Ok guys, I done suckered myself to learn how to make dynamic hairs (and it's fun lol),

Now, the thing is, I want to make separate hair parts (tops, sides, backs) with different lengths and such, and add the back tails to separate hairs (just an idea). I now know how to build the hairs, use the magnets, and make them props, but how do you make two or three props as one prop to use in the future?

Here's a cutie with my new hair, one is the actual hair that I draped as she turns her head, and one's a prop with a magnet, they're both not full enough, she looks like she's loosing hair lol, even with both, you can see her head (still a WIP).

...wolfie

The best and easiest way is to make or use a skullcap that has certain parts selected as materials zones so that you can create groups by material zone.

Laurie

Thanks, Laurie! But hmm, ok, first I don't know how to make skull caps, much less make different material zones (but that's a good idea), secondly I don't know where to get one lol, are there any freebie skull caps flying around?

...wolfie

You can actually make a skullcap for any figure using Poser's grouping tool. Select the parts of the head mesh you want for the skullcap in the grouping tool and then spawn a prop from it :). You can then make the groups you want on the resulting skullcap in the same fashion. Please keep in mind tho that the denser the mesh you are growing hair on, the denser the hair will be, so if you do create your own skullcap you might want to take it into a modeler and subdivide it once. You can even create your groups in the modeler if it's easier for you.

Laurie

Huh, why didn't I think of that? Is there a tut to make different material zones? Or is that simple too? LOL... had Poser for a few years now and I'm just starting to learn these things.

...wolfie

You can create groups in the group editor the same way you made the cap by selecting the polys you want, except don't spawn props, just create (and name) the groups. Don't fuss with material zones if you're using the group editor. I only make material zones when I'm making the cap in a separate modeling applications. Just create groups :).

Laurie

Ok, well when I learned how to do this yesterday, I created two groups, after creating the hairs, I was looking at props and found out they actually became two "props" under prop menu. First, how do you create separate groups without them becoming two separate props? Second, is there a way to weld the two groups? Also, Poser automatically names the material "hair" lol. A feel silly here haha!

...wolfie

well, the individual hair groups become separate props. Nothing you can do about that ;). What ya can do is smart prop the parts to the skull cap (making the cap invisible so ya don't see it) and save the skullcap to the library with all the hair bits smart propped to it.

Just making groups on the skullcap won't create new props unless you "spawn" a prop, but the hair room automatically spawns a prop for every hair that you create there.

Laurie

ok so you're talking about making groups somewhere else besides the hair room (since the hair groups are auto separating)? If so, how do you do that? And how do you make a smart prop?

Ha, one of the tuts I was reading had other tuts to click and searched, found "how to make skullcaps", doing it now :)

Ok guys, I done suckered myself to learn how to make dynamic hairs (and it's fun lol),

Its looking fine, you are correct that it looks a bit like she is loosing hair :D but taking into consideration how difficult it is to work with, meaning not just slapping on the hair, but actually make it look like something is very hard, I tried it as well but gave up, tried in in 3ds max as well and its just as hard to make anything there as in Poser.

Wish someone could develop some easy to use dynamic hair software, not just for simulating hair, but to style is as well, but seems to me like there are not really any software out there able to do that.

I was begging for someone to make a dynamic hair plugin for Poser in another thread just today ;).

Laurie

LaurieA posted at 5:53PM Tue, 19 January 2016 - #4250283

I was begging for someone to make a dynamic hair plugin for Poser in another thread just today ;).

Laurie

Man wouldn't that be a good idea, but then if we turned hairs into dynamic hair, we have to watch the material zones, as far as I believe, the more material zones there are, the much... much longer it takes to calculate!

That would be great. Unfortunately it must be extremely difficult, seeing how long time the big 3d packages have been around and how many renders people have made, but still hardly anyone of them have dynamic hair in them.

However found this one, which i think is just amazing - Gorilla

An nvidia is working on something as well, but seems to follow the rest of whats available out there, meaning its going to be just as difficult. But can always hope - Nvidia hair

But again they render and simulate very well, now if they just would make them easier to use :D

Blender's hair doesn't seem TOO bad, and that "other" program's plugins look pretty straight forward. I don't have either of them yet but I may soon.

Laurie