Charly 3D Tutors

A new Ornatrix App tutorial by Andrew Krivulya shows how to reuse one hairstyle across many different heads, and how to turn a custom head into a MetaHuman and groom it with the same preset. Different heads, same groom Ornatrix App includes a Human operator that creates a head directly in the viewport. In the Identity section you set gender, ethnicity, seed and variation, and every change produces a new head. A hair preset applied through Graft Groom adapts to each new head shape, and the scalp aligns to the head automatically, with no manual fitting. To fix places where hair cuts into the head, Push Away From Surface is added above the groom. It keeps working when the head changes, so there is no need to re-tune it for every variation. From Ornatrix App head to MetaHuman Export the head from Ornatrix App as Alembic , with Unreal Engine as the target host. In Maya , import the MetaHuman conform topology head and align the Alembic head to it. Freeze and reset transforms...

How to Create a Custom MetaHuman Groom in Ornatrix App for Unreal Engine 5.8 MetaHuman Creator gives you a solid set of stock hairstyles, but sooner or later every character artist wants hair that is truly their own. Episode 6 of the Ornatrix App series walks through the full round trip : exporting a MetaHuman from Unreal Engine 5.8 , grooming it in the Ornatrix App and bringing the finished groom back into Unreal, bound to the character's face mesh. What You Need Unreal Engine 5.8 with the MetaHuman Creator plugin enabled The Ornatrix App The Groom and Alembic Groom Importer plugins in Unreal Engine Step 1: Prepare and Export the MetaHuman Start with a new blank project or your existing one. Enable the MetaHuman Creator plugin, restart the editor and create a new MetaHuman character in your content folder. Edit the head as much as you like, then build the full rig and download the texture sources. When the character is ready, open the export options, keep DCC Exp...

This piece came about at a moment when I'd gotten a little tired of realism 😄 I was taking a break after yet another big client project and decided to just practice different hairstyles. I wanted something cartoony, cute, something I could freely experiment with. I've always loved cartoons, so pretty soon I came up with the idea of making myself a dedicated mannequin for experiments like that. But a plain faceless mannequin felt boring. I wanted a character. And that's how Camilla was born =) I deliberately made her a cute little doll, so later I could swap her hairstyles, try out different shapes and silhouettes, and generally torture her hair however I pleased 😄 I modeled and sculpted her in my beloved 3D-Coat . Back then I still did retopology in NVIL , because at the time I wasn't a big fan of the retopo tools in 3D-Coat. I used Substance Painter for texturing and creating maps for the Corona Renderer material. And the hair, of course, was done in Or...

How to Build a Custom Dreadlock Hair Card Groom in Ornatrix App In the previous Ornatrix App tutorial we covered hair cards and how to pick from the built-in preset grooms in the hair card atlas . This time I wanted to go one level deeper and show how to build a completely new hair card groom from scratch, one you can reuse just like any of the built-in presets. The example I picked is a dread, since dreads come in enough variations that it is worth having a flexible, reusable base rather than a single fixed look. Why Dreads Need a Different Starting Point Ornatrix App ships with two hair card start scenes: a flat card, which represents a thin layer of hair on a plane, and a round card , built on a cylindrical base. Most dread references collect volume rather than sitting flat, so the round start scene is the better base for this groom. Shaping the Dread with Clump The first operator added to the stack is Clump . Dynamic clumping is enabled and set to a single clump per card, ...

Hair cards are one of the most common ways to bring hair into real-time engines and games, but building them by hand, strand by strand, is slow and hard to iterate on. In this tutorial, Marsel Khadiyev walks through how to build a full hair card setup in Ornatrix procedurally, starting from a raw scalp groom and ending with an exportable hair card atlas that combines both scalp hair and eyebrows. Why go procedural A manual hair card workflow usually means placing individual cards by hand and re-doing that work every time the hairstyle changes. The procedural approach in Ornatrix keeps every step as an operator in the stack, so nothing is locked in. Strand count, card width, texture assignment and color can all be revisited at any point without rebuilding the groom from scratch. Building the base groom The workflow starts from Ornatrix's New from Templates option, selecting the Human template to load a pre-fitted scalp. This template includes two separate parts, the scalp ...

