3D-Grooming tutorials from CharlyTutors

[akcharly]

Hello everyone!

My name is Andrew and I have been working in 3D since 2009.

My portfolio

Now I am focused only on grooming. That is, I make hair/fur for cinematic characters, movies, NFTs, cartoons and commercials. I work with Ornatrix + 3ds Max/Maya/C4D/Unreal Engine.

I can do both for rendering - Vray/Arnold/Redshift/Octane, and for Unreal (new workflow) - GroomPlugin/Alembic Hair.

As of today, I started to translate my channel with answers to cg grooming questions - into English. Yes, it's not that fast - but I'm trying. Because not everyone likes to read subtitles and would like to listen to the lessons in their own language. I do the voiceover with AI - because it's not realistic to do all the voiceover myself.

If you can't wait to see all my lessons, there is the main Youtube-channel and there is support for English subtitles.

Obviously, I could not add them to the rest of the video... I'm working on it. But all the old ones are already supported. There is a lot of videos - not only CG Grooming. Still working with this channel - since 2016.

At the moment I'm translating the channel with answers to the questions

Then I'll finish the translation of the main channel.

Basically, for the last time, the topic of all the lessons is CG-Grooming in Maya-3ds Max - Unreal Engine.

The next post will be the first lesson with AI voiceover.

Because of the war - I don't always get to do it - but I try. So any support from you would be appreciated.

So. Happy viewing!
And good mood to you.
Regards,
Andrew.

[akcharly]

So, first video with AI-voiceover. Hope you will like it.

In this video - I show how to make a smooth transition from hair to braids, how to braid hair, etc.

I use Autodesk Maya, Ornatrix and BraidMaker for this task. 

>A separate tutorial about BraidMaker 

>The plugin itself can be purchased here

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>Other questions here(playlist)

>Questions queue

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Happy viewing!

Best regards,
Andrew.

[akcharly]

Hi all! While I'm preparing my next AI voiceover video - I decided to share with you the series from Ornatrix Features, which is unvoiced and requires no translation 😃

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In this video - I show an interesting workflow about creating braids with the help of modifiers MeshFromStrands and BraidTool - in Ornatrix Maya.

With its help - you can create procedural braids and draw them on the surface, at the same time - they will already have a UV and if you want you can convert to real hair or haircards.

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CONTENT:

0:00 - What's coming up in this video?
1:17 - Doing ResetXform and deleting the history for the scalp so everything works without any issues.
1:24 - Drawing the first guide with "DrawStrandTool"
1:30 - Removing unnecessary modifiers
1:39 - Comb the guide in the right direction
1:45 - Add "MeshFromStrands" to bind the proxy of the future braid to it.
1:57 - Create a parametric braid from the Ornatrix menu.
2:07 - Place it in any part of the scene. I usually put it next to the head for convenience.
2:17 - Add "MeshFromStrands" to turn the braid into a Mesh, which you can add as a proxy to any Ornatrix object.
2:19 - Be sure to choose to generate cylinders rather than planes, and adjust the number of sides you want.
2:30 - Add "ChangeWidth" modifier for convenient proxy thickness adjustment
2:46 - Import this proxy into the main object and create a UV unwrap.
3:21 - Add "ChangeWidth" to the main object to control the thickness of the base and end of the braid
3:37 - Rotate the braid as needed.
3:44 - Proceed to adjust the shape.
4:00 - If necessary, adjust the number of knots.
4:11 - Here I demonstrate that the braid can be combed in any direction - using standard tools.
4:37 - Using the "DrawStrandTool" you can draw new braids.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this video - I continue to show working with braids in Ornatrix.
This time - I show the same workflow about creating braids with MeshFromStrands and BraidTool modifiers, but only in 3ds Max with some modifications.

With it - you can create procedural braids and draw them on the surface, at the same time - they will already have an unwrap and if you want you can convert to real hair or haircards.

Branching, on the other hand, allows you to quickly assign any braid to any guide or group of guides.

