Hair Designer - Dynamic hair & fur tool

Hello, I have a question before I purchase.
Are runtime scripts required for hair/fur to display? I understand if physics aren't supported without runtime scripts, but will generated/groomed hair/fur still render staticly?
Thank you for your time!

 

There's different layers :

- short hair : a mesh is generated using the original character bones and blendshapes.
The script is required for the blendshapes updates, and it also control the shader properties.

- long hair : a mesh is generated with its own bone system.
The script is required for the bones animation and the shader properties.

- Fur system : the script is required for rendering the fur genometry each frame.

So you can save the generated mesh for short hair and long hair, but not for the fur.

 

Can you make the fur like this? I need this. please.

 

Nice model
I don't think that this model was rendered with a realtime engine.
You wont get that quality with the current version of HairDesigner.
Maybe the next version of the fur for HDRP will be close to these screenshot.

Here the version using the DX11 fur for the built-in render pipeline.
The model is not as good as the one on your screens

 

Can you send me an email to 1966256295@qq.com ? I can send you this model：
you can use it for demonstration .
The fellow image is unity 2019.4.9+build in pipeline+ post processing.


and I m trying to put that man's hair onto the gorilla, I think the result will be similar to the render in previous post. But it is hard to put the man's hair onto the whole body of the gorilla, because you didn't provide the "fill whole body function" in short hair layer. If you can add this function in short hair layer, i might be able to make it good.

 

I tried to send you an email, but it didn't work (received an undelivered message)
You can contact me (contact@kalagaan.com)
I'll help you to improve your awesome gorilla

You should try the Advanced fur, you can easily paint the strands and control the density.

 

Hi, I make a clean project for you to test.
Inside the project is 2 gorilla models and 1 scene with post processing.
The RAR is about 400M, it automatically transferred to google cloud.
I sent the email via another Gmail box.
hope you can download it .

 

Here a quick test with this awesome model

no fur :


DX11 fur :


The fur is animated according to its length and the gorilla animation.

 

@kalagaan

Hi, I just started using amazing Hair Designer in Unity 2018.4.30f1 but I have many instances of the same error in the console and I can't edit my layer in the Hair designer component.(please see below). My skinned mesh charatcter is in read write enabled.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Code (CSharp):

1. TypeLoadException: Could not resolve type with token 01000097 (from typeref, class/assembly UnityEngine.Rendering.RenderPipelineAsset, UnityEngine, Version=0.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null)
2. Kalagaan.HairDesignerExtension.HairDesignerEditor.OnInspectorGUI () (at <f42f2d5c2b8c428b81d763380664a1de>:0)
3. UnityEditor.InspectorWindow.DoOnInspectorGUI (System.Boolean rebuildOptimizedGUIBlock, UnityEditor.Editor editor, System.Boolean wasVisible, UnityEngine.Rect& contentRect) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/Inspector/InspectorWindow.cs:1647)
4. UnityEngine.GUIUtility:ProcessEvent(Int32, IntPtr) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Modules/IMGUI/GUIUtility.cs:179)
5.  

[

 

Hello,
I did some tests with this version of unity and I didn't get this error.
What is your render pipeline?
does it works on a simple sphere or there's only an error with your mesh?

If you have some issues with your specific mesh,
it would be great if you could send me the fbx for testing. (contact@kalagaan.com)

 

@kalagaan Thanks for the quick reply

I am using the default Unity render pipeline. I made more tests using the component on a sphere with the same message error. Then I tried the demo scenes, same error.

I then restarted the computer, create a brand new standard pipeline 3d project , import Hair Designer asset, with no other asset in the project but I still have the same error. I am a bit out of ideas.

Thanks!

 

@kalagaan

New developement I was able to clear the red warnings in the newly created project and the demo works. I will make more testes and report back to you.

 

@kalagaan

The demos work on a brand new project but I have the same warning when trying to add the Hair designer component to a sphere in this new standard pipeline project.

Code (CSharp):

1. TypeLoadException: Could not resolve type with token 01000097 (from typeref, class/assembly UnityEngine.Rendering.RenderPipelineAsset, UnityEngine, Version=0.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null)
2. Kalagaan.HairDesignerExtension.HairDesignerEditor.OnInspectorGUI () (at <f42f2d5c2b8c428b81d763380664a1de>:0)
3. UnityEditor.InspectorWindow.DoOnInspectorGUI (System.Boolean rebuildOptimizedGUIBlock, UnityEditor.Editor editor, System.Boolean wasVisible, UnityEngine.Rect& contentRect) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Editor/Mono/Inspector/InspectorWindow.cs:1647)
4. UnityEngine.GUIUtility:ProcessEvent(Int32, IntPtr) (at C:/buildslave/unity/build/Modules/IMGUI/GUIUtility.cs:179)
5.  

 

That's so strange....
I've tested all the layer types,
I don't have messages in the console, it works as expected...

What is your version number of HairDesigner?
Do you use the Basic or the Pro version?
PC or Mac?