The Next Evolution of Grooming in Cinema 4D Ornatrix for Cinema 4D V4 is here, bringing a major update to procedural hair, fur, and feather grooming directly inside Maxon Cinema 4D . The release focuses on giving C4D artists a fully non-destructive workflow , from raw guides to a finished, production-ready groom, without leaving the C4D pipeline. What's New in Ornatrix C4D V4 Curved strand extension with the Length Operator Brush Textures Merge Operator overlap resolution and blending Mesh from Strands group meshing Automatic hair texture generation Warp Roots Clump Manipulators Frizz Scale Randomness groom_Color export to Unreal Engine via Alembic New procedural hair grooming workflows Curved Sinks in Surface Comb Why This Matters for C4D Artists Ornatrix has historically been strongest on 3ds Max and Maya , so a major version bump for Cinema 4D is a significant step for the platform. The new export path to Unreal Engine via Alembic , carrying groom color ...

Why Frizzy Hair Needs More Than Just Frizz Frizzy hair and dreadlocks rarely look uniform in real life. Every strand curls, thickens, and twists a little differently, and that inconsistency is exactly what reads as realistic to the eye. Recreating that kind of natural variation in a 3D groom has always meant extra manual work, strand by strand. The Problem: Frizz Without Individual Variation A standard Frizz modifier applies the same scale behavior across the whole hairstyle. It adds texture, but every strand still moves and scales in a fairly uniform way, which can leave dense frizzy styles like dreadlocks looking slightly artificial. The Solution: Scale Randomness in Ornatrix for Cinema 4D v4 Ornatrix for Cinema 4D version 4 introduces a new Scale Randomness parameter inside the Frizz modifier. It lets every individual strand randomly change its own scale value, adding natural chaos to the whole hairstyle without any manual per strand adjustment. Step by Step Workflow ...

Ornatrix App Beta Groom Panel Tutorial: Parameters, Python Script and Export to 3ds Max A hand built Ornatrix groom is usually a stack of operators only the artist who created it fully understands. This tutorial shows how to turn that groom into a reusable, parameter driven asset that any artist on the team can safely adjust, using the Groom panel in Ornatrix App Beta. The problem: grooms that only the original artist can touch A groom built from many operators and parameters gives full creative control, but it is fragile to hand off. If someone else needs to reuse or adjust it, they either have to understand the entire operator stack or risk breaking the look. The Groom panel in Ornatrix App Beta solves this by letting the artist expose only the parameters that matter. The solution: the Groom panel By default the Groom panel is empty. Pressing Edit opens a mode where parameters can be added in two ways: Auto Generate, which exposes every parameter of every operator in the gro...

How to Groom Curly Hair in Ornatrix App (Standalone Beta): Full Workflow What this tutorial covers Building a convincing curly hair groom is one of the trickier tasks in digital hair work. Getting the curl pattern, volume, and clump behavior to read naturally takes more than just applying a preset. With Dune: Part Three buzz building ahead of its December release, we figured this was a good moment to share a Chalamet-style curly groom breakdown , walking through a complete male hair groom from start to finish inside Ornatrix App , the standalone beta version of Ornatrix . The problem with curly grooms Curly hair is harder to art direct than straight or wavy grooms. Clumps need to hold shape without looking artificial, and the overall silhouette has to stay readable at different camera distances. Without the right tools, artists often end up fighting the simulation instead of shaping the look they actually want. The solution: a full workflow in Ornatrix App The tutorial break...

What Is the Paint Brush Tool in Ornatrix Cinema 4D v4? The Paint Brush tool in Ornatrix Cinema 4D v4 lets you paint color and bitmap textures directly onto hair strands inside the viewport. Instead of relying on shader-based color alone, you can build strand-level data channels that carry color information through your grooming pipeline - including export to Unreal Engine . This tutorial covers the full workflow: setting up Strand Channels, painting with solid colors, using the Flood fill option, loading PNG texture maps, and preparing a groom_color channel for production export. What You Will Learn How to add Edit Guides and select the Paint Brush from the Tools panel Creating a Per Vertex RGBA Strand Channel for color data storage Painting solid colors onto hair and using the Flood option for full coverage Loading custom PNG texture maps via the Browse button Positioning, rotating, and scaling bitmap textures in the viewport Controlling texture tiling ...

