The Hair Designer is a suite of tools that enables the user to create hair props and figures in Poser. Please note that this is not a "one click, one minute solution", a degree of skill and patience is required. Please review the information and videos provided to ensure that this product meets your needs prior to purchasing.

• Suitable for Poser 6 and later on both the PC and Mac. Mac's require preinstallation of Python and the Python Image Library. See below for details.
• Create hair for any Poser figure containing a head.
• This product requires registration before it may be used. User details are never divulged to third parties.

Over View.

Click here for on screen video.

The Hair Designer is a large library of hair models that may be applied to any Poser figure to build up a wide variety of hair styles. The resulting unified hair prop or conforming hair figure is then considered to be royalty free thus allowing the user to redistribute it should they so wish. You may not redistribute the tool but the result is yours to do what you like with. For full details please see below.

Workflow

Click here for on screen video.

Remember to first decode the OBJ files, see below for details.
When building up the hair model DO NOT PARENT OR CONFORM ANYTHING TO THE BASE FIGURE. If you wish to parent the hair components to something to make moving them en-mass easier, please use the Null figure provided for this purpose. The completed prop hair may be parented to the figure, and the completed figure hair may be conformed to the figure, but do not parent anything to the base figure whist constructing the hair. If you do it will be ignored by the scripted utilities.

When manipulating the various hair models in the scene:-

• Remember to hold down the Shift key. This will ensure that what you have currently selected stays selected. It is a known annoyance that clicking in the scene can very easily change the selected actor. Holding down the Shift key prevents this.
• To move a hair figure move (translate), its BODY. To rotate a hair figure, rotate Section0. You can rotate the body but I think you will find this method better.

A utility to create hair textures and matching transparency maps is included in the Hair Designer package. On the PC this is provided as a stand alone application. On the Mac this is also a stand alone application but requires prior installation of Python and the Python Image Library. Most modern Macs already have the required Python 2.5 installed, you will also need the Python Image Library 1.1.6 (PIL). Both of these may be downloaded free from http://www.python.org/ and http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/ respectively. "One click" installers are currently available at http://pythonmac.org/packages/ Please note that I do not provide customer support regarding how to install Python 2.5 or PIL. I do most certainly provide support on how to install and use the Clothing Designer and Texture Creator within a correctly configured computer. For more Mac info please see the screen grab at the bottom of this page.

The output of the Hair Texture Creator is a matched pair of texture and transparency maps and a Poser material room MT5 file. The textures may then be easily applied to the hair by clicking the saved material room library preset.

The material has been set up in such a way that a large degree of user flexibility is possible.

PoserSurface

• Bump has been set to a low value, if it is not required just disconnect the node.
• Normals_Forward is usually best selected for one sided mesh. Deselect it if it produces unwanted shadows.

Texture Map

• This is the texture map produced by the Hair Texture Creator.

Color_Math_1

• This combines components to produce the input to the PoserSurface specular_color. Required to produce highlights on the hair but not on those portions of the mesh that are transparent.

Color_Math_2

• This combines the transparency map produced by the Hair Texture Creator with a second map that feathers the edges.

Highlights

• Allows the inclusion of a separate highlight map. A number of highlight maps are included, you will find them in Runtime\Textures\PhilC Designs\Hair Designer. You may also load in your own.

Transparency_Map

• This is the transparency map produced by the Hair Texture Creator.
• Suggest that when saving the textures out of the Hair Texture Creator that you save a high and low hair density set. In this way the outer layer of the hair model may be set to be more transparent than the underlying layers. For straight hair a full set of ten transparency maps are included and may be found in Runtime\Textures\PhilC Designs\Hair Designer

Feather_Edges

• Allows the inclusion of a map to vary the transparency at the hair edge. A number are included or you can load in your own.

Python Utilities

A number of scripted utilities are included. No knowledge of Python is required, they are all just button clicks. In Poser 7 and later initialize the scripts using the Poser menu Scripts > PhilC > P7_start_HairDesigner. In Poser 6 use the Poser menu File > Run Python script and browse to Runtime\Python\poserscripts\PhilC\Hair Designer\start_HairDesigner.py Then for either version use the Poser menu Window > Python Scripts to bring up the script buttons.

Skullcap Menu
Access the skullcap menu

Figure Utilities
Access the figure utilities

Prop Utilities
Access the prop utilities

Texture & Materials
Tools to manipulate textures and materials

Magnet Utilities
Access the magnet utilities

Help
Bring up the Hair Designer help page.

Save As
Upon completion use these utilities to save the final version of your hair.

More
More utilities

It is common practice (though not essential), that hair is built off a skullcap. Use these buttons to create a skullcap for your figure.

Please watch this video for details.

How to create a skullcap

Super Zero Figure
Zero's out all translations, rotations, morphs and sets all scaling to 100%. Use this button to prepare the base figure when creating hair for it.

Zero Pose (exclude mags)
Some figures include magnets. If you wish to zero the figure but not the magnets then use this button.

Zero Morphs
Sets all the morphs in the figure to zero.

Zero Me + Children
This will zero pose the selected actor and all of its children.

Set all IK's OFF
This will turn off all the figures inverse kinematics.

Delete Multiple Figures.
Brings up a pop up window allowing the user to select which figures in the scene are to be deleted. A great time saver over deleting them one by one using the Poser menu.

