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Clumping Tools 

Clump tools in Ornatrix for Maya provide powerful manipulation capabilities for creating realistic hair and fur. These tools allow you to directly and precisely control the appearance and behavior of hair clumps, giving you fine control needed for creating intricate hairstyles.

 

Clump Hair Manipulator 

The Clump Hair Manipulator tool allows you to select and manipulate groups of hairs for clumping operations.

 

Accessing the Tool 

  • Select the hair shape in your scene
  • Click the "Edit Clump Hairs" tool in the Ornatrix shelf
  • You can also access it through the tool button in the Tool Settings window
 

Tool Properties 

When the Clump Hair Manipulator tool is active, the Tool Settings window displays the following options:

  • Create Clump(s) - Creates clumps from the selected hairs (or all hairs if no selection)
  • Delete Clump(s) - Removes clumping from selected hairs or all clumps if selection is empty
  • Clump Count - Number of clumps to create when using the Create Clumps button
  • Random Seed - Controls the randomness of generated clumps
  • Ignore Clumped Strands - When enabled, strands that are already part of a clump cannot be selected
 

Usage Workflow 

  1. Select the hair shape in your scene
  2. Activate the Clump Hair Manipulator tool
  3. Select the hairs you want to clump
  4. Open the Tool Settings window
  5. Set the desired Clump Count value
  6. Press the Create Clump(s) button to generate clumps
 

Clump Manipulator 

After creating clumps, the Clump Manipulator tool allows you to directly edit individual clumps through a manipulator in the viewport.

 

Accessing the Tool 

  • Select the hair shape containing clumps
  • Click the "Edit Clumps" tool in the Ornatrix shelf
  • You can also transition to this tool after creating clumps with the Clump Hair Manipulator
 

Tool Properties 

When the Clump Manipulator tool is active, the Tool Settings window displays the following options:

 

Clump Editing Settings 

  • Edit Position - Controls the position along the clump's length for the current edit (0-1)
  • Edit Mode - Determines which manipulation mode is active:
    • Move - Translate the clump at the current position
    • Scale - Scale the clump profile at the current position
    • Rotate - Twist the clump at the current position
    • Pattern - Apply pattern presets at the current position
  • Delete Knot(s) - Removes the manipulation knot at the current position
 

Selected Clump(s) Properties 

  • Override Global Clumping Amount - When enabled, allows per-clump amount control
  • Amount - Controls the clumping strength for selected clumps
  • Amount by Length - Profile curve for controlling amount along strand length
  • Override Global Twist - When enabled, allows per-clump twist control
  • Twist Override - Sets the twist amount for selected clumps
  • Twist by Length - Profile curve for controlling twist along strand length
  • Pattern Indices Override - Lists patterns applied to the selected clumps
  • Add Pattern / Remove Pattern - Buttons to manage patterns on selected clumps
  • Reset Clump(s) - Resets selected clumps to use global settings
 

Clump Patterns 

  • Pattern - Selection of predefined pattern presets:
    • None (default)
    • Custom
    • Rope
    • French braid
    • Dutch braid
    • Side braid
    • Ornatrix braid
  • Frequency - Controls the scale/frequency of the pattern along strand length
  • Blending - Controls how pattern knots blend with one another
  • Phase - Moves the pattern up and down along the clump
  • Thickness - Adjusts how thick individual stems inside the braid should be (value of 1 uses default thickness)
 

Usage Workflow 

  1. After creating clumps, switch to the Clump Manipulator tool
  2. Select one or more clumps in the viewport
  3. Adjust the Edit Position slider to determine where along the clump you want to make changes
  4. Use the Edit Mode options to switch between different manipulation modes:
    • W key - Move mode
    • E key - Scale mode
    • R key - Rotate mode
    • T key - Pattern mode
5. Create manipulation knots by adjusting the manipulator gizmos in the viewport:
  • In Scale mode, drag the scale manipulator to create a clump knot
  • In Rotate mode, twist the clump around its center
  • In Move mode, reposition the clump at the current position
  • In Pattern mode, apply pattern presets to create special effects
6. Fine-tune clump appearance using keyboard modifiers:
  • Hold Control key while adjusting edit position to snap to the nearest existing knot
  • Hold Shift key while adjusting edit position to move the selected knot to the new position
7. Use the Selected Clump(s) Properties to override global settings for the selected clumps:
  • Enable Override Global Clumping Amount to set custom clumping strength
  • Enable Override Global Twist to set custom twist values
  • Adjust the profile curves to control how effects vary along strand length

8. Apply patterns to create special effects like curls, pigtails, swirls, or braids

 

Creating Braids 

Braids are a frequent challenge facing grooming artists. With Ornatrix Maya, you can create in-place, procedural, and highly customizable braids.

 

Basic Braiding Workflow 

  1. Open a scene containing a clump operator
  2. Select it in the operator stack and click the Clump Hairs tool
  3. Click Edit Individual Clumps button to enter Clump manipulator tool
  4. Select the clump you want to braid and change the Edit Mode to "Pattern"
  5. Note that the Clump Patterns controls become enabled (by default, the pattern is set to "None")
  6. Change the pattern to "Rope" to braid the hair inside the clump by twisting the strands
  7. Use the global clumping Amount ramp, or the scale manipulator to set the shape of the braid along the clump length
  8. Use the rotate manipulator to set the correct orientation for your braid
  9. Adjust the "Frequency" to stretch or squeeze the pattern
  10. Change "Phase" value to move the pattern up and down
  11. Change the "Thickness" parameter to adjust how thick individual stems inside the braid should be (value of 1 uses default thickness)
 

Creating Multi-Pattern Braids 

  1. Move the position manipulator further along the clump's length
  2. Set the pattern here to a different type or back to "None" to create a new Pattern knot
  3. Control the transition between patterns using the "Blending" value
  4. Hold down Shift key to adjust the pattern knot position
  5. Try the "French braid" pattern and note how adjusting pattern settings will only apply to the current knot
 

Creating Custom Braid Patterns 

  1. Select the "Custom" pattern option
  2. Click the "Braid Designer" button to open the Ornatrix Braid Designer in a separate window
  3. Note that you can access this designer anytime at "braids.ephere.com" in an internet browser
  4. Create a new braiding pattern from scratch or start with existing presets
  5. Add or remove pattern clumps and adjust individual clump settings to create your own braiding style
  6. When finished, click the "Copy" button to copy the pattern string
  7. Return to Maya and press "Paste from Clipboard" to set your custom pattern
  8. Save and share this string with others
 

Special Notes 

  • The clump manipulations are non-destructive and will respect changes to the input hair shape
  • Multiple clumping operators can be layered for complex effects
  • Each edit mode (Move, Scale, Rotate, Pattern) has its own independent set of knots
  • You can create knots at different positions along the clump for detailed control
  • Use the Edit Position slider or manipulator to navigate along the clump's length
  • The more hairs visible in the viewport during clump generation and editing, the more precise and detailed the clump borders will be
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