This documentation is currently a pre-release version and is exclusive to members for early access. Please note that it is not yet complete and will evolve as the addon is refined. Thank you for your understanding and support during this phase!
Hair Wrangler is a Blender addon designed to make working with hair systems easier and more intuitive. It focuses on giving artists the ability to use regular curves to style hair, which can feel much more natural and precise compared to Blender’s default grooming tools.
The addon is aimed at simplifying workflows while still offering the flexibility to create everything from realistic hairstyles to abstract designs. It’s especially useful for those who want to spend less time setting up complex systems and more time focusing on the creative aspects of their work.
Hair Wrangler has a growing number of features designed to simplify and enhance the hair creation process in Blender:
Getting started is effortless. Import a fully configured hair system with a single click, complete with everything you need to begin styling. This saves time and allows you to dive straight into the creative process.
At the heart of Hair Wrangler is its ability to let you control hair with regular Blender curves. This means you can shape and style hair strands in a way that feels natural and intuitive, using tools you’re already familiar with. No need to wrestle with complex grooming tools—just create or modify curves, and watch your hair system follow suit.
Hair Wrangler allows you to easily switch between strand-based hair and geometry-based visualizations with a single click. This feature is particularly helpful when you’re trying to refine the overall shape of the hair or need a clearer view of how it flows in 3D space.
If you’ve already created a hairstyle using poly curves, Hair Wrangler makes it easy to integrate them into your workflow. Add them to the system, and they’re automatically converted to strand hair, preserving your effort while giving you the benefits of Hair Wrangler’s features.
Managing hair modifiers can be a tedious process in Blender. Hair Wrangler simplifies this by providing a dedicated UI to add, rearrange, and tweak modifiers without having to dig through menus. This keeps your workflow clean and focused, so you can make adjustments quickly.
Adjusting how your hair system appears in the viewport is straightforward with Hair Wrangler. Whether you’re tweaking density, resolution, or other display settings, you can make adjustments directly in the addon without switching render engines or navigating complex menus.
The first release of Hair Wrangler focuses on providing a strong foundation for curve-based hair creation in Blender. Key features include:
