In this workshop, Santhosh Koneru walks us through the basics of setting up and using hair grooming tools in Ornatrix, emphasizing the importance of understanding the operator stack system and proper viewport optimization. . He demonstrates that realistic hair grooming comes from layering multiple operators (clumping, curling, frizz) and using imperfections strategically, while strand grouping enables complex, varied grooming across different areas of a character.

Duration: 24m 32s

In this lesson, Santhosh emphasizes how important proper reference gathering and organization is as a foundational step in any CG project. By using tools like PureRef or VisRef to maintain organized, accessible reference boards, artists can work more efficiently while ensuring their creative decisions are informed by real-world examples. Santhosh's example shows that references serve not just as visual guides, but as inspiration for understanding how hair style choices communicate character and personality.

Duration: 3m 2s

In this lesson, Santhosh discusses the importance of layered mask creation for controlling hair generation for 3D characters. Utilizing precise and carefully painted distribution control maps with tuned settings in Ornatrix, he's able to create the irregularity and variation necessary for photorealistic facial hair. While the tutorial uses Substance Painter, any 3D painting software (Mudbox, Mari, or ZBrush) can be used to achieve similar mapping results, using these same principles.

Duration: 9m 6s

In this lesson, Santhosh demonstrates a workflow for creating realistic facial hair in Ornatrix, emphasizing that properly shaping guides is the key first step. Starting with the beard and referencing real-world images, he shows how additional effects, clumps, curls, and frizz, enhance a well formed base, illustrating how technical precision combined with artistic observation produces convincing digital facial hair.

Duration: 23m 49s

In this lesson, Santhosh moves on to the mustache following the same process as in the last lesson. The key to success is maintaining control through minimal guide placement while progressively adding detail through nodes, like clump, curl and frizz. Test rendering is essential as viewport previews don't always accurately represent the final result. He looks out for areas where the groom overlaps in order to prevent each element from standing out or looking unnatural.

Duration: 17m 43s

In this lesson, Santhosh looks at ways he can refine his work further. The biggest take away here is that imperfection creates realism, any overly perfect hair grooming will look artificial. While Santhosh advocates for redoing work when necessary to achieve the best results, time-sensitive projects call for focus on major details that will have the most impact on the final appearance.

Duration: 17m 20s

In this lesson, Santhosh works on creating realistic eyebrows, requiring a balance of technical skill and artistic sensibility, as eyebrow shape directly influences a character's emotional expression. He takes time to refine the guides, frequently adjusting camera angles to assess the work, and fine-tuning brush settings for optimal control. By following a methodical workflow of drawing, grooming, and applying appropriate materials and modifiers, artists can achieve natural-looking eyebrows that enhance their character's personality and visual appeal.

Duration: 19m 57s

In this lesson, Santhosh looks at best practices for generating eyelashes in Ornatrix, an iterative process requiring careful attention to distribution mapping, proper clumping, and directional control with combing. He emphasizes that finding the right values for length, thickness, and density is character-specific, making this workflow about understanding the tools and process.

Duration: 27m 46s

In this lesson, Santhosh works to balance quality with technical efficiency, while refining the hair for his character. He shows how to make strategic decisions about character detail, file organization, and workflow optimization to maintain high quality while managing rendering constraints. Santhosh also discusses tips for working on your own cinematics, and how artists can create professional results without using expensive render resources.

Duration: 16m 7s

In this final lesson, Santhosh goes over how artists can add dynamics to their hair grooms in Ornatrix. During the process, he shows how proper substep and iteration count settings are necessary for natural follow-through motion, while particle radius and spacing offset are best kept minimal to avoid collision issues. By combining these dynamics settings with optional force fields, artists can achieve convincing hair simulation that responds realistically to character movement and their environment.

Duration: 10m 19s