What are the best methods for rigging character hair?

3 Hair styling

Hair styling is the process of shaping and modifying the appearance of hair, such as cutting, combing, braiding, and coloring. Hair styling can be done using different tools, such as scissors, brushes, combs, pins, and shaders. Scissors allow you to trim and cut hair strands, while brushes and combs allow you to manipulate and smooth hair strands. Pins allow you to fix and position hair strands, while shaders allow you to change the color and texture of hair strands. Hair styling can be done manually or automatically, depending on the level of control and variation you want.

4 Hair rendering

Hair rendering is the process of creating the final image of hair, taking into account the lighting, shading, and transparency effects. Hair rendering can be done using different methods, such as ray tracing, rasterization, or hybrid. Ray tracing is the most realistic and accurate, but it can be slow and noisy. Rasterization is the fastest and simplest, but it can be low quality and limited. Hybrid is a combination of both, which can offer a balance of speed and quality. Depending on your hardware and software capabilities, you can choose the best method for your hair system.

5 Hair optimization

Hair optimization is the process of improving the performance and efficiency of hair, by reducing the complexity and memory usage. Hair optimization can be done using different techniques, such as level of detail, instancing, baking, or culling. Level of detail allows you to adjust the resolution and detail of hair based on the distance and angle of the camera. Instancing allows you to reuse and duplicate hair strands, while baking allows you to precompute and store hair information, such as dynamics and shading. Culling allows you to remove and hide hair strands that are not visible or relevant.

6 Hair tips and tricks

Hair tips and tricks are the extra steps and techniques that can enhance the quality and realism of hair, such as adding variation, motion, and interaction. Adding variation allows you to create more diversity and interest in hair, by changing the size, shape, color, and direction of hair strands. Adding motion allows you to create more life and movement in hair, by applying forces, constraints, and noise to hair strands. Adding interaction allows you to create more realism and feedback in hair, by making hair react to other objects, such as the head, the body, or the environment.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?