beard? To lengthen or shorten the beard, do I use the handles or the dials. I find this figure so difficult to figure out. The only thing that makes sense is the hair mats and the poses. Please help this old lady manage a beard.....

Hi Rita! I have had a little trouble figuring out the beard, too. I am still figuring it out, but I'll share what I know. :) The MAT pose for the Beard is to change the color of the beard. The MAT pose for Michael is to change the color of Michael's eyebrows. To eliminate the hair and keep the beard go to Render -> Materials, select the hair and set the transparency map to none. I haven't figured out, yet how to lengthen the beard, hopefully someone else will reply. One thing I would like to know is how to make the hair look like its balding. I have seen some cool pics (on some orcs) with balding heads and I haven't been able to do it myself. Hope this helps! Jay

Helps a bunch. Works-Thanks a lot!! Rita

Hi there, The materials are one option. There is also morphs to move the goatee or mustache out of view. The main beard lengthenling morph is the Wizard Morph. Though many of the morphs can be used together. Think of the handles as bodyparts that tuck on the geometry. Keep playing and email me if you have questions. The beard is very complex in design but is very versitile. You can always reach me at antonk68@aol.com Anton

I've been playing around with beard lengths a bit (see images); it's great!

Anton, would you consider making a full-body conforming fur suit for Michael? Such an item would be perfect for werewolf characters, catmen, Wookies, Yeti, etc.

Hey Little Dragon, That's one of the two things that I haven't been able to figure out about the beard. How do you adjust the length? I know that you can apply the Wizard MAT, but how do you get the varying lengths in between. The other thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to apply the balding hair (like in the Wizard MAT). I can't find the transparency map for it. Whatever help you can give would be great! Thanks! Jay

To adjust the length, select the Beard figure, choose Head from the Body Parts list, and start playing with the parameter dials.

Beard and hair length are governed mainly by the dials Wizard1Wavy and Wizard1. The balding look is handled by the dials BaldFront2 and BaldFront (see illustration), not transmaps; the hair is pulled into the head, not made transparent.

On the other hand, if you want to use just the hair, or just the beard, you make the unwanted part transparent by turning off its transmap and setting the transparency sliders to maximum.

Thank you all for your help. That's the beard I wanted Little Dragon. It will come in handy.

Doh! slaps forehead I should have been able to figure that out, Little Dragon! When I tried to adjust the length, I kept going to Body Parts -> Body. Well, I am still glad that I asked. Now, I can REALLY playing with the beard! Jay