Hey guys I got a question for you.

See, I'm trying to make this cat, and I have the model almost done, but I need to know how how to give the fur a pattern and not just have it be one solid color.

Because what I'm trying to go for is a white cat with the black fur patterns of a margay cat, or a snow leopard... or maybe both.

So my question is, does anyone know how to do this and have it look realistic? If you do I'd greatly appreciate the help.

Welcome to the forum!

The most common tactic is to use a decal to control hair color. Where the decal is black the hair will be black, where the decal is orange the hair will be orange and so on.

I have a cat and I notice her hairs actually have different colors along their length. You can make hair systems that define different colors along the length, but hair that has a decal on the model to control color is single color along its length.

Thanks a million (Now. Just as soon as I can figure out where those decal settings are and how to use them, I'll be all set)

Jim Talbot's decaling tutorials are here and there is a Hair "Tech Talk" here.

Hope that helps.

should get results like this or actually better this was one of my 15 minute attempts

Click to view attachment

Actually I do that all the time (or use to do that - haven't tried in 15j+) - I use an image for the emitter that has a variety of colors and then also use an image to drive the color of the emitter - works wonderfully. Can get some very painterly looks, with nice variations. Here's some old render tests that were done in 15e.

I'm not clear on what is affecting what there.



The first one is reproduced on each hair, right? What part of it is overridden by the second image, which I presume is applied to the model?.


Here's the basic situation on my cat. There are basically two kinds of hairs, each with a different color pattern along its length. But they are not randomy scattered, they group to create the overall stripe pattern.

Click to view attachment

Here is an render where only the emitter is used - ie there is no decal driving the color variation. You can see that all the hairs are colored the same, ie they all look like the emitter. There is no color variation..

In the previous post's images - the hair system had an emitter, shown in lower left for each image, and there was a decal also driving the diffuse property of the emitter. The color along the shaft of the hair was influenced by BOTH the emitter coloring (along the shaft) as well as the image used for the decal (lower right) applied to the surface of the group that had the hair material. Thus producing way more interesting variation.

quick test - in 15e - found the project

here is with emitter being a black white check image (with repeat count set to 3 x 3) and the decal is a brown mottle thing.

3rd image is using a red/white/gold check (same as rotoscope background) for both the emitter (3 x 3 repeat) and the decal (on surface of hair group) in 15e - renders correctly

2nd image: I am having a hard time getting the same results in 15jplus - I suspect that capability has gone bye-bye - but I haven't found the secret recipe yet to make things look the same as 15e.

*****EDIT: I've uploaded the project with the red/gold check image - it would be very much appreciated if someone could make it work in 15j+ - I don't know what I need to change from 15e.

Your 15j+ render is what I would have expected to get if I understand how the priorities of the various hair things are supposed to work.


After a bit of experimenting in PhotoShop, I'd say 15 was multiplying the two color sets. If I overlap the swatch and choose multiply as the combining mode, it gets a palette similar to your 15e render.

Click to view attachment


But in 15j+ I tried removing the hair image, thinking the check pattern from the skin would take over, but instead it seems to be having no effect...

Click to view attachment


So something is not working...

15e is how I would have expected it to work - since I believe that's how it's worked ever since Hair was first implemented (ver 10? 12?).

Fwuffy Cat 2005

other 2005 examples

another

I've been doing hair a long time. I have many character models that rely on it working that way. Many of my flower models, trees, foliage, plant models done for TWO used that capability. I believe some of the hair I did for SO (the Ork in particular) counted on that feature, as well. I thought it was terrific feature. It adds a lot.

I am dismayed that it no longer works - unless there is a workaround?

15j is the anomaly and is wrong. Or shall we say not backward compatible. I don't know what version of 15 that hair changed. There are other hair things that changed as well, & that no longer work the same. I don't know of a workaround for this.

It works in 15e

Nancy, set the diffuse hair color to "not set" in the hair emitter properties. (at the material, not the instance on the model)

Rendered in 15j+.

Fabulous. Now Nancy's models can play in the sun again!

Ahhhhh..yes...fabulous is right (tho strange)...now to figure out how spec color for hair works - also seems to work strangely, differently than before.

Thanks mucho.

I was wondering. How did you get all the hairs to face the outside? Because when I tried making a ball and I put the hair material on it, for some reason it was all on the inside.

Another thing I'm puzzled about is the (Show normals) or (Shift 1) Because when I click it, sparse yellow hair looking things show up on the model. Some are on the outside,

and some are on the inside, what's up with that? is that where the hairs are going to be facing when I put them in? If so, I really need to be able to change that without

redoing the entire area that I've spent hours making.

Please help if you can.

~Zalrith~

Hair grows inthe direction of the patch's "normal"



Those yellow lines show you the direction the normal of that patch is facing.



You can select a part of the mesh and RMB>Flip normals to reverse the normals. You can flip the whole model or any part. If you need to choose just a few patches you can use the patch selection tool. (hint: it's over by the other tools). Click on any patch to select it, shift click to select more.

the normals have to point out for the hair to point out.....the tool in the picture will let you pick a patch then hit the f key on the keyboard to flip the normal


Click to view attachment


Robert wins ..got the 1st answer

(Sighs in relief) Oh thank you so much, you're a lifesaver you know that? I thought I was going to be in trouble with that whole mess, but you came in and cleared it all up.

Thanks again robcat.

Huh.. just goes to show how much of a newbie I really am doesn't it?

Learning curve muchacho.. we all have it, some of us older blokes seem to have a much longer one than others is all. I've been at this for many many moons and am still learning, re-learning, and otherwise scratching me head at times!