 

I got it!
you're using the HairDesigner version for unity 2020

You have to download the version from the assetstore inside unity,
it will download the version according to the current version of unity you're using.

You can check the minimum version of unity here :


for 2018.x, the version must be 2017

EDIT : I've just checked that the min number version is not specified in the 2017 version.
So there's no 'DLL_VERSION_2017' file in this DLL.

 

@kalagaan Thanks again for the quick reply

I am seeing 'DLL_VERSION_2019' in the Hair Designer editor. I am using the Basic Hair Designer with a PC on windows 10.

Yes this is the way I always do it. I dowloaded from the asset store directly within my project.

I was not expecting support on a Saturday so no emergency I can wait.

But Thanks again for your great support.

 

Ok, there's a big problem in the assetstore workflow...
It doesn't check the Unity version of the package if it has already been downloaded...

So you have to remove it manually from "C:\Users\userName\AppData\Roaming\Unity\Asset Store-x.x"
Then download it again from the unity editor (assetstore or package manager)

 

@kalagaan

That solved the problem. Thank you so much for the Amazing support. I was not expecting an answer at 7:00 am on a Sunday. Specially to provide a solution to a Unity store package bug. This is highly appreciated Thank you!

 

Hey Kalagaan, any news about blendshapes compatibility with long hairs?

 

Sorry, not yet
I'm still fixing bugs for the next update!
Big improvement of the long hair layer tool and animation, but no blendshape compatibility yet...

 

When are we getting this gem?!

 

Most of the bugs are fixed now, so I hope that it could be available soon
Maybe I'll add some features as "beta" and polish them later, like the way to add a custom mesh for the strands instead of the built-in haircards.
The motion system still needs some work, I have to test it with different hair styles.

 

Ok, I will keep waiting! You're doing an amazing job.

 

Hi, It doesn't work with HBAO asset. Also if it doesn't support blend shapes then we can't use beard at all!

 

Only the long hair layer doesn't support the blendshapes, the short hair layer is compatible, so you can create a beard with it.
I don't have HBAO asset, what is the issue with it?
HairDesigner generates geometry, so it should work with any post process effect.

 

Weird because I tested with fur it didn't work! Which version support blendshapes? I didn't update any assets for a long time

About HBAO, does Hair Designer support GBuffer in deferred rendering?

 

You should try with the latest version when something doesn't work properly...

I tried to record the G-buffer with this tool :
https://github.com/unity3d-jp/FrameCapturer
The fur is recorded in deferred.

Here a quick test of the fur using blendshapes :

 

I've improved the Short hair layer tool.
Now you can fill all the mesh in one click, and brush it easily.
It will be available in the next version (with a lot of upgrades ).

Here a sample using the Unity 2020 HDRP.

 

Does the asset compatible with dxr directx 12?
If not, any plans for the near future?

 

No, it's not compatible.
I'm still waiting for my RTX graphic card, so I'll do some tests as soon as I'll get it

Edit : I didn't do anything for a specific compatibility, but HDRP is compatible and the HRDP version of the shaders use ShaderGraph, so it should work.

 

Is there a way to edit fur length/color of a certain area in runtime during gameplay?

 

The fur system is driven by textures, so you can edit them at runtime.
The mask Texture define the length and the color texture can override the base texture.

Edit : This is not possible with the short hair layer. This layer generates a skinnedMesh and you can't edit it at runtime..

 

Thanks for the fast reply, How about Fur?

 

There's 4 layer types in HairDesigner :
- Fur : this is a "shell" technic driven by textures
- Advanced Fur : A DX11 shader generates the strands and the shells at runtime, this is driven by textures too. (not compatible with HDRP/URP)
- Short hair layer : You can paint the strands on the model, it generates a skinnedMesh renderer based on the character skinning data.
- Long Hair Layer : It generates a skinned mesh based on its own bone system.

So, some parts of the fur system can be easily modified at runtime by modifing the textures.
For the other layers, you could split the mesh in different parts by creating different layers and show/hide then by script.
If you need more specific info, please send me an email (contact@kalagaan.com) including some details about your project.

 

Here a test of the "lock system" for the new animation system.
You'll be able to lock/unlock some parts of strands at runtime
Here there's a lock area near the ear.

 

Thank you, i think i will get the asset and check it.

 

The locked strands can be unlock at runtime, and the process can be reversed.

 

@neoshaman: I just stumbled over this and wanted to make sure you're aware of this (assuming you're still interested in 3D afro hair):

http://afrohairlibrary.org/

Maybe it's interesting to others who monitor this thread as well.

 

Hi there. Great asset, good job. I was wondering why there are so many Resources folder in the hierarchy? That would load some assets that we don't need in our game, right?

 

There's a few resources that are shared and needed by the HairDesigner instances : the default Hair materials and the compute shaders. These resources are really small and could be needed if you load runtime layers.
The resources will be packed in the build (a few ko) and will be loaded at runtime if needed.

