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This page provides a tutorial for using the Fur Sampler node with V-Ray Fur.

Overview

This tutorial will cover the standard setup for the VRayFurSampler node for adding variation to a fur system. For more information on the node itself, see the V-Ray Fur Sampler page.

The V-Ray Fur Sampler is set up by connecting the Distance Along Strand, Distance Along Strand Absolute, or Random By Strand to a 2D driven texture. This is done most commonly by using a Maya ramp node.

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V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_GrassRender_v01.png

Tutorial Assets

To download the files used in this tutorial, please click on the button below.

Tutorial Steps

In this tutorial, we will create color variations over the fur using VRayMtl and a ramp.

Apply V-RayMtl to fur system

Start by adding a plain gray VRayMtl to the fur object.
Do a test rendering to see the result.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_GrayCarpet_v01.png Resulting Render

Set up ramp

1. Create both a ramp and a VRayFurSampler Node.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_NewNodes_v01.png

2. Disconnect the place2dtexture node from the ramp by selecting and deleting the inputs.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_lostConnections_v01.png

3. Expand the Uv Coord input for the ramp so you can see both U Coord and V Coord.

4. Click on VRayFurSampler's white output and select Other... to bring up the output selection window. From here, either distanceAlongStrand, Distance Along StrandAbsolute, or randomByStrand can be selected. Here, we will choose randomByStrand.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_selectOutputs_v01.png

5. Connect this output from the VRayFurSampler to the V Coord input of the ramp.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_VCoordsControlRamps_v01.png

Color the Fur

1. Connect the ramp to the desired VRayMtl channel. Since we are affecting color in this tutorial, we connect to the Diffuse Color channel for the VRayMtl.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_DiffuseColor_v01.png

2. Finally, select the desired colors for the ramp. Here are some examples:

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_PurpleInputRamp_v02.png The ramp is driven by the Random By Strand parameter.
The ramp is connected to the VRayMtl's Diffuse Color.
Multiple colors set with no interpolation; each strand gets one of the four colors available.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_RandomByStrand_PurpleCyanCarpet_v01.png

Resulting Render

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_GrassInputRamp_v02.png

The ramp is driven by the Distance Along Strand parameter.

The ramp is connected to the VRayMtl's Diffuse Color.
Multiple colors set with smooth interpolation. The full ramp is mapped onto each strand regardless of the strand's length.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > Maya2016_VRay34003_VRayFurSampler_GrassRender_v01.png

Resulting Render

Using Distance Along Strand Absolute

The Distance Along Strand Absolute parameter allows length-depending mapping. All fur strands can have a root color all up to the same length followed by the rest of the ramp. For additional information and examples, see the Hair Sampler Texture Setup page.

V-Ray for Maya > Fur Sampler Texture Setup > FurSampler_DistanceNormalizedNodes.png

This ramp is driven by the Distance Along Strand Absolute parameter.
It works with the Hair Max Distance parameter to provide length-dependent mapping.