ORNATRIX advantages or why I ditched Xgen in 2021.

So, first about why I like Ornatrix, and after that - why did I give up Xgen in 2021?

You can also read this post here if this convenient for you.


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


ORNATRIX ADVANTAGES

Be careful - so many videos =)

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.


The site was unfortunately deleted because they merged with the blog - CreativeBlog, but I saved the screen =)






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



1a) A powerful tool for creating feathers and scattering them over the surface.

Create Procedural Feather:



https://youtu.be/Ti8JMzhMmrQ

Feather Scattering:

https://youtu.be/GlqMQvqeXp4


The same Scatter can be used for dreadlocks and anything else.


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:



https://youtu.be/MG-EYYeInQM

Auto PushAway while brushing:

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.

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")

    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.

https://youtu.be/ZKeXS2kHG20


The same mode works when using the Move function.

https://youtu.be/ceZCSrQ7SEY


Rotate also has different modes:

https://youtu.be/ln-Wo8ipV8I


And Scale has the same:

https://youtu.be/Q6Jievty8ME


Also, I really like the Demo Clump brush.

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.

https://youtu.be/CO60W4M1y2I


Drawing guides with the Draw Strand Tool

https://youtu.be/kzMDa-C33oY


And also just drawing them using Random Mode or Centric Mode

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.

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:

https://youtu.be/jAHs8PybOVs


 

Collected hair in a bun:

https://youtu.be/ZrMDb0NnH64




Hair length:

https://youtu.be/UOs6GoW8j4Q


Parting:

https://youtu.be/Foqx7nGbx_I


And one more video with this feature from the official channel:

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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:

https://youtu.be/7unbJm3G3p0


b) Interacting with Tyflow particles in 3ds Max - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ornatrix/permalink/1311450562388564 

c) Oscillator Modifier:

https://youtu.be/cw0sm04U3v4


d) Resolve collisions:

https://youtu.be/XWvz1zIio5s


e) the ability to animate hair using Cloth or Marvelous Designer


8) Hair coloring without textures by vertex 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 =)




9) Parting by group

https://youtu.be/rRmYgvQR9es


10) Blending by groups.

Can be used for:

Length:

https://youtu.be/nkf-3NMfVRU


Frizz:

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:

https://youtu.be/dncqWhzs1hI


Or just guides, and at what - save all assigned groups:

https://youtu.be/uIs_qkNkd0I


12) Fast export to Unreal Alembic Hair - no scripts and unnecessary body movements.

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:

https://youtu.be/VNaYtvQMtfQ


Draw with hair:

https://youtu.be/vmczMrasJPQ



You can also quickly remove unwanted hair as you would with regular hair.

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?

Look =) Immediately I say that this is just my opinion and I describe the situation based on what I see. If it doesn't match yours, that's okay. I'm not trying to convince you to use Xgen. Go on in ... But I made my choice and many people ask me why ... I have no goal to humiliate Xgen or somehow hurt his fans. No-no-no. I just write my opinion based on personal experience + what others say. Every time different users contact me with questions about Xgen, they surprised how it can be done simply in Ornatrix ...

Many studios from Hollywood, various large studios around the world - they still use it, many foreigners teach it at school, because top studios use it, because Xgen is implemented for free in Maya and this of course captivates many ...

Ornatrix has to be paid for and not everyone wants to do it ... Because Maya comes with built-in Xgen and you only have to pay for a subscription. Although now, after having made a subscription to Ornatirx - I don't see any problem ... After all, it is worth its money.

In 2016, Xgen was closed and there is no official support now. That is, starting from 2016, nothing new has come out, and Interactive Groom has a bunch of bugs in general and a lot of things have not been completed there. It is not used in production, as there are problems with animation. This was personally told to me by several groomers I know from different studios, and Jesus Fernandez also once wrote about this in Grooming Artist on Facebook. For me personally, this is a significant factor to abandon a program in favor of one that is constantly evolving and you can also somehow influence development, instantly get an answer to the question you need, implement what you like and feel comfortable with.

