= Styling the fur =

NOTE:
    This tutorial is a detailed look into what goes on at the network level. An automatic way to create the same effect is to use the [Comb Fur|/shelf/combfur] tool on the shelf.


Rarely do individual strands of hair stand straight up. Brushing them around gives the fur a more natural, scruffy look. You can style the fur both with and without guides.

== Styling the fur with guides ==

This tutorial is a continuation of [Using guide hairs|usingguides]. 

NOTE:
    The fur in the screen captures has color that was created in [Changing the color of the fur using the color attribute|changingcolor].
    
    You can do this tutorial without completing the [Changing the color of the fur using the color attribute|changingcolor] tutorial. This example simply uses colored fur for better visualization in the viewport.
    
# To see the normals on your grid that you created in [Basic fur setup|basicsetup], turn on the [display flag|/nodes/sop] for the grid in the [network editor|/ref/panes/network], and turn on __Display Point Normals__ in the [scene view|/ref/views/3dview] by clicking [Icon:VIEW/display_point_normals] from the View Controls toolbar.

# Press the hotkey ((D)) in the scene to open and close the [Display Options window|/ref/windows/displayopts_3d].

# On the __Misc__ tab of the [Display Options window for the 3D viewer|/ref/windows/displayopts_3d], increase the __Scale Normal__ value to approximately `1.5` to get a clearer view of the normals.
        
    [Image:/images/fur/style_after.png]
    
# Insert a [Icon:SOP/comb][Comb SOP|Node:sop/comb] before the [Icon:COMMON/null] `SKIN_OUT` node.

    You can do this by selecting the input wire, pressing ((Tab)), and typing `comb`.
    
    [Image:/images/fur/style_guides_comb.png]

# Comb the fur by clicking ((LMB)) in the scene and dragging your mouse over the normals.

    [Image:/images/fur/style_guides.png]

    TIP:
        You can change the __Radius__ of your brush in the Operation Controls toolbar for a wider comb. 
        
        You may also want to change the __Opacity__ of your comb to a value of approximately `0.02`. This will allows you to make more detailed changes.
    
    For more information, see the [brush tools|/basics/brush] help.
    
When you turn the [display flag|/nodes/sop] back on the [Icon:SOP/fur][Fur SOP|Node:sop/fur], you will see the fur has been styled.    
    
    [Image:/images/fur/style_guides_fur.png]
    
Remember, the [Fur SOP|Node:sop/fur] should only be used for visualization in the viewport. In order to render, it is highly recommended that you use a [fur procedural shader|/nodes/shop/vm_geo_fur], which will delay the generation of fur until render time. For more information on setting this up, see [Basic fur setup|basicsetup]. 

== Styling the Fur without Guides ==

This tutorial is a continuation of [Basic fur setup|basicsetup]. 

NOTE:
    The fur in the screen captures has color that was created in [Changing the color of the fur using the color attribute|changingcolor].
    
    You can do this tutorial without completing the [Using guide hairs|usingguides] and [Changing the color of the fur using the color attribute|changingcolor] tutorials. This example simply uses colored fur for better visualization in the viewport.

# Insert a [Icon:SOP/facet][Facet SOP|Node:sop/facet] between the [Icon:SOP/attribute][AttribCreate|Node:sop/attribcreate] that controls the thickness and the [Icon:COMMON/null] `NULL_SKIN` node.

    You can do this by selecting the output wire, pressing ((Tab)), and typing `facet`.
    
    [Image:/images/fur/style_facet.png]
    
# Turn on the __Pre-Computer Normals__ checkbox in the [parameter editor|/ref/panes/parms] of the [Facet SOP|Node:sop/facet].

# To see the normals on your grid, turn on the [display flag|/nodes/sop] for the grid in the [network editor|/ref/panes/network], and turn on __Display Point Normals__ in the [scene view|/ref/views/3dview] by clicking [Icon:VIEW/display_point_normals] from the View Controls toolbar.

# Press the hotkey ((D)) in the 3D viewer to open and close the [Display Options window|/ref/windows/displayopts_3d].

# On the __Misc__ tab of the [Display Options window for the 3D viewer|/ref/windows/displayopts_3d], increase the __Scale Normal__ value to approximately `1.5` to get a clearer view of the normals.
        
    [Image:/images/fur/style_after.png]
    
# Insert a [Icon:SOP/comb][Comb SOP|Node:sop/comb] after the [Icon:SOP/facet][Facet SOP|Node:sop/facet] node. 

    You can do this by selecting the output wire, pressing ((Tab)), and typing `comb`.
    
    [Image:/images/fur/style_comb.png]

# Comb the fur by clicking ((LMB)) and dragging your mouse over the normals in the scene.

    [Image:/images/fur/style_normals.png]

    TIP:
        You can change the __Radius__ of your brush in the Operation Controls toolbar for a wider comb. 
        
        You may also want to change the __Opacity__ of your comb to a value of approximately `0.02`. This will allows you to make more detailed changes.
    
    For more information, see the [brush tools|/basics/brush] help.
    
When you turn the [display flag|/nodes/sop] back on the [Icon:SOP/fur][Fur SOP|Node:sop/fur], you will see the fur has been styled.    
    
    [Image:/images/fur/style_fur.png]
        
Remember, the [Fur SOP|Node:sop/fur] should only be used for visualization in the viewport. In order to render, it is highly recommended that you use a [fur procedural shader|/nodes/shop/vm_geo_fur], which will delay the generation of fur until render time. For more information on setting this up, see [Basic fur setup|basicsetup].