Strand based vs fiber mesh hair

spswafford

If there is already a thread covering the difference, please direct me there.

If not, what's the difference? Is either really useful? Is there certain circumstances where one is better than the other?

margrave

They're essentially the same thing.

Fibermesh hair is only useful for very short hair, since all the strands have to be loaded into memory at once and they pretty much tank your framerate. Strand-based hair uses a handful of "guide hairs" to shape the overall hair, and all the strands between them are interpolated during rendering so your computer doesn't crap out when you're posing.

To summarize:

Fibermesh = short hair

Strand-based = long hair

benniewoodell

margrave said:

They're essentially the same thing.

Fibermesh hair is only useful for very short hair, since all the strands have to be loaded into memory at once and they pretty much tank your framerate. Strand-based hair uses a handful of "guide hairs" to shape the overall hair, and all the strands between them are interpolated during rendering so your computer doesn't crap out when you're posing.

To summarize:

Fibermesh = short hair

Strand-based = long hair

Thank you for this explaination as I was always wondering the same! 

Richard Haseltine

I don't think that is quite correct. Fibermesh is a term Pixologic inventyed for the hair system in ZBrush. It is used for models created there, and often for mdoels created elsewhere, and exported to OBJ with each hair being a strip (or sometimes a cylinder). Fibermesh hair is not strandbased - it is made up of polygons with at least three vertices - and does not require a specific version of DS. Strand-based hair is made up of two vertex polygons - it really is a strand - and is usually set up for dForce; it requires a recent version of DS (one with the Strand-based Hair Editor). The usage of these terms is sometimes sloppy but the foregoing should be the case.

Sevrin

Standard fibremesh hair as Richard described is most commonly used for eyelashes and  eyebrows, and in short-to-medium length hair.  Neftis3D and RedzStudio are a two vendors who make a lot of nice fibremesh hair.

margrave

Richard Haseltine said:

I don't think that is quite correct. Fibermesh is a term Pixologic inventyed for the hair system in ZBrush. It is used for models created there, and often for mdoels created elsewhere, and exported to OBJ with each hair being a strip (or sometimes a cylinder). Fibermesh hair is not strandbased - it is made up of polygons with at least three vertices - and does not require a specific version of DS. Strand-based hair is made up of two vertex polygons - it really is a strand - and is usually set up for dForce; it requires a recent version of DS (one with the Strand-based Hair Editor). The usage of these terms is sometimes sloppy but the foregoing should be the case.

Are the interpolated child hairs created when rendering two-vertex polygons, or three-vertex polygons?

Richard Haseltine

margrave said:

Richard Haseltine said:

I don't think that is quite correct. Fibermesh is a term Pixologic inventyed for the hair system in ZBrush. It is used for models created there, and often for mdoels created elsewhere, and exported to OBJ with each hair being a strip (or sometimes a cylinder). Fibermesh hair is not strandbased - it is made up of polygons with at least three vertices - and does not require a specific version of DS. Strand-based hair is made up of two vertex polygons - it really is a strand - and is usually set up for dForce; it requires a recent version of DS (one with the Strand-based Hair Editor). The usage of these terms is sometimes sloppy but the foregoing should be the case.

Are the interpolated child hairs created when rendering two-vertex polygons, or three-vertex polygons?

They are converted into stips for rendering as DS does not (yet, as far as I recall) use the new native dForce hairs - so the practical answer is that they are polygons with more than two vertices (four, I think) though I don't know if they are created that way or created as strands and then broadened into strips (I would think the latter, though).

BlueFingers

I find strand-based hair incredibly taxing on my system, I stay away from it for that reason. Never had an issue with fibermesh hair, while SBH can bring my system down. And I am really not sure if SBH looks that much better.

margrave

Richard Haseltine said:

margrave said:

Richard Haseltine said:

I don't think that is quite correct. Fibermesh is a term Pixologic inventyed for the hair system in ZBrush. It is used for models created there, and often for mdoels created elsewhere, and exported to OBJ with each hair being a strip (or sometimes a cylinder). Fibermesh hair is not strandbased - it is made up of polygons with at least three vertices - and does not require a specific version of DS. Strand-based hair is made up of two vertex polygons - it really is a strand - and is usually set up for dForce; it requires a recent version of DS (one with the Strand-based Hair Editor). The usage of these terms is sometimes sloppy but the foregoing should be the case.

Are the interpolated child hairs created when rendering two-vertex polygons, or three-vertex polygons?

They are converted into stips for rendering as DS does not (yet, as far as I recall) use the new native dForce hairs - so the practical answer is that they are polygons with more than two vertices (four, I think) though I don't know if they are created that way or created as strands and then broadened into strips (I would think the latter, though).

So once it's sent to Iray to be rendered, it effectively becomes a mesh like fibermesh hair, albeit with four vertices instead of three? In other words, both of them are completely polygonal, as opposed to transparency-based hair cards like most Daz hair?

MelissaGT

BlueFingers said:

I find strand-based hair incredibly taxing on my system, I stay away from it for that reason. Never had an issue with fibermesh hair, while SBH can bring my system down. And I am really not sure if SBH looks that much better.

SBH is extremely taxing on my system. It also looks horrible when compared to top-shelf transmapped hair such as that made by PA's like Windfield, etc. SBH, in my opinion, is only good for things like fur, best shown by AM.  

Richard Haseltine

margrave said:

Richard Haseltine said:

margrave said:

Richard Haseltine said:

I don't think that is quite correct. Fibermesh is a term Pixologic inventyed for the hair system in ZBrush. It is used for models created there, and often for mdoels created elsewhere, and exported to OBJ with each hair being a strip (or sometimes a cylinder). Fibermesh hair is not strandbased - it is made up of polygons with at least three vertices - and does not require a specific version of DS. Strand-based hair is made up of two vertex polygons - it really is a strand - and is usually set up for dForce; it requires a recent version of DS (one with the Strand-based Hair Editor). The usage of these terms is sometimes sloppy but the foregoing should be the case.

Are the interpolated child hairs created when rendering two-vertex polygons, or three-vertex polygons?

They are converted into stips for rendering as DS does not (yet, as far as I recall) use the new native dForce hairs - so the practical answer is that they are polygons with more than two vertices (four, I think) though I don't know if they are created that way or created as strands and then broadened into strips (I would think the latter, though).

So once it's sent to Iray to be rendered, it effectively becomes a mesh like fibermesh hair, albeit with four vertices instead of three? In other words, both of them are completely polygonal, as opposed to transparency-based hair cards like most Daz hair?

I believe fibermesh from ZBrush is geenrally quads too - I said at least three to distinguish it from a two vertex polygon, which has no area