How to Create Hair With Poser Software

Poser Software is an excellent tool for artists to develop 3-D figure creation and animation. Artists have many tools to create realistic scenes, including conforming hair props. With texture maps and morphs, conforming hair is a versatile tool. Poser versions 5 and up introduce "dynamic hair." Artists can grow and style hair from a character's scalp. Although dynamic hair severely taxes system resources, it is an artist's most realistic option.

Instructions

1. Add a character to the Pose Room. Select the Hair sidebar and choose the "Skull Cap" subdirectory. Add one to the character. Use the parameter dials to fit the cap to the head. Growing dynamic hair is impossible without a skull cap.

2. Click the "Head" icon on the left side of the screen. Change to the head camera. Locate the view port in the lower-left section of the screen. Switch the view port to "Four Ports."

3. Assign "Back Camera," "Left Camera" and "Right Camera" to the remaining view ports. Creating the best dynamic hair requires viewing the character's head from four angles. Use the four-hand icon and the Dolly Y and Dolly X dials to adjust the view ports.

4. Select the "Hair Room" tab, change the view port and double-click "New Hair Group" to create hair_1 and hair_2.

5. Choose "Edit Growth Group" and select "hair_1" to access the character's bangs. Select the "Face Camera" and create a rectangle in the middle of the skull cap using click-and-drag. Captured polygons turn red to show you the area you are working on. Switch to "hair_2" and select hair for this group. Click the "Edit Growth Group" button to close.

6. Change the camera view. Select "Skull Cap" and "New Hair Group." Repeat step 5 to create hair for this group. Create and name a hair group for each camera view. Select "hair_1" and then press "Grow Guide Hairs" and adjust the five growth dials for this hair group. Repeat for the other hair groups.

7. Choose "Hair_1" and select "Style Hair." Adjust the "Hair Style Tool" and eight dials to style the hair group. Click and drag to select parts of the hair group. The slide bar controls the selection range. Repeat for the other hair groups. Use the Dynamic Controls for hair movement during animated movies.

8. Enter the Material Room to color the hair groups, and return to the Pose Room for final renders.

Tips & Warnings

• See the related eHow titled "How to Use the Hair Tool in Poser Software."