How to add transparent wisps to mesh hair?

[Karla Marama]

Hi!

So, I've recently posted a question reguarding the creation of mesh hair and had a huge problem with weight painting.

I've figured that out for the most part and now comes the other thing holding me back from fully having it all down.

 

When I create my mesh style it comes out as one prim, like most or all mesh.

So, since I texture it in SL, via texture drop over the mesh rezzed out on the ground, how do I texture it with two different textures? The base texture, and wisps?

 

I know that UV mapping in my 3d editor program can achieve this, and I use Blender 2.63.

I know how to add a solid texture to my hair in the program but whenever I attempt to add a transparent wisp texture for flyaways, it just refuses to go transparent. The background of it will either be white or black with rainbow type particles around it. I really don't understand why it's happening.

 

I really didn't want to pay for classes on this since I've come so far on my own improvising, it's just this one things that I don't entirely understand.

If anyone has any ideas of what my problem might be, I'd really appreciate any help.

HairFair is in 2 months! So, I'm really hoping to figure this last step out.

Here's a photo that may be helpful.

 

Thank you in advance. **Only uploaded images may be used in postings**://secondlife.i.lithium.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.gif" border="0" alt=":smileyhappy:" title="Smiley Happy" />

[Rahkis Andel]

You have to have alpha transparency/z transparancy enabled in your material settings or your textures will never show up as transparent. I hope that's your issue, because it'll be fixed in a matter of seconds and you can move on.

PS: There really aren't much of any good classes focused on Blender in existence, even if you did want to pay for them.

[Chic Aeon]

Hi --

I don't make hair so this might not be helpful, but here is a little general mesh logic for you that you can think about. Your hair doesn't NEED to come into world as one joined object -- at least I don't think it does. You could perhaps join all the solid part that will become rigged and then make a second object (joining of all your wispy parts which in the hair I have seen is not rigged but often flexi). They could be uploaded as a linkset of two objects each with a different material (or more if needed). Then you should be able to texture them easily in world and link.

Again, don't make hair so this may not be relevant for what you have to do.

ALSO, before you go way over to the "wispy" side of the mesh equation I suggest you do some in world testing and make sure you hair actually works. I get hair sometimes with those pretty wispy things and because of the transparency (this from other forum posts) the hair disappears EACH and EVERY time I teleport. Most hair doesn't do that. So before you make tons of styles, getting that worked out would be good. I avoid some big name hair makers because of that issue with their hairs.

 

Good luck!!!!  Yeah Hair Fair!

[Karla Marama]

Ty so much! I'll try this. :]!

[Karla Marama]

WOW! I never thought of that!!!!!!!!

That makes so much sense. It has been rocket science to me that people have mesh hairs with wisps + a base texture but I think this is definitely a good idea. 

Gonna try it and see how it goes!

 

<3 tysm.

[Karla Marama]

 

For some reason, even with z transparency checked.. it still refuses to render as transparent for me. I'm thinking maybe I'm doing something wrong but I have no idea what.

There is one lady who offers classes. I paid her for one session since I only had a couple questions and didnt really need her full service since I basically improvised it all. She charged $30 an hour. I was so desperate that I paid for an hour and she actually ended up crashing so many times and that counted towards my hour.... It was a mess. I haven't really heard about any decent classes either. It would be really nice to get this down because I've been improvising for about 8 months. >.<

Ty so much for your time.

[Codewarrior Congrejo]

To see Alphatextures in your 3D viewport already correctly is a play between several settings: Material, Viewport, and Rendertype.

With Solid Shade on, and no further changes it won't display in realtime in your 3D viewport as transparent.

The general settings are changing how it will be 'rendered' once you actually render it into an image/frame.

To get your Alphatextures to show up in realtime in your 3D viewport haver a look at this lil tutorial here: 
http://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/blender/scene-view-alpha-transparency.php

 

Hope this helps you to understand better which settings to change.

 

Cheers, Code

[Rhys Goode]

I don't know much about hair, but I saw some really great mesh/flexy dress hybids this weekend.  Makes me think.....

[Karla Marama]

Thank you so much for this tutorial. I've been looking all over for something like it. Gonna give it a try (:!

[Karla Marama]

Ooh.. That sounds neat. It'll be so amazing if someday mesh'll become flexi *o*