 

I appreciate the quick response. It's quite important that we remove resources that are not required for our build (no matter how small, as things add up quickly in our game). Is there certain ones we can remove? We won't be doing anything at runtime.. if possible.

 

Of course, you can remove the unused assets :

Here the minimum default settings for each layer type (for built-in):

short hair and long hair layers :
-> Materials : HD_TextureAtlas & HD_TextureAtlas_transparent

Fur layer :
-> Material : HD_FurShell
-> Compute shader : HairDesigner_FurSkinning

Advanced_Fur :
-> Material : HD_AdvancedFur, HD_AdvancedFur_Shell,
-> Compute shader : HairDesigner_AdvancedFurMotion,

If you're using HDRP or URP addons, you'll find the resources in the HDRP or URP folder.

 

Here a test of a procedural animation based on the new motion system.
I'll probably add some samples for generating this kind of 'thing' using the API.

 

Not for human hair
I bought this asset in the sale some time ago, partly because I own Blend Shapes Preset Tool Pro which I am happy with. Either it would be useless and I've wasted my money or it will be amazing, the only way to tell is to buy it and try it.

I've spent all afternoon fiddling trying to get some human hair, just regular short hair which isn't 15,000 tris massively impacting performance. or medium hair or long hair Any human hair.
If you gave a 5 year old some electric hair trimmers and said "cut daddy's hair" that what I can produce with this asset.

I've tried everything including copying the parameters from the demo copying the demo project.
I can't imagine anyone using this in any kind of production environment to make human hair.

Even the demos look bad the hair is modelled on what looks to be an actual cadaver, it's disturbing !!

Its like sticking individual hairs in a corpse one at a time and they don't even go in straight when the Random parameter is set to zero.

I don't regret the purchase, it was a punt & I'm happy to support the development and if I ever need a cuddly toy for a game aimed at high end hardware this just might do the job.

But if you are thinking this can be used to make all the hair for your human characters I wouldn't recommend it.

Someone please prove me wrong by producing say 3 ladies haircuts
1 African hair
1 short hair like a bob cut
1 long hair

If I am wrong I will gladly prostrate myself in front of you on these forums.

If I am right then it should be stated somewhere that this asset is "Early development" or "not production ready".
IMHO

 

I'm sorry that you don't like the tool.
I know that it could be difficult to create nice haircuts, because it requires to find the perfect balance between mesh design, material settings and texture generation.

I'm working hard for improving the tool and make it more simple to use. I want to create all the parts of the workflow inside unity.

If you use the short hair layer you have to use a hair texture on the character. I'll add a tool for creating a base mesh. You could use the fur layer for that, but it's a bit overkill.

The long hair system is the better tool for creating haircuts.
I'm working on a big update that will be much easier to use.
I'm a bit late on my planing, but I'm focused on this specific part of tool.
The animation system will be at the center of the new HairDesigner workflow.

You're right, the character is not really sexy
I'll replace it with the woman character from the Blendshapes Preset Tool.
In fact I made BSPT for the HairDesigner demo first, and I finally made a standalone tool.

Tomorrow I'll post the ladies haircuts you ask for.
I hope that you'll change your mind with the next version of HairDesigner.

 

Here some samples (long hair layer), using the new animation system.
These demos use the Built-in render pipeline.
Textures done using the texture generator included in HairDesigner.


Better quality


Better quality


Better quality

 

These look amazing! When might we have access to these tools?

 

Thank you
I'll try to push it to the assetstore next week

 

thanks, i had spotted it at an early phases, it seems they made some progress, so far i don't really like the actual rendering i see, but that's great there is more initiative of all sorts (there is also a movie about hair that lend some of their techniques, even though it doesn't cover all aspects of what the hair is).

Personally I'm moving out the recherche phases into development phases, i spend the last few month investing in material lile a cintiq, so I can execute better, but need a bit of catching up and dusting off my skills before, here is a warm up 2D, it's full of execution problem, there is still some way to go but i will improve over time. I haven't drawn seriously for so long!

Spoiler: click to image

I reduced my game to a mere "cinematic visual novel" (basically just a string of dialogue sequence alike AAA triple games (ie free camera and character poses) but without the free roaming part in between sequence (replaced by location prompts and mini games), which should allow me to mostly focus on visual rendering and the workflow of making scenes. I'll probably have to come up with my own hair solution anyway.

 

I came back thinking I had been a little harsh, I had actually read though many of the 28 pages on this thread and seen how hard you have been working on this project.

So I prostrate myself here before you...Those do look amazing,
I really did not expect this, I am much happier and keen to play with the new version when it is released.

Animated hair is a "nice to have" for me, the ability to create hair would be wonderful
If there were a small brush to do eyelashes and other facial hair that would be also great

Then all I need to sort out is "eyelashes" the other bain of my life
I don't suppose you could stick 1 hair at a time in and have them move with blinking blendshapes.

Your post has made me Happy kalagaan thankyou