Ornatrix Groom Color Workflow: Cinema 4D to Unreal Engine Vertex Color In this Ornatrix Cinema 4D to Unreal Engine tutorial, I show how to export painted hair colors from Ornatrix C4D and transfer them into Unreal Engine using Vertex Color . This workflow is useful when you need precise control over colored hair or fur across different applications, especially when working with custom groom shaders or modified MetaHuman hair materials in Unreal Engine. What This Tutorial Covers The main goal of this lesson is to keep painted groom color data intact when moving an Ornatrix groom from Cinema 4D into Unreal Engine. Instead of losing the color information during export, we use the correct groom_Color channel and import it into Unreal Engine through the Color attribute. This is a practical workflow for 3D artists, groom artists, character artists, and technical artists who work with Ornatrix, Cinema 4D, Unreal Engine 5 , and custom hair or fur materials. You Will Learn H...

Learn how to paint hair and fur colors in Ornatrix and export them correctly to Unreal Engine 5 using the required groom_Color channel. In this quick tutorial, I show a compact workflow for setting up a custom groom color channel, painting color data, projecting textures, and exporting the groom with Ornatrix Alembic for UE5. The key point: Unreal Engine reads painted groom color data only when the channel is named exactly groom_Color . What you will learn How to add an Edit Guides modifier on top of HairFromGuides How to use the Paint Tool to create a custom grooming channel How to set up the mandatory groom_Color channel for Unreal Engine How to adjust texture projection using shortcuts How to export the groom with Ornatrix Alembic How to enable the Unreal Engine Export option for UE5 Watch the tutorial This is a compact production-friendly workflow for artists who need to transfer painted hair, fur, or groom color data from Ornatrix t...

Introduction to Ornatrix 9 for 3ds Max - Create Brush Pipeline Part 4 Part 4 of my Introduction to Ornatrix 9 for 3ds Max tutorial series is now available. In this episode, I continue working with my Create Brush Pipeline inside Ornatrix 9 for 3ds Max. This series is focused on a practical brush-driven grooming workflow, where the hairstyle is built step by step, section by section, with more direct control over the final shape. Unlike a workflow based only on masks, this approach allows you to shape the groom more manually while constantly checking the structure, guide flow, clumps and preview result. What is covered in Part 4? Organizing guide sections with Select By Group Adding controlled randomness to guides Using Edit Guides after HairFromGuides Smoothing the groom with Ornatrix Strand Detail Working with Point Count for smoother long hair Shaping hair clumps with Create Brush in Random mode Using baked guides to control custom hair shapes ...

Autodesk Member Spotlight: My Journey in 3D Grooming, LookDev, and Education I’m happy to share that Autodesk Community featured me in a new Member Spotlight interview. In this conversation, I talk about my journey in 3D art , how I found my path in grooming and look development , and how teaching and sharing knowledge gradually became an important part of my professional life. We also touched on several topics that have shaped my career over the years: how one small question from a viewer helped define my specialization my experience working on character-focused projects for cinematics and games the difference between offline and real-time workflows why I prefer deep focus on one project instead of splitting attention across many tasks how R&D, personal projects, and knowledge-sharing can open unexpected creative opportunities For me, this interview is not only about milestones. It is also about growth, consistency, curiosity, and staying connected to t...

In this tutorial, you will learn how to control hair distribution in Cinema 4D using the "Warp Roots" modifier in Ornatrix. If you have ever struggled with uneven hair, fur, or feather placement, this workflow gives you precise, paint-based control over root positions directly on the surface. This technique is especially useful for: feathers and stylized grooms sparse fur setups art-directed hair distribution What You Will Learn why hair distribution can be difficult to control how to add the "Warp Roots" modifier to your Ornatrix stack why proper UVs are required for this workflow how to create a Per-Strand channel with Edit Guides how to visualize strand channels for easier painting how lighter and darker values affect root bunching and spreading how to refine the result using Strength and Resolution Chapters 00:00 - Why hair distribution is difficult 00:18 - Adding Warp Roots and UV requirements 00:31 ...

