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Before you begin, see Create custom content for Fuse to know about the prerequisites and the general recommendations for creating custom hair.
Hair is modeled on a base character. You can either:
- Model your custom hair on the base meshes provided in the Content Creator Pack (MaleFitA.obj and FemaleFitA.obj).
- Model your custom hair to fit on a custom body you have created. See Create a custom body for details. To use the custom hair in Fuse CC (Beta), first import the custom body.
1. Create simple polygon planes of varying lengths and widths. These polygons are duplicated multiple times to make the hairstyles. It is important to create simple polygon planes first so that their UVs are consistent and easily modifiable.
![1_Create 1_Create](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image/1_Create.jpg)
2. Preview the length and appearance of the hair on the planes by assigning a texture version of the Fuse hair substance and then adjust your UV mapping. You can find the default substance texture in the Content Creator Pack (AlphaHair_DIFF.psd).
![2_Unwrap 2_Unwrap](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_0/2_Unwrap.jpg)
3. Open the texture in Adobe Photoshop CC and paint various hair strands by using a layer mask for transparency. Save the image as a .png with transparency.
![3_AlphaTexture 3_AlphaTexture](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_1/3_AlphaTexture.jpg)
5. Assign a material to the polygon planes in your 3D program and name it 'hair'. The transparency automatically connects to the material and the hair show up in the viewer.
![4_AlphaTexture 4_AlphaTexture](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_2/4_AlphaTexture.jpg)
6. Layer the polygon planes on the head to build up volume and the style.
Note: Ensure that the planes do not intersect each other or the head of the character. Keep a small amount of space between the planes and the head, if possible.
Combine the geometry by selecting the inner most planes to the outer most for correct transparency sorting. Objects selected first are rendered 'behind', while objects selected last are rendered 'in front'.
![5_CompleteHair 5_CompleteHair](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_3/5_CompleteHair.jpg)
Once you have finished creating your custom hair, extract the key maps explained below. These maps are used for generating textures for the custom hair when you import them in Fuse CC.
The following settings are recommended for the extracted maps:
Map dimension: 2048 x 2048 pixels
Color depth: 8-bit RGB
Image format: PNG
Naming convention for extracted maps
The generic file naming structure for the maps is Category_CharacterModeledOn_NameofItem_NameofMap. For example, Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy_AlphaSwitch.png.
![8_GatherFiles 8_GatherFiles](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_4/8_GatherFiles.jpg)
Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.
Your hair geometry: Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy.obj
Alpha Switch Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy_AlphaSwitch.png
Detail Diffuse Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_AlphaMediumWavy_DetailDiff.png
![9_Import 9_Import](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_5/9_Import.jpg)
To import custom hair files, choose File > Import > Import Clothing option from the menu bar in Fuse CC. See Import custom clothing and hair for details.
Hair is modeled on a base character. You can either:
- Model your custom hair on the base meshes provided in the Content Creator Pack (MaleFitA.obj and FemaleFitA.obj).
- Model your custom hair to fit on a custom body you have created. See Create a custom body for details. To use the custom hair in Fuse CC (Beta), first import the custom body.
![10_Sculpt 10_Sculpt](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_6/10_Sculpt.jpg)
The quality of sculpt is important to a good hair asset. Use your digital sculpting software to achieve the highest quality in your sculpt.
![11_LowPoly 11_LowPoly](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_10/11_LowPoly.jpg)
Unlike the custom body, the custom mesh hair does not have any specific UV requirements. So you can use any topology and UV layout for the custom mesh hair. However, consider the following points for the low resolution (or low poly) mesh that you create:
- The low poly mesh has a single UV layout per item.
- It does not extend beyond the 0-1 UV space and does not overlap.
- It is not flipped.
- The UV seams placed where they would not be visible.
It is recommended to have the average triangle count close to the value mentioned below depending on the custom hair type that you are creating:
Alpha Hair: 4,000
Mesh Hair: 1,000
Once you have finished creating your custom hair, extract the maps explained below. These maps are used for generating textures for the custom hair when you import them in Fuse CC.
The following settings are recommended for the extracted maps:
Map dimension: 2048 x 2048 pixels
Color depth: 8-bit RGB
Image format: PNG
Naming convention for extracted maps
The generic file naming structure for the maps is
Category_CharacterModeledOn_NameofItem_NameofMap. For example,
Hair_FemaleFitA_MeshPonytail_NM.png.
![17_Tex_Occ 17_Tex_Occ](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/accordion_container_944277185/accordion-par/accordion-item-4/accordion-item-par/image/17_Tex_Occ.jpg)
The occlusion mask is unique to both clothing and hair. It is painted on the base character on which the mesh hair is fitted over. The occlusion mask excludes the body geometry that is covered by the mesh hair.
To create this mask:
- With the mesh hair placed over the character, paint the body polygons that are to be deleted in black.
- The rest of the polygons are white.
![18_GatherFiles 18_GatherFiles](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_8/18_GatherFiles.jpg)
Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.
Your hair geometry: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail.obj
Normal Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_NM.png
Occlusion Mask: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_OccMask.png
Ambient Occlusion Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_AO.png
Detail Diffuse Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_DetailDiff.png
Detail Extra Map: Hair_FemaleFitA_Ponytail_DetailExtra.png
![19_Import 19_Import](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_9/19_Import.jpg)
To import custom hair files, choose File > Import > Import Clothing option from the menu bar in Fuse CC. See Import custom clothing and hair for details.
![20_Geometry 20_Geometry](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_7/20_Geometry.jpg)
To create custom hair that has both mesh and alpha styles such as a braid with realistic bangs or stray hair, you can combine the techniques for creating alpha and mesh hair explained in the preceding sections.
First start by sculpting the mesh sections of the hair. After your sculpt is done, create the low poly mesh. See step 2 and step 3 of Create mesh hair for details.
The next step is to add the polygon strips for alpha hair on the low poly mesh. See step 2 of Create mesh hair for details.
![23_Tex_DetailDiffuse 23_Tex_DetailDiffuse](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/accordion_container_2047715790/accordion-par/accordion-item-2/accordion-item-par/image/23_Tex_DetailDiffuse.jpg)
The detail diffuse map is painted based on a combination of the techniques for custom mesh and alpha hair. This map is correlated to the alpha switch map.
- The diffuse texture of the mesh part has hand painted hair strokes. The strokes are painted over transparency or saved at 50% transparency.
- The alpha part of the hair has a texture map (.png) of hair strokes with transparency.
It is recommended to create Occlusion and Ambient Occlusion maps as normal with mesh hair. See Create mesh hair for details.
![24_GatherFiles 24_GatherFiles](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_11/24_GatherFiles.jpg)
Use the recommended naming convention for filenames for importing them into Fuse CC in an organized manner.
Your hair geometry: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid.obj
Normal Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_NM.png
Occlusion Mask: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_OccMask.png
Ambient Occlusion Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_AO.png
Detail Diffuse Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_DetailDiff.png
Alpha Switch Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_AlphaSwitch.png
Detail Extra Map: Hair_MaleFitA_VikingBraid_DetailExtra.png
![25_Import 25_Import](/content/dam/help/en/beta/fuse/help/create-custom-fuse-hair/jcr%3acontent/main-pars/image_12/25_Import.jpg)
To import custom hair files, choose File > Import > Import Clothing option from the menu bar in Fuse CC. See Import custom clothing and hair for details.