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The Hair Sampler node is set up by connecting an output from to a 2D-driven texture (Color to UVW); most commonly a ramp Ramp. This example shows the Hair Sampler's Random By Strand attribute output to control the V channel of the Color to UVW node, connected to a Ramp node. The Ramp's output is connected to a VRayHairNextMtl V-Ray Hair Next Material's Dye Color parameter.

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Distance Along Strand

Here, the Hair Sampler is used to create variation in the color along the length of a hair strand to give hair a more natural look. This is done by using the Hair Sampler's Distance Along Strand attribute  output to control the V channel of a Color to UVW, connected to a Ramp node. The Ramp's output is connected to a Hair Next 's Dye Color parameter. Note that the full ramp Ramp is mapped along each strand regardless of the strand's length.

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This example uses the Hair Sampler's Distance Along Strand Absolute output. Similar to the previous example, it controls the V channel of a Color to UVW that is then connected to a Ramp. The Ramp is connected to a Hair Next's Dye Color parameter. However, this node uses the Hair Max Distance to allow length-dependent mapping. The renders below use the same setup and ramp Ramp but with different Hair Max Distance values. Note that when Hair Max Distance is lower than the actual length of the hair strand, the gradient is repeated over the length of the hair strand.

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This final example uses the Hair Sampler's Position Across Strand option output. Unlike the previous examples, it controls the U channel of a Color to UVW node, connected to a ramp Ramp. The Ramp is connected to a Hair NextNext node's Transparency parameterTransparency parameter. Note how the hair color looks more transparent to the sides of each hair compared to the other render, which did not use a rampRamp.