Import figure's OBJ file
Imports the selected figure's OBJ file.

What is figure's OBJ file?
Prints the answer to the question.

Turn Hair Fig into a Prop
Converts the selected hair figure into a prop thereby allowing the Poser morphing tool to be applied to all of it rather than just one part.

Mirror Prop
Mirrors the currently selected prop about the X axis

Delete Multiple Props.
Brings up a pop up window allowing the user to select which props in the scene are to be deleted. A great time saver over deleting them one by one using the Poser menu.

Geometry Stripper
If a prop has embedded geometry this will save it out as a separate OBJ file and amend the prop file accordingly.

Define Default Maps
If you wish to change the default texture and transparency maps click this button.

Reset Default Maps
If you wish to reset the texture and transparency maps back to their defaults click this button.

Reassign Materials
Brings up a pop up window enabling the user to select which existing materials they wish to reassign to a new or existing material.

Delete Surplus Materials
If the hair is saved as a figure the resulting CR2 file will contain contain references to materials that are no longer required. This button will remove the redundant entries.

Apply Same Mat To All Hair
During the hair creation process you will find that the scene will contain multiple figures and props. It would be very time consuming to have to change all the materials settings one by one to test out a different effect. This button allows you to do it automatically.

Add Hair Magnet
Adds a magnet to the selected actor, PLUS sets it so that it will deform all other body parts in that figure. Not available in Poser 6. Poser 6 users will need to add magnets using the Poser menu then if required set to deform other elements using the "Set Mag to also deform".

Delete All Mags in Scene
Deletes all the magnets in the scene. If your base figure contains magnets these will be deleted also.

Deletes Mags in this Figure
Deletes all the magnets within the selected figure.

Delete Mags in this Actor
Deletes all magnets within the selected actor.

Set Mag to also deform.
Provides a quick way to allow the selected magnet to also deform other actors within the same figure.

Mirror Mag about X
Copies the current magnet settings and pastes a mirror version of them to a magnet selected from an offered list.

Reset All Magnets
Resets all magnets to their memorized state.

Save as Hair Prop
Saves the multiple hair props and figures as a single hair prop.

Save as Hair Figure
Saves the multiple hair props and figures as a single figure that may then be conformed to the base figure.

Save as Morph Target
Save the multiple hair props and figures as a single morph target that may then be applied to the saved hair prop or figure.

Please see section below for more details regarding morphs.

Access these buttons by clicking the main menu "More" button.

Decode OBJ Files
To make it easier for me to provide additional content via the update page the OBJ files are supplied encoded. Click this button to decode them.

Shadowless Lighting
Provides an eight light shadowless lighting environment.

Lights Follow Main Camera
Provides a four light shadowless lighting environment when viewed through the main camera. (Its what I use, others may find it useful).

4 View Camera Preset
Provides three orthographic and one perspective view when the preview window is split into four panes.

Version
Prints out the script version number, some basic Poser details and the registered users details.

Redistribution

Nothing that you redistribute should be in competition with the Hair Designer. Redistributing completed hair models with textures is OK but redistributing models and textures that form part of a hair construction kit is not.

OBJ Files
You may not redistribute the individually supplied OBJ files but once multiple hair figures or props have been combined into a single object then that may be redistributed if required. I appreciate, but am not concerned, that hair groups can be disassembled by the end user.

Textures
Anything created by the Hair Designer Texture Creator and any supplied texture may be redistributed provided that it forms part of a genuine hair prop or figure.

Poser files CR2, PZ3 & PP2 etc
The supplied files may be used as a pattern or teaching aid, but must not be redistributed as is. For example supposing that you created a pony tail hair style comprising of a crown plus a pony tail. You would not be able to simply parent the tail to the crown and redistribute that because in essence that would be an exact copy of the supplied Poser files. You would need to combine everything into a single figure using the tools provided then if required add additional bones to the tail.

If you are not redistributing the hair then it will not matter how you save or use the result.

Creating Morphs

When saving the final hair model as either a prop or a figure you will be given the option to also save a copy of the scene for later use in the creation of morphs. To create such a morph:-

1. Load the saved scene.
2. DO NOT add to or delete from the scene.
3. You may move, bend, twist, deform hair components as required.
4. Save the morph target using the script button provided.
5. Start a new scene.
6. Reload the hair model from the library.
7. Select the hair prop, or if it is a figure the neck.
8. Use the Poser Object menu to load the previously saved morph target.

Texture Creator on the Mac

This is how to start the Texture Creator on a Mac.

Use finder to navigate to Applications:PhilC Designs:Hair Texture Creator

Look for the file HD.py If Finder is hiding the file extension you will not be able to differentiate this from the file named HD.ini so look in the preview column where the full file name will be displayed.

Right click HD.py and these menu options will appear allowing you to start the Texture Creator:-

Alternately you could select "Get Info" from the above menu and this pop up will appear. Here you can ensure that the "Hide Extension" box is unchecked.

You can also select which application to use to open the file when it is double clicked on. Here you can see that the designated application is "Python Launcher".

You will then be able to double click on HD.py to launch the stand alone Texture Creator.

For more information on how to handles files on a Mac please see this on line tutorial.