We all understand what it means
to have a bad hair day. Thanks to the work of a new researcher at the
University of Utah, video game and virtual environment developers may never
experience a virtual bad hair day in the future. The researcher developed Hair
Farm, a computer software plugin for 3ds Max, a 3D modeling, animation, and
rendering software package used by game developers and visual effects artists.
Hair Farm is currently used by production studios and individual artists to
create realistic hair for virtual characters in digital media such as video
games and movies.
The researcher developed ways to create the geometric characteristics of hair, the complexity of light within the hair, and how it moves. This method was developed through “hair meshing,” which helps model hair in a process similar to that used in modeling polygonal surfaces. This technique allows virtual artists direct control over the shape of the hair model, giving them the ability to model the exact hair shape they desire in a simplified and seamless process. Most hair animation is time consuming, so it is all about how to simulate simplified physics in an efficient way and then creating an algorithm to generate high-quality results.
More information: