Curve to Curls

Overview

Sometimes when you're working in XGen, instead of using a modifier to curl hair, you might want to actually make the curve curly. This is especially handy for simulation or CFX work and if you're using guide animation. That's where this tool comes in—it helps you craft curly curves.

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Curl Layer UI

Create Curl Layer:

• Select curve(s), and click on this button to create a new curl layer.

Refresh List:

• Sometimes a layer is deleted or when a new Maya scene is opened, click on this button to refresh the layer list so it can pick up correct layers in current scene.

Extract All Layers:

• Extracts curves from all curl layers.

Remove All Layers:

• Delete all layers and the setup.

Curl Control UI

Select Curls:

• Click on this bottom on the very top of the UI to quickly select all curls in this layer.

Template On Curve Toggle:

• When this is turn on, curve toggling will also set template to the geometry. Sometimes this allows easier viewing of the geometry while moving CV's of curves.

Display Width:

• Controls the thickness of curl geometries. This is for the purpose of previewing curls and will not affect the outcome of curve extraction.

Smoothness:

• Increase the smoothness if the curl has more loops to get smoother result. The higher the smoothness is, the longer it will take to extract curve(s).

Rotation:

• ​Spins all curl(s) around the central axis (curl curves).

Scale:

• Controls the size of curl radius.

Frequency:

• The higher the frequency, the more loops will be applied to the curl.

​Noise Scale:

• Coupled with the Noise Frequency to apply noise offset to the curl.

​Noise Frequency:

• This rate of noise. Larger values result in more curls.

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