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CONTENTS:

0:00 - What's coming up in this video?
1:22 - Starting to add BraidTool to Ornatrix.
1:50 - Cloning the object to make different braids and their settings.
2:59 - Proceeding to create guides on the scalp, that we then convert into braids.
4:04 - Using Branching - I create multiple references of the same Ornatrix object to then easily apply any selected braid to any guide or group. This feature allows you to create any number of groups and objects. I show 4 braids for group 0,1,2,3 as an example. The 0 group is created for the convenience of drawing braids. Since it is the one assigned by default.
6:11 - Here I show how to rotate proxy braids using different methods.
7:25 - Demonstration of the Branching feature. When we replace the drawn guide with any of the proxy braids.
7:42 - At any time - you can edit the settings of any of the braids.
7:55 - Demonstrating the ability to optimize and create a lowpoly
8:25 - This is where I create the proxy object for group 0.
8:44 - Demonstration of drawing with braids.
9:08 - Demonstration of editing (combing, increasing length, etc.)
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

Since episode 3 is about C4D, we skip it and move on to episode 4

In this episode, you'll see the brush settings in Ornatrix for Maya to get a quick Parting.

I recorded such a video - at the request of my Discord Chat subscribers. Mikhail showed how it works in Houdini and asked if this is possible in Ornatrix.

In this video I showed working with guides, but you can use this trick for hair as well.
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CONTENTS:

0:06 - Activate the "DemoClump" brush using the "Reverse Sign" and "Moving Center" options.
0:10 - We also experiment with the value of the "Strength" parameter. For the effect to work, you have to set a small value, because large values will give unnecessary results.
0:19 - Just here you can see that everything doesn't work perfectly.
0:25 - In order not to destroy the shape of the guides, in Interpolation we select "Strand" for the "Change Tracking" option and of course reduce the influence of the brush.
0:28 - Now you get what you need. But for each scene - it will be a different value.
0:45 - The remaining guides - just combing and get the desired parting 😃

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode, I demonstrate creating Frizz for any selected Clump group in Ornatrix Maya. This allows you to select any group you've created in Clump and apply Frizz to it. Since in real life - the direction of each bundle is not the same, this feature will be useful.

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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Showing how to create a bundle group in Clumping to use later in Frizz.
00:14 - Turning on Frizz and selecting that group. For the first Clump, it's ClumpIds.
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The purpose of the series - quickly show something interesting and useful related to this plugin.

I do not spend time on the voiceover, as there are already basic lessons - which also need to do 😃 But since - I do not upload them very often, need to do something else - to grow the channel.

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode, I show you how to dye hair with a special brush and channels in Ornatrix Maya. This is very convenient, because you can paint any bundle or selected hair - in the desired color. Then export it to Arnold, Octane or Unreal. The other renderers don't support this feature yet. But if you want it added - vote on the links:

Redshift
V-Ray
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Choosing the right brush
0:07 - Activating Per-Vertex
0:11 - Choosing the right color
0:12 - Paint where you want it
0:30 - If you want to paint a single bunch, go to Root Mode - choose it.
0:35 - Activate Affect Selected Only and choose the color you want.
0:40 - Paint. Since it is selected, the color may be darker due to the fact that the selection is active. As soon as you deselect it, everything will be fine.
0:50 - Demonstration of painting another selected bundle.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode, I show the brush that can be used to remove hair in Ornatrix for Maya.

It is convenient to use for both normal hair and sculpted hair. Personally, I recommend turning off MeshFromStrands during removal - to optimize the viewport.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Selecting a brush and demonstrating how it works.
0:19 - Turning off MeshFromStrands modifier - in order to optimize viewport. Unfortunately, Maya is very bad with dense mesh when it comes to modifiers, some Deformers and so on. So it can hardly be optimized. That's why it's better to turn it off - when you're working with a brush.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show the ability to draw guides and then convert them into a Mesh - using the Draw Strand Tool in Ornatrix Maya.

This feature can be used to quickly create a hair sculpture.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Selecting Draw Strands Tool.
0:07 - Drawing the guides.
0:30 - Convert them into a Mesh with MeshFromStrands.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show the possibility of exporting Ornatrix groups - to any application. That is, if you work in Maya - you can export to 3ds Max or C4D. If in C4D - then in Maya/3ds Max, etc.

Very handy when you want to save all settings by group in different modifiers.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Showing that I already have different groups assigned in Ornatrix Maya.
0:13 - Making an export to Ornatrix Alembic.
0:40 - Selecting an axis for different applications. There is an error in the video. For C4D, also the Y axis.
1:52 - Importing into 3ds Max
2:28 - Import in Cinema4D. Just here you can see that the Z-axis does not fit.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode, I show how to propagate dreadlocks across the surface of any object using Scatter in Ornatrix for Maya.

