Virtual hair production for real-time applications: using curves to modify pre-composited hair-bands : A study on hair modeling and stylng for games

Despite the importance of hair for characters in games, the process for creating realistic looking real-time hair is a highly difficult task that can only be performed by a few artists. As the industry is growing so does expectations of games graphics and the need for higher fidelity hairstyles. This paper sets out to explain current modeling techniques for hairstyling, and presents an alternate way for styling haircard models using curve deformers. Our Blende radd-on, based on this method is then previewed by industry professionals to evaluate their perception of the method’s effectiveness based on “control”, “time” and “preference”. Our conclusion is that per wisp curve based controls are easily learnt, relatively quick to use and gives adequate control over each haircard. The method therefore shows promise instream lining artists’ production pipelines. This test serves as a pilot for further exploration of curve based tools for production of real-time hair