Introduction to Ornatrix - Episode 5: Creating Natural Bangs in 3ds Max In Episode 5 of the "Introduction to Ornatrix " series, we focus on one of the most important steps in hair grooming - creating a natural transition from the parting to the bangs. This stage often defines whether the hair will look believable or artificial, especially in close-up character work. Why Bangs Are Difficult in Grooming Bangs may seem simple at first, but this is exactly where many grooming setups start to break. Incorrect guide flow Wrong root direction Lack of smooth interpolation If these elements are not handled correctly, the hair quickly loses its natural structure and starts to feel artificial. Workflow Overview In this tutorial, I go through a clean and production-oriented workflow for building a smooth transition from the parting to the fringe. Using the Plant Tool for precise guide placement Interpolating between guides to create smooth hair flow ...

How to Generate Hair Cards in Ornatrix for Cinema 4D If you work with digital hair in games, stylized characters , or real-time pipelines, hair cards are still one of the most practical solutions. In this tutorial, I show how to generate hair cards automatically in Ornatrix for Cinema 4D using the Mesh from Strands workflow . This approach helps convert dense strand-based hair into cleaner, more optimized geometry that can be used for game-ready assets , stylized characters, and real-time character production. Why this workflow matters Building hair cards by hand can take a lot of time, especially when you already have a detailed groom. With Ornatrix for Cinema 4D, you can speed up the process by turning strands into mesh-based hair cards directly inside your grooming workflow. This makes the technique especially useful for: game character hair stylized hairstyles real-time character production Unreal Engine pipelines optimization of complex hair grooms ...

How to Create Volumetric Hair Meshes in Ornatrix for Cinema 4D If you are working on real-time apps, creating stylized characters, or preparing models for 3D printing , you know the pain of manual hair retopology . Converting dynamic grooms into clean, closed geometry can take hours of tedious work. What if you could fully automate this workflow? With Ornatrix for Cinema 4D , generating grouped hair meshes is a 100% procedural, non-destructive process. Let's break down how to instantly convert your hair guides into volumetric geometry. The Procedural Grooming Workflow In this tutorial, we will cover how to easily generate a grouped hair mesh using pre-clumped hair. Instead of modeling by hand, we let the modifier stack do the heavy lifting. Step-by-Step: From Strands to Volumetric Mesh 1. Procedural Clump Meshing Open a scene containing some pre-clumped hair. Select the Clump operator and, in the Object Tab under the Sub-Clump section, turn on the "...

Mastering Complex Hair: How to Merge Grooms in Ornatrix C4D (Non-Destructive Workflow) If you have ever tried to groom a photorealistic character in Cinema 4D , you know the struggle. You start with the main hair, then add a beard, then eyebrows, then peach fuzz. Before you know it, you have millions of strands crammed into a single Ornatrix operator stack . The viewport lags. The stack takes forever to calculate. And if the Art Director asks you to "just tweak the mustache," you have to wait for the entire head of hair to update. There is a better way. In today's workflow breakdown, I am going to show you the "Divide and Conquer" method using the Merge Operator in Ornatrix for C4D .

How to Extend 3D Hair in Cinema 4D Without Losing Shape: Ornatrix Tutorial Welcome to another Charly Tutors grooming guide. Today we are diving into a common issue every 3D artist faces when working with hair simulation and grooming pipelines in Maxon Cinema 4D . The Pain: Unnaturally Straight Hair Ends If you have ever tried to increase the overall length of your grooms in 3D, you know the struggle. You spend hours brushing and styling the perfect flow, but the moment you tweak the "Strand Length" parameter, the ends shoot out completely straight. They start looking like stiff wires, and you instantly lose the entire dynamic curve of the hairstyle. The Solution: Curved Extension in the Length Operator To fix this natively within Ornatrix for Cinema 4D , we need to look inside the Length Operator . Instead of manually adjusting vertices or completely rebuilding the guides from scratch, there is a simple checkbox that changes the game - the "Curved Extension...