Create custom hair

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Before you begin, see Create custom content for Fuse to know about the prerequisites and the general recommendations for creating custom hair.

1. Start from a base character

Hair is modeled on a base character. You can either:

• Model your custom hair on the base meshes provided in the Content Creator Pack (MaleFitA.obj and FemaleFitA.obj).
• Model your custom hair to fit on a custom body you have created. See Create a custom body for details. To use the custom hair in Fuse CC (Beta), first import the custom body.

2. Create the hair

1. Create simple polygon planes of varying lengths and widths. These polygons are duplicated multiple times to make the hairstyles. It is important to create simple polygon planes first so that their UVs are consistent and easily modifiable.

2. Preview the length and appearance of the hair on the planes by assigning a texture version of the Fuse hair substance and then adjust your UV mapping. You can find the default substance texture in the Content Creator Pack (AlphaHair_DIFF.psd).

3. Open the texture in Adobe Photoshop CC and paint various hair strands by using a layer mask for transparency. Save the image as a .png with transparency.

5. Assign a material to the polygon planes in your 3D program and name it 'hair'. The transparency automatically connects to the material and the hair show up in the viewer.

6. Layer the polygon planes on the head to build up volume and the style.

Note: Ensure that the planes do not intersect each other or the head of the character. Keep a small amount of space between the planes and the head, if possible.

Combine the geometry by selecting the inner most planes to the outer most for correct transparency sorting. Objects selected first are rendered 'behind', while objects selected last are rendered 'in front'.

3. Extract your maps

Once you have finished creating your custom hair, extract the key maps explained below. These maps are used for generating textures for the custom hair when you import them in Fuse CC.

The following settings are recommended for the extracted maps:

Map dimension: 2048 x 2048 pixels

Color depth: 8-bit RGB

Image format: PNG

Naming convention for extracted maps

The generic file naming structure for the maps is Category_CharacterModeledOn_NameofItem_NameofMap. For example, Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy_AlphaSwitch.png.

4. Gather final files for importing in Fuse CC

Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.

Your hair geometry: Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy.obj
Alpha Switch Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy_AlphaSwitch.png
Detail Diffuse Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy_DetailDiff.png

6. Import your custom hair into Fuse CC

To import custom hair files, choose File > Import > Import Clothing option from the menu bar in Fuse CC. See Import custom clothing and hair for details.

Create mesh hair

1. Start from a base character

Hair is modeled on a base character. You can either:

• Model your custom hair on the base meshes provided in the Content Creator Pack (MaleFitA.obj and FemaleFitA.obj).
• Model your custom hair to fit on a custom body you have created. See Create a custom body for details. To use the custom hair in Fuse CC (Beta), first import the custom body.

2. Focus on the sculpt

The quality of sculpt is important to a good hair asset. Use your digital sculpting software to achieve the highest quality in your sculpt.

3. Create a low resolution mesh

Unlike the custom body, the custom mesh hair does not have any specific UV requirements. So you can use any topology and UV layout for the custom mesh hair. However, consider the following points for the low resolution (or low poly) mesh that you create:

• The low poly mesh has a single UV layout per item.
• It does not extend beyond the 0-1 UV space and does not overlap.
• It is not flipped.
• The UV seams placed where they would not be visible.

It is recommended to have the average triangle count close to the value mentioned below depending on the custom hair type that you are creating:

Alpha Hair: 4,000
Mesh Hair: 1,000

4. Extract the maps

Once you have finished creating your custom hair, extract the maps explained below. These maps are used for generating textures for the custom hair when you import them in Fuse CC.

The following settings are recommended for the extracted maps:

Map dimension: 2048 x 2048 pixels

Color depth: 8-bit RGB

Image format: PNG

Naming convention for extracted maps

The generic file naming structure for the maps is

Category_CharacterModeledOn_NameofItem_NameofMap. For example,

Hair_FemaleFitA_MeshPonytail_NM.png.

5. Gather final files for importing in Fuse CC

Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.

Your hair geometry: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail.obj
Normal Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_NM.png
Occlusion Mask: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_OccMask.png
Ambient Occlusion Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_AO.png
Detail Diffuse Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_DetailDiff.png
Detail Extra Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_DetailExtra.png

6. Import your custom mesh hair into Fuse CC

To import custom hair files, choose File > Import > Import Clothing option from the menu bar in Fuse CC. See Import custom clothing and hair for details.

Combining alpha and mesh hair

To create custom hair that has both mesh and alpha styles such as a braid with realistic bangs or stray hair, you can combine the techniques for creating alpha and mesh hair explained in the preceding sections.

1. Sculpt the mesh section of the hair and create low poly mesh

First start by sculpting the mesh sections of the hair. After your sculpt is done, create the low poly mesh. See step 2 and step 3 of Create mesh hair for details.

2. Add polygon strips for alpha section of the hair

The next step is to add the polygon strips for alpha hair on the low poly mesh. See step 2 of Create mesh hair for details. 

3. Extract the maps

4. Gather final files for importing in Fuse CC

Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.

Your hair geometry: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid.obj
Normal Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_NM.png
Occlusion Mask: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_OccMask.png
Ambient Occlusion Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_AO.png
Detail Diffuse Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_DetailDiff.png
Alpha Switch Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_AlphaSwitch.png
Detail Extra Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_DetailExtra.png

5. Import your custom hair into Fuse CC

To import custom hair files, choose File > Import > Import Clothing option from the menu bar in Fuse CC. See Import custom clothing and hair for details.