PDA

View Full Version : Putting hair on Mancandy

klikmaker
05-05-2008, 07:43 PM
I am trying to modify the Mancandy mesh, I want to add hair. I'm starting out with the mancandymic_2.0.blend file from the DVD.

Right now, I'm trying to follow the method in Tony Mullen's book "Introducing Character Animation With Blender" for generating hair using static particles, starting on page 116. However, when I attempt to separate the duplicated mesh into a separate object, I get the following message:

Can't separate with vertex keys.

I have found that I can separate to a new object if I first go to the Shapes tab, and delete the shape keys, but I have no idea if I should do this or not. I do want to animate the updated mesh.

I guess my main question is, can I make static particle-based hair on the Mancandy mesh, and if so, how?

Thanks
dreamsgate
05-05-2008, 10:45 PM
You could duplicate the whole ManCandy mesh, delete the shape keys then separate the section you need and delete the un-needed portion of the duplicate.
Dawnstalker
05-06-2008, 04:24 AM
You could also select the verts you want to fuzz up and press CTRL-D to duplicate and then "P" to seperate them into a new object. This way you will have an exact copy of the areas you need and later you can parent to make them follow the animation of the main mesh. Hope this helps.

Kris
FreakyDude
05-06-2008, 11:31 AM
You don't need to duplicate anything. Just select the verts that you want to emit the hair, make a new vertgroup named hair or something, and use the same mancandy mesh to emit particles from only that region. Hell, you can also have another vertgroup and paint it to specify how long you want the hair to be in those places. If you intend to have curve guides to shape the hair or the likes, you can parent these to the headbone. You should also be able to mess with softbodies, and such for wavy hair, but I haven't looked into that for a long time.
You shouldn't delete the shapekeys on mancandy if you want to animate. They are there for a reason.
klikmaker
05-06-2008, 12:30 PM
dreamsgate: I'm going to give this a shot. I'll pass along my results in this thread.

Dawnstalker: Yes, this is what I was trying to do. Apparently, when shape keys are already in place, Blender disallows separating the new verts into a new object.

FreakyDude: If I understand correctly, the reason for creating a separated mesh was to be able to adjust the geometry of the hair area without affecting the geometry of the original mesh. Probably not essential in all cases, I'm not sure.

Anyway, thanks to everyone. I'll report back and let you know how it went.

Anything else I should know?
klikmaker
05-08-2008, 01:40 PM
Just an update, since I said I would do that. I can now create hair on Mancandy but have yet to learn how to colorize the hair, do the alpha drop-offs, or parent the hair to a curve. I'm still struggling, but I think that's just my inexperience at this type of thing.
CGTalk Moderation
05-08-2008, 01:40 PM
This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.