Rendering Ornatrix Hair with Arnold Plug-in in Maya

Maya users who want to render their characters' hair using Arnold may encounter some issues. However, by following a few simple steps and downloading the right plug-in, you can achieve high-quality results.

Firstly, it's important to note that Maya 2017 comes bundled with MTOA (Multi-Threaded Renderer) version 1.3.0. While this is a decent starting point, there are some bugs that have been fixed in later versions of MTOA, particularly MTOA 1.3.1. Therefore, it's recommended to download the official MtoA plug-in from SolidAngle's website.

Once you've installed the latest version of MTOA, setting up your scene renderer is a breeze. Simply switch your scene renderer to Arnold, and Ornatrix will automatically detect and render your hair. This is because Ornatrix has built-in support for rendering hair using Arnold, making it easy to create realistic hair simulations.

However, some users may encounter issues with their groom changing when moving vertices on the distribution surface or clumps disappearing when reloading the scene. These are known bugs that have been reported by users, but they can be easily fixed by updating your plug-in to the latest version.

Other common issues include being unable to manipulate guide roots using transformation tools, guide shape changes after duplicating a part of the base mesh, strands flipping on a deforming base mesh, and guides or hair not displaying in the viewport. Fortunately, these issues are all well-documented online, with tutorials and solutions available for each one.

In addition to rendering hair, Ornatrix is also useful for creating other types of hair and facial features, such as beards, eyelashes, and eyebrows. With its advanced tools and parameters, you can control the look and behavior of your characters' hair in great detail.

For example, you can use mesh vertex colors to control the color and texture of your hair, or create complex hairstyles using Ornatrix's built-in tools. You can even use Ornatrix to create realistic facial hair breakdowns, like the one shown in a making-of tutorial on YouTube.

Overall, rendering Ornatrix hair with Arnold plug-in in Maya is a relatively straightforward process that requires only a few simple steps and some basic knowledge of the software. By following these tips and troubleshooting common issues, you can achieve high-quality results and create realistic characters for your animation projects.

Arnold plug in maya