Hair and Paint FX with Maya for Beginners

Create nHair and Paint FX hair for animated characters quickly in Maya 2016

Created byZero Limit Channel

Last updated 3/2017

English

What you'll learn

Quickly create nHair and Paint FX for their characters with little effort and Paint FX hair as well as have a comprehensive understanding of how the Paint FX brushes work in the Visor as well as create believable hair for their animated character models. Also, with the help of our upcoming bonus tutorials they will have extra knowledge of how to create and edit various trees, flowers & plants found in the Visor to create stunning forested landscapes with ease.

Course content

1 section • 13 lectures • 1h 55m total length

Introduction: What to expect in volume one of this course.0:51
In this introduction we give you a brief description of what you'll be learning in the first volume of this course. We've also attached the character file May to be used for this course in .fbx file format.
Preparing Polygonal Hair for nHair.5:53
In this lecture, students will learn how to prepare their character for nHair creation, as well as placing each polygonal hair needed onto their own layers for organisational purposes.
Converting Polygonal edges to Curves11:23
Students will learn how to convert polygonal edges to curves in preparation of nHair creation. They will learn how to use the convert edges to curves options located in the modify menu in Maya 2016.
Creating nHair from Curves8:40
In this lecture, we will create nHair from the curves created. Students will learn how to assign hair systems for nHair as well as the creation process when doing so.
Applying nHair Attributes12:48
In this lecture, we will go through the options available to you when creating nHair and all the attributes available to you. Students will learn how to edit the colour, width and detail of the model's nHair to get the look they require.
Solving technical issues with nHair9:04
In this lecture, we'll go through all the common issues you may encounter when creating nHair and how to solve them. What to look out for during the creation process and why some of these issues happen.
Creating an nCache for nHair6:13
In this lecture, we'll go through creating an nCache for your nHair and the various options available to you during the nCache creation process. An nCache is perfect for when you want to go to a specific frame during editing or you want to do a playback without having to worry about your nHair being to much to calculate during your playback without an nCache.
nHair Simulation Attributes11:25
This lecture, we'll go through all of the usual settings that we used for the nHair simulation for the animated character May, also these settings are normally used for characters with long hair that have a lot of movement to them.
Creating Eyelashes in Maya19:16
In this lecture, we'll use Paint FX to create eyelashes for the character may as well as give you some tips during the creation process.
Creating Eyebrows in Maya16:39
In this lecture, we'll continue using Paint FX for the eyebrows and go through the various settings to ensure that you understand how Paint FX for the eyebrows work.
Rendering Paint FX Hair in Mental ray5:48
In this lecture we'll show you how to successfully render Paint FX in mental ray for Maya 2016.
Creating nHair for the Scalp in Maya6:27
In this lecture, we'll show you how we created the hair for the scalp of the animated character May as well as the attribute settings used. These attributes work perfectly for characters with pony tails or hair that is closely fitted or tied down and animated.
Conclusion - Volume 10:54
In this conclusion, we'll briefly go over all of the lectures we covered for Volume 1 of this tutorial. Also, look out for our bonus Volumes every month.

Requirements

Computer - PC or Mac
Basic knowledge with Autodesk Maya 2016 Copy of Maya 2016 student license: http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/maya
Copy of Mental ray for Maya 2016: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/downloads/caas/downloads/content/mental-ray-plugin-for-maya-2016.html

Description

Tired of using polygonal hair for your 3D characters? Then this course is for you! With Maya nHair and Paint FX Hair create believable, dynamic hair for your animated characters with ease as well as create an nCache and learning how to render Paint FX using Mental ray for Maya 2016.

Take the next step to making your animations look much more convincing with the use of animated nHair simulations. Learn how to quickly solve any technical issues you may encounter when creating your nHair or Paint FX.

Create eyelashes & eyebrows in minutes with Paint FX hair as well as receive monthly Bonus tutorials for new Hair styles and Paint FX techniques free.

Who this course is for:

This tutorial is designed to help beginners & intermediate 3D Artists gain hands on training & experience with Maya nHair & Paint FX Hair to create dynamic and believable hair for their animated characters as well as learn how to trouble shoot any technical issues that may arise when doing so. Students will go through the process of creating nHair for the 3D animated character model, May which is made available in the file attachment in the introduction section in Volume 1. They will learn how to prepare the model for nHair creation, then onto creating nHair, then onto the creation of Paint FX Hair and how to render that hair in Maya with Mental ray.