Modeling Hair

#1 I know this post prob. wont be that much help but I usually use a combination of modelling the base hair on the head model, and using series of planes with alpha channels applied to them for the longer parts of the hair...

If you post some screenshots I would be more than happy to give some pointers :)

-Andrew
www.silhouette-studios.com.au

#2 I know this is kind of a late reply but I've been trying to do what you suggested, that of using planes. I wasn't aware you could use planes on a mesh. I've only been doing this for almost a year and I'm finding slow going getting over the learning curve. Everywhere I've looked say that doing the hair is the hardest part of 3D modeling, even the pro's say its tough to get it perfect. I would like to show you what I've got so far but don't know anywhere to upload my files for transfer. Do you know a good place that offers image and file hosting? If you do please post the site address.

#3 Hair is definitely something that will make you grit your teeth, which is why so many avatars in games have one-piece plastic Lego hair. =D

Transparency and layering is a huge improvement, but it's damnably tricky. You might want to research some books or online resources on hairstyling techniques -- the "how-to" manuals for hairstylists. They're very handy in figuring out how many pieces to split the hair into, and how those pieces are layered.

I have a few bookmarked at my office, and I'll dig them up when I get to my computer.

#4 Thanks John! Anything you have would help. I've been searching the net and found some interesting sites on 3d Modeling. I found a tutorial that shows step-by-step how to create a female model from head to toe. It seems to be helpful. I'm starting it today and hope the outcome will be good. It even covers hair, to my surprise, and other stuff like doing clothing and excessories. Although the tut is for 3ds max I'm going to try to do it in blender since I don't have the $3500 to purchase 3ds max. The tutorial uses basic ideas so I don't think I'll have too much trouble with Blender. Thanks again.

#5 If you create hait in the form of a bunch of narrow polygons carrying hair strands in small bushels, and you're looking for an easy way to paint the hair with transparency mask for billboard-style mapping on those polys, check the particle brushes in PD Particles, available here. There's a few presets for tall grass and long hair and it's customizable for different looks.

#6 If you didn't find a way, maybe the section in the Blender 3D Noob to Pro document
will help at least a little. Especially if you want hair blowing in the wind.

The link is http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro

Look in the contents for "Furry".

Although I can't find it right now I also seem to remember something about
hair being rendered with a particle emitter. (Maybe not, need more coffee)..