It is very convenient when you can make one dread, then create guides and spread it over them with the Scatter modifier.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Showing that there is one dreadlock.
0:11 - Using Scatter, I multiply it by object.
0:19 - Since there are guides - you can comb them and do whatever you want. In this video, I didn't show how to do ground and other settings. For that - I will release a separate and detailed video. Similar to the one with the braids in each host.

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show how to enable pushing guides out of the Mesh after combing - using the Push Away From Mesh button in Ornatrix for Maya.

There are two different PushAways. As a separate modifier, and a button in Edit Guides.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Demonstration of combing without PushAwayFromMesh.
0:13 - Using the PushAwayFromMesh button. There's also an AutoPushAway option. If you turn it on, the guides will automatically be pushed out of the Mesh - while combing. Just this - I show in the next episode.

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show you how to enable pushing guides out of the Mesh during combing - using the Auto Push Away From Mesh option in Ornatrix for Maya.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Turning on the "Auto Push Away" option
0:05 - Demonstration of pushing out while combing guides
0:08 - Reducing the Push Away Force

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show a separate modifier, PushAwayFromMesh, which has more settings than in Edit Guides and gives you the ability to add additional mesh for hair collision analysis in Ornatrix for Maya.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Demonstrating the hair that intersect the Mesh.
0:06 - Enabling the PushAwayFromSurface modifier
0:13 - Adding an additional Mesh, so that intersections are also taken into account.

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show different methods of combing guides in Edit Guides for Ornatrix Maya.
Many people who have switched to Ornatrix from Xgen have asked to see these methods, because they have heard that combing guides is much more convenient in Ornatrix. Even some of our clients have said that despite working in Xgen - they create guides in Ornatrix.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Selecting a brush and showing the default combing.
0:17 - Showing a different type of combing without the Optimise Strand Geometry option
0:44 - Combing without the Preserve Strand Length option. It allows you to increase the length of the guide
1:03 - Showing the option of smoothing the guide with the Strand Detail modifier.

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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show the work of the "Elastic Mode", which can be enabled in the Edit Guides modifier using Ornatrix Maya.

This mode allows you to quickly "move" some selected part of the hair. For example, you want to comb the bangs - without disturbing their shape.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Selecting a brush to comb the guides and activating Elastic Mode.
0:06 - Demonstrating how it works.
0:18 - Showing how combing works without it.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode, I show different algorithms for combing in Ornatrix Maya. You can go to Edit Guides and select any of the algorithms in Combing Algorithm.

- Optimized - smooth combing of the whole guide
- Legacy - FK-Rig, that is when a guide behaves like a bone and a brush stroke in a certain place - moves such a bone
- Local - local influence of a brushstroke. Similar to Move sculpting in Zbrush.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - Showing Optimized algorithm
0:13 - Legacy
0:32 - Local
0:45 - Turning off Preserve Strand Length, which allows you to control the length of the guide and make it more malleable, without limiting it.
0:53 - Smoothing the result with a special brush
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode, I show the ability to move a bunch of guides in different directions, with the roots staying in place and the tip moving. This allows you to quickly change the direction of the bangs or some part of the hairstyle.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - In the Roots tab is the "Modify Roots" option, if it is active - you move the whole bundle with root and tip.
0:06 - If you turn it off, it just activates the tool "Elastic Move", which allows you to change the direction of the tip, shrink or stretch the bundle, etc.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this series - I show the ability to rotate the bundle of guides - in different directions. The roots stay in place and the tip moves. This allows you to quickly change the direction of the bangs or any part of the hairstyle.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - In the Roots tab is the "Modify Roots" option, if it is active - then you rotate the bundle with root and tip and it leads to incomprehensible results.
0:18 - If you turn it off, it just activates the tool "Elastic Rotate", which allows you to change the direction of the tip - just by rotating it.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.

[akcharly]

In this episode - I show the ability to enlarge or shrink the bundle of guides - in different directions. The roots stay in place and the tip moves. I also show how to quickly compress the guides in a bundle or on the contrary move them apart from each other.
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CONTENTS:

0:00 - In the Roots tab is the "Modify Roots" option, if it is not active - you can enlarge or reduce the bundle with the "Scale" tool.
0:08 - If it is enabled, you can move the guides in this bundle, or vice versa.
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Enjoy watching!
Sincerely, Andrew Krivulya Charly.