CVEX shaders for fur

For a basic overview of CVEX, see the CVEX Type help.

There are two ready-made CVEX shaders designed for fur. The fur density map shader which allows you to control the density of the fur based on a texture map, and the fur style shader which allows you to control the thickness, shape, and frizz of the fur.

You can also create your own CVEX shaders to specify exactly how you want the fur to look.

  1. In the SHOP Network you created in Basic fur setup, create a VOP CVEX SHOP.

  2. Double-click the VOP CVEX SHOP to dive into it.

  3. Press Tab and hover your mouse over the Workflow category. You can use CVEX shaders to control the skin or the guides.

    • If you want to modify attributes on the skin, you will need to use a Fur Skin Global Variables node and a Fur Skin Output Variables and Parameters node.

    • If you want to modify attributes on the guides, you will need to use a Fur Guide Global Variables node and a Fur Guide Output Variables and Parameters node.

  4. Append nodes between the global variables and output variables nodes to modify attributes.

    For example, you can add a parameter to P to modify point positions.

Note

Once you finish creating your CVEX shader, don’t forget to point to it from the Fur SOP.

Example

You could use CVEX to assign colors to the root and tip of your fur.

  1. In your VOP CVEX SHOP, create a Fur Guide Global Variables node.

  2. Create a parameter node, name it root, and change the Parameter Type to Color (color). On the Color tab, set the Color Default for the root.

  3. Create another parameter node, name it tip, and change the Parameter Type to Color (color). On the Color tab, set the Color Default for the tip.

  4. Create a Color Mix node. This node computes a blend of its two color inputs and outputs the result.

  5. Wire the root output of the root parameter node into the primary input of the Color Mix node

  6. Wire the tip output of the tip parameter node into the secondary input of the Color Mix node.

  7. Wire the hairdist output of the Fur Guide Global Variables node into the bias input of the Color Mix node.

  8. Create another parameter node, name it Cd, and change the Parameter Type to Color (color). Also, set Export to When Input is Connected, and turn on the Invisible checkbox.

  9. Wire the Color Mix node into the Cd node you just created.

  10. Click your object in the path at the top of the network editor to return to the object level.

  11. In the Shader parameter on the Fur SOP's Guide tab, click the node chooser button and choose your CVEX shader from the tree.