Digital Tutors Understanding The Basics Of Nhair In Maya ((link)) -

"Understanding the Basics of nHair in Maya" by Digital Tutors (now Pluralsight) is a 2.5-hour, project-based course led by Anthony Ward that covers creating, simulating, and rendering dynamic hair systems using Maya 2013. The training provides a practical overview of setting up follicles, managing dynamic properties via the Nucleus solver, and styling techniques like clumping and grooming. Explore the full course details at Pluralsight. Understanding the Basics of nHair in Maya - Class Central

3. Workflow: Step-by-Step nHair Setup

What is nHair?

nHair is part of Maya’s nDynamics framework. Unlike the old "Hair" system, nHair uses the same Nucleus solver as nCloth and nParticles. This means your hair can interact with clothes, wind fields, and even collision objects in a unified physics environment.

In simple terms: You draw curves, and nHair makes them obey the laws of physics.

1. Introduction

Creating believable hair motion has historically been one of computer graphics’ most challenging tasks. Early methods relied on manually animating control curves (joint chains with IK splines) or using soft body dynamics. Maya’s nHair, introduced with the Nucleus engine in Maya 8.5, revolutionizes this by offering a unified dynamic solver that also handles nCloth and nParticles.

Key advantages of nHair:

Physically-based simulation with real-world parameters.
Automatic collision with nCloth objects and meshes.
Scalable from a few guide hairs to thousands of dynamic curves.
Caching and instancing for performance control.

This paper follows the typical learning path of a Digital Tutors-style beginner tutorial: Create → Attach → Simulate → Refine → Render.

2. Core Concepts of nHair

The 3 Essential Tweaks for Better Hair

The default settings usually look like wet noodles. Here are the three most important attributes to tweak in the hairSystemShape node:

1. Stiffness (Rigidity)

The problem: Hair flops over like cooked spaghetti.
The fix: Increase Stiffness to a value between 0.05 and 0.5. This makes the hair resist bending.

2. Dampen (Drag)

The problem: Hair jiggles endlessly like a water balloon.
The fix: Increase Dampen to 0.1 or 0.2. This absorbs energy, stopping the bounce quickly.

3. Start Curve

The problem: The hair starts falling before the head moves (Lag).
The fix: Lower the Start Curve value. This determines how far down the curve the dynamic simulation begins. If your hair is short, set this to 0.

Report: Understanding the Basics of nHair in Maya

Source Reference: Digital Tutors / Pluralsight Topic: nHair Dynamic Simulation Focus: Fundamental Workflows & Core Principles

7.1 Curve vs. Renderable Geometry

Dynamic NURBS curves themselves do not render. You must assign a renderable width or convert to paint effects / polygon tubes.

Method A – Paint Effects Brush (legacy but common): Digital Tutors Understanding The Basics Of Nhair In Maya

Select hair curves.
nHair → Assign/Edit Paint Effects Hair Brush.
Tune brush attributes: Tube width, taper, color, transparency.

Method B – Polygon Tubes (better for production):

Select hair curves.
nHair → Convert Hair to Polygons.
Use Extrude along curve, or run a custom script to generate cylinders.

3.2 Understanding Follicle Attachment

Each follicle has an Output Curve Type:

Paint Effect (legacy): Not recommended for new work.
NURBS Curve: Standard dynamic curve.
Dynamic Curve Only: For simulation driving a separate render curve.

Attachment modes:

Surface (default): Root sticks to mesh point; ideal for deformable characters.
Stationary: Root fixed in world space.
Transform: Root parented to a transform node.

To change attachment: Select follicle → Attribute Editor → nHairFollicle → Attachment to Surface. "Understanding the Basics of nHair in Maya" by