Why, then, do so many continue to use it? Because when you have a pipeline, deadlines and so on, it's very difficult to quickly switch to a new one.

There is also a pipeline factor, when employees are stupidly accustomed to performing a task on the old and do not want to learn something new ... I often encountered this in the offices where I worked .. When I tried to implement something new, they answered me " dude, do you need it? Do not spoil your life. What does the proven technology do not suit you?"

Another factor - since Xgen is free, there are a lot of lessons on it. Because everyone understands and does. Plus, Jesus, Tarcan and so on have a lot of them. There are a bunch of patreons with detailed courses.


Ornatrix, in turn, was less accessible even for studios, since there was no subscription and they thought - damn it, why do we need it. After all, Xgen is free and already implemented in Maya. Although many have already switched.

But! There are many studios that use Ornatrix specifically. + don't forget that in 3ds Max, Cinema4D has no competitors at all. Yes, Maya has a developing Yeti, yes there is a groom in Houdini, but Ornatrix is developing faster than them .. The team releases a stable build almost every two weeks.

This year they added a subscription, so I think it will be a tug of blanket towards Ornatrix.

And Xgen is clearly no longer a competitor after the release of the 3rd version ...

The main competitor now is Houdini, as many studios have started to switch to it. But Houdini is purely an area for the mathematical mindset. And as you know, there is also a creative warehouse. =) There are still people who use 3dsmax, Maya and bypass Houdini. And even despite the release of awesome Blender, people will always use 3ds max, Maya, Cinema4D. This means that new versions will be released endlessly and there will always be orders in these programs.

Ephere's mistake in the previous years was that they didn't invest in lessons from the very beginning. I am now trying to remove this gap. But they weren't invested because there is good documentation =) How did I learn Ornatrix if there was no documentation? That's right - according to the documentation and thanks to communication with the developers.

But unfortunately, a lot of people are lazy ... they need a video .. they need to take a hand and lead along this path ... so =) another reason for using Xgen is to have good detailed tutorials.

But these are purely my guesses and observations. Maybe in studios that use Xgen - they will tell you other points =) For me - personally after the release of the 3rd version - it is outdated. I stopped using it. I'm tired of enduring its glitches, tired of being so complicated ... although Ornatrix is done in one click.

Well, damn it, agree, if in the 3rd version you can simply dye the desired part of the hair, as in Zbrush, and then transfer it to Unreal without problems or render in Arnold ... well, that's cool. Xgen does not know-how, or can do it through the most complex scripts .. but my mind is just creative. I don't like coding, scripting, and other moments - that's why I personally scored on Houdini when I faced difficult tasks that are easier for me to solve in 3dsmax or Maya, and even in Blender.

In general, I think it's not about the software. And in skills. If you do cool hairstyles, animals in your favorite program, then the customer will not care where you are doing. I often came across such a moment when they came to me and asked for YEti, and then when they found out that I was using Ornatrix, they just took it and tried it. despite the fact that the pipeline is already clearly built =) So it's not about the software, but about your convenience and the quality that you give out. Speeds. It is important to do what you love, then you will be 100% cool .. At least - I have been freelancing for 6 years and I have a job.

Yes, and I started with Ornatrix ... Now I realized for myself that new groom programs will constantly come out and if you spend time on them, then when will you improve the skill in creation, quality, speed? I now fully devote my time to this. So I put Houdini and its toolkit aside for now. Yeti even more so. There is simply not enough time for everything. While orders come to me that I can do in my favorite software, which is being developed and updated every two weeks, I will work in it. =) Moreover, the developers implement what I want. Listen to my wishes.

In Xgen - I never found someone to reach out to and implement a modern pipeline =) Since there is no official support, and not everyone knows SeExp so cool... Even Xgen Gods...

So if you are a creative person like me .. mathematics is alien to you - go ahead to conquer the expanses of Ornatrix with me =)

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you haven't skimmed or missed anything. isn't it??

I wish you a good day and good mood.

Best regards,
Andrew Krivulya Charly

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