Workflows and Tips

Complete workflows for creating hair in FollicleFX, from simple straight hair to complex styled grooms.

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Quick Workflow: Simple Straight Hair (5 min)

Select your mesh (character head)
Guides tab → Distribution: Poisson Disk, Count: 200, Length: 0.2 → Generate Guides
Primitive tab → Density: 20,000 → Generate Strands
Modifiers tab → Add Clumping (Tightness: 0.5) → Add Frizz (Magnitude: 0.8)
Display tab → Pick a color preset

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Intermediate Workflow: Wavy Hair with Clumping (10 min)

Guides

Count: 300, Length: 0.25, Control Points: 8
Sculpt guides for natural flow

Primitive

Density: 50,000
Length Variation: 0.15

Modifiers (in order)

Clumping — Tightness: 0.5, Enable Curl (Amplitude: 0.04, Frequency: 1.5)
Coil — Count: 2.5, Radius: 0.06, Mode: Wave
Frizz — Magnitude: 1.2

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Advanced Workflow: Production Styled Hair (30+ min)

1. Planning

Gather reference photos
Note clump patterns, flow direction, length variation
Plan modifier stack

2. Guides (10 min)

Count: 400–800, Length: 0.25, Control Points: 10
Generate, then sculpt for flow
Add Guide Flow modifier with pins for styled direction

3. Primitive (5 min)

Density: 80,000–100,000
Paint density map (thinner at temples, full at crown)
Set up region map for parting if needed

4. Modifier Stack (15 min)

1. Clumping — Tightness: 0.6, Fractal: 2 levels, Stray Rate: 0.1
2. Coil — Count: 4, Radius: 0.03, Mode: Helix
3. Frizz — Magnitude: 1.0
4. Cut — Expression: rand3(0.85, 1.0, index)
5. Surface Offset — Offset: 0.005

5. Texture Masks (10 min)

Clumping mask: full on crown, none at hairline
Frizz mask: strong at edges, none at part line

6. Refinement

Check from all angles
Adjust parameters
Save preset

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Workflow Recipes

Tight Curls

Clumping (Tightness: 0.8) → Coil (Count: 8, Radius: 0.025, Helix) → Frizz (Magnitude: 1.5)

Wet Hair

Clumping (Tightness: 0.95, Length Mode: Tips Collapse) → Frizz (Magnitude: 0.3)

Messy/Damaged Hair

Clumping (Tightness: 0.3, Stray Rate: 0.25) → Frizz (Magnitude: 1.5) → Cut (Variance: 0.2)

Dreadlocks

Loc modifier (Coil Count: 12, Buildup: 0.6, Frizz: 0.3)

Braids

Create Blender curve → Braid modifier (3 strands, Twist: 2.5) → Generate guides → Primitive

Cornrows

Draw curve on surface → Cornrow modifier (Anchors: 14, Twist: 5) → Generate guides → Primitive

Short Fur

Guides (Length: 0.05) → Primitive (Density: 50k) → Guide Flow (Surface hugging) → Frizz (low)

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Best Practices

Guides

Start with fewer guides (200–400), add more if needed
Always sculpt guides for flow — generated guides are just a starting point
Use Poisson Disk distribution for even coverage
Set guides slightly longer than target — you can always trim with Cut

Modifier Stack

Structure first, details last — Clumping → Coil → Frizz → Cut
Start with one modifier, see its effect, then add more
2–4 modifiers is typical for most hairstyles
Simulate always goes last

Expressions

Start simple: rand3(0.8, 1.0, index) adds instant realism
Use clump_id for per-clump variation
Use v for top-to-bottom gradients
Test with constants first, add complexity gradually

Texture Masks

Use 1024×1024 resolution (sufficient for most cases)
Paint gradients, not hard edges
Save masks externally for reuse
Use descriptive names

Performance

Style at 10k–20k strands, Display % at 50%
Preview at 50k–80k strands, Display % at 100%
Final render at 100k–300k strands
Enable GPU Acceleration in Display tab

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Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Too many strands while styling	Start with 10k–20k, increase for final
Wrong modifier order	Clumping before Frizz, always
No guide sculpting	Always sculpt — generated guides are just a start
Uniform parameters	Add variation with expressions or masks
Too much frizz	Start low (0.5–1.0), increase gradually
Ignoring UVs	Check UV layout before painting masks
Forgetting to save	Save .blend frequently, save presets
Scalp penetration	Add Surface Offset after styling modifiers

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Troubleshooting

Hair Doesn't Generate

Check guides exist (Guides tab)
Check mesh is selected
Check density > 0
Try regenerating guides first

Hair Looks Spiky/Angular

Increase control points (8–10)
Increase display Steps (3–4)
Check strand smoothing

Clumping Doesn't Work

Check modifier is enabled
Check tightness > 0
Check guides exist (clumping uses guides as centers)

Hair Penetrates Scalp

Add Surface Offset modifier after styling modifiers
Increase offset value
Check surface binding is computed

Masks Don't Work

Check mask checkbox is enabled
Check mesh has UVs
Try reloading the texture
Check Invert toggle

Viewport is Slow

Reduce Display % to 25–50%
Reduce strand count
Enable GPU Acceleration
Reduce display Steps

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FAQ

How many strands should I use? 10k–20k for styling, 50k–80k for preview, 100k–300k for final render.

What's the best modifier order? Guide Flow → Clumping → Coil → Frizz → Cut → Surface Offset → Simulate.

Can I animate hair? Yes. Use the Surface tab for mesh binding, Simulate modifier for physics.

How do I make hair follow my character? Compute animation binding in the Surface tab at rest pose.

Can I use FollicleFX for games? Yes. Use the Cards tab to generate game-ready polygon cards with baked textures.

How do I create flyaways? Use the Frizz modifier with high Magnitude and low Correlation. Use a Clumping modifier with Stray Rate to make some strands break away from clumps.

Can I paint hair density? Yes. Use the density map in the Primitive tab.

Can I transfer hair between characters? Yes. Use Transfer Groom in the Surface tab.

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Quick Reference

Typical Parameter Ranges

Parameter	Range
Clumping Tightness	0.4–0.8
Frizz Magnitude	0.05–0.5
Coil Count	3–8
Coil Radius	0.02–0.06
Cut Length	0.8–1.0

Essential Expressions

rand3(0.8, 1.2, index)          # Random variation per strand
lerp(0.5, 1.0, v)               # UV gradient (bottom to top)
v > 0.5 ? 1.0 : 0.5             # Conditional (top/bottom split)
rand(index) * 0.3               # Per-strand frizz variation
rand3(0.6, 0.9, clump_id)       # Per-clump variation