So, first about why I like Ornatrix, and after that - why did I give up Xgen in 2021?
I also want to say that I didn't show all of Ornatrix's features in this article. But I continue to show them in this playlist
PART 2 - https://www.artstation.com/artofcharly/blog/ZwZ7/ornatrix-advantages-or-why-i-ditched-xgen-in-2021-part-2
ORNATRIX ADVANTAGES
Be careful - so many videos =) Sorry for the links... I can't post videos here... Asked Artstation support and waiting for the answer. So I hope they will fix this in this blog.
I think the main advantage of Ornatrix is its simplicity and intuitive use. I've heard this from many clients. You can achieve results faster than X-gen. That is - literally in a week - you can create your first hairstyles. Also, having spent time pumping a skill in Ornatrix, you will recoup the cost of it for one order + you can also buy a license for a friend =) Ahaha, the plan is this - we buy a subscription, study it in a week, take the first order, and voila =) Seriously! My first orders were just after a week of study ...
I did not look at the tutorials on it, and after a week of studying by my self, I did this work, which got into the famous 3D Artist magazine, and got orders, as well as a growing profile on their website, which had 10k views, gained almost 200K in two days =) and in a week - there were almost 700K.
This is how Ornatrix influenced my career ...
I did this hairstyle in 3 hours. Yes, there are mistakes and it is not ready for animation .. But 3 hours, only 3 hours spent on work, after a week of study - led me to this result.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4RNDL
Ornatrix is very flexible =) You can choose the workflow that suits you =) and it will work. Straight like canvas and different types of paint. Whichever you choose - everything works =) If you want 1000 guides and control each clamp with them - no problem. Do you want to draw hair? - no problem, etc., etc. That is, you can choose a method of creation that is convenient for you - and everything will work.
So what do I like in Ornatrix?
1) More comfortable and faster hair creation
Video - https://youtu.be/q843KJR939k
1a) A powerful tool for creating feathers and scattering them over the surface.
Create Procedural Feather:
Video - https://youtu.be/Ti8JMzhMmrQ
Feather Scattering:
Video - https://youtu.be/GlqMQvqeXp4
The same Scatter can be used for dreadlocks and anything else.
Video - https://youtu.be/M7Sue--YGWE
Yes, there is still one drawback when Scatter Roots are not grounded to an object, but the team is working on it.
2) Push Away From Mesh (pushing out hairs that fit into the mesh) while brushing.
For example, in the same Zbrush Fibermesh, when you comb your hair, it often gets into the object and you constantly need to fix it with your hands =) Especially, the problem is noticeable - with long hair.
There is also a button here - Push away from mesh in Edit Guides. You press it and the hair magically flows around the shape, and in the right way =) If you want, of course, you can turn on the simulation, but this method has always been enough for me =)
Push Away in Edit Guides:
Video - https://youtu.be/MG-EYYeInQM
Auto PushAway while brushing:
Video - https://youtu.be/JE2zNjGswTY
There is also a separate modifier of the same name, which allows you to push hair or fur out of an object. That being said, this modifier has many useful settings.
Video - https://youtu.be/NgB4fwwCXVk
Documentation about the individual modifier and its functions - https://ephere.com/plugins/autodesk/maya/ornatrix/docs/3/Push_Away_From_Surface.html
But keep in mind that this modifier should be used only for static hair, if you are doing simulations, then you need to bake it to avoid flickering or try not to use it during the simulation.
Xgen has such a function through a modifier, but it all works in a strange way and is not so convenient.
3) Hair or hair planes collisions without simulation. I don't remember exactly if it is in XGen, but here it is and it is more convenient to implement.
Docs - https://ephere.com/plugins/autodesk/maya/ornatrix/docs/3/Normalize.html
4) Convenient combing of guides (I often hear this from XGen users that they even create guides in Ornatrix, since it is much more convenient)
There are four modes:
- smooth, when each stroke leads the entire guide. (Optimized) - Similar to Xgen, but feels better here. I asked several Xgen users and they confirmed it. =)
- FK Rig - when you influence every part of the guide, it is as if there are bones in it. (Legacy)
- Spot, when you can influence the area inside the circle (Local)
- Not fixed length as in Xgen (when turning off the "Preserve Length")
Video - https://youtu.be/erzC0WWlWbU
You can fully feel the coolness of these modes when you try it yourself =)
There is also Elastic Mode, with which you can quickly comb the guide without breaking its shape. It's like the Move Brush in Zbrush.
Video - https://youtu.be/ZKeXS2kHG20
The same mode works when using the Move function.
Video - https://youtu.be/ceZCSrQ7SEY
Rotate also has different modes:
Video - https://youtu.be/ln-Wo8ipV8I
And Scale has the same:
Video - https://youtu.be/Q6Jievty8ME
Also, I really like the Demo Clump brush.
Video - https://youtu.be/o4lGjEwIKBE
I also really like the auto-select feature when using the Plant tool and the fact that the new guide automatically follows the shape and direction of the selected one.
Video - https://youtu.be/CO60W4M1y2I
Drawing guides with the Draw Strand Tool
Video - https://youtu.be/kzMDa-C33oY
And also just drawing them using Random Mode or Centric Mode
Video - https://youtu.be/VrUXRrIblqc
5) Hair Direction With Surface Comb =)
If you remember my lesson with a hedgehog =) There I combed them in Zbrush =) The hedgehog in the gallery is already created with this tool and completely from scratch in Ornatrix =) You just drag the visual arrow with the mouse and the hair goes in this direction =) Also not saw this in XGen.
Video - https://youtu.be/lUWQ-4Kpybo
In the 3rd version - this tool was improved. Now you can quickly get ponytails, a bun or control the length of the hair, and also do a quick Parting.
Ponytails:
Video - https://youtu.be/jAHs8PybOVs
Collected hair in a bun:
Video - https://youtu.be/ZrMDb0NnH64
Hair length:
Video - https://youtu.be/UOs6GoW8j4Q
Parting:
Video - https://youtu.be/Foqx7nGbx_I
And one more video with this feature from the official channel:
Video - https://youtu.be/X4Xyy3fJwzA
6) A handy tool for creating gamedev hair that can be combed, trimmed, and so on. And not to distribute - manually over the surface, which is very long ...
Video - https://youtu.be/PA0g9E9vzVE
Again, all Ornatrix features that I described above work here.
BUT =) In Maya - they are still working on improving one cool feature called Branching, and in 3ds Max - it can already be used. This allows you to make one Ornatrix object and add a bunch of MeshFromStrands modifiers, into which you can load any proxy with a texture.
Video - https://youtu.be/oC1xxP6Eqac
In Maya, this tool is not yet finalized, so you have to create separate Ornatrix objects without binding to each other and without using Branching. That is, if you need to comb all the parts at the same time, as can be done with Branching, then you will fail.
You need to select each object with separate proxies and comb it.
Video - https://youtu.be/v_R-CiHDIgQ
That is, as you can see in this video, I have a separate Ornatrix object for each part, and not like in 3ds Max - one Edit Guides for all proxies ...
The same is with the quick assignment of groups. You cannot instantly assign a group to a separate guide and use a different proxy mesh for it. If you just want to assign a proxy to one guide with another group, you need to clone the entire stack with Duplicate Special, and only then assign the proxy to this guide.
Video - https://youtu.be/_e6rOfyKlFQ
But don't worry =) The development team is working on this feature in Maya and soon everything will be the same as in 3ds Max.
While this is done manually - through the Node Editor.
That is, in order to create one object and a bunch of MeshFromStrands with different textures and at the same time do everything that I showed in 3ds Max, you need to use the NodeEditor and manually add all the necessary nodes.
I did not record a video with the example, because it is a very unstable method and the developers themselves do not recommend it.
That is - I would not use or teach this workflow. This approach is too complex and difficult to keep track of. Sometimes - adding an additional node directly to the stack - can disrupt a handcrafted network.
So I think it's better to wait for this feature to be finalized and a more robust Branching implementation. In the meantime, work with the standard Workflow, about which I will still write lessons.
7) At the moment, Ornatrix is the fastest and coolest in dynamics.
а) You can quickly create wind or hair underwater without using the main dynamics using the Noise Modifier:
Video - https://youtu.be/7unbJm3G3p0
b) Interacting with Tyflow particles in 3ds Max - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ornatrix/permalink/1311450562388564
c) Oscillator Modifier:
Video - https://youtu.be/cw0sm04U3v4
d) Resolve collisions:
Video - https://youtu.be/XWvz1zIio5s
e) the ability to animate hair using Cloth or Marvelous Designer
f) Own awesome physics - https://ephere.com/plugins/autodesk/maya/ornatrix/docs/3/Moov_Hair_Physics.html
8) Hair coloring without textures by vertex
Video - https://youtu.be/OJOD-uywk-o
So far from renders - only Arnold is supported. Will the rest be supported? - depends on the renderers.
If you want this to be added to Redshift - https://www.redshift3d.com/forums/viewthread/34399/
- write here in large quantities =)
If in V-Ray - https://forums.chaosgroup.com/forum/v-ray-for-maya-forums/v-ray-for-maya-wishlist/1073627-support-for-user-color-attributes-from-ornatrix
If in Octane - https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=111&t=76918
9) Parting by group
Video - https://youtu.be/rRmYgvQR9es
10) Blending by groups.
Can be used for:
Length:
Video - https://youtu.be/nkf-3NMfVRU
Frizz:
Video - https://youtu.be/p07TT-xxs7o
11) Ability to export/import hairstyle between Maya, 3Ds Max, Cinema4d, Unreal Engine and edit it in any of these programs.
Can be exported as hair:
Video - https://youtu.be/dncqWhzs1hI
Or just guides, and at what - save all assigned groups:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDW6FFA0ERI
12) Fast export to Unreal Alembic Hair - no scripts and unnecessary body movements.
Video - https://youtu.be/ugEBX3zrNIM
13) A quick way to get hair for your sculptures.
As in the same Zbrush, only with all the functionality from Ornatrix.
For example, you can quickly draw hair and convert it to Mesh
There are two ways:
Just draw one guide at a time and convert to mesh:
Video - https://youtu.be/VNaYtvQMtfQ
Draw with hair:
Video - https://youtu.be/vmczMrasJPQ
You can also quickly remove unwanted hair as you would with regular hair.
Video - https://youtu.be/ftojV7o7eNk
Again, here you can use all the Ornatrix toolkit described above. =)
I think these points will already be enough to start using Ornatrix in your work. In fact, there are a lot of different and interesting functions that I did not mention. You can log in yourself:
And there to get acquainted with everything else + I will also record different lessons with a demonstration of my favorite features in Ornatrix.
Now let's talk about why I stopped using Xgen in 2021? =)
WHY DID I REFUSE XGEN AND WHY OTHERS STILL USE XGEN?
READ HERE - https://www.artstation.com/artofcharly/blog/ZwZ7/ornatrix-advantages-or-why-i-ditched-xgen-in-2021-part-2
I wish you a good day and a good mood.
Best regards,
Andrew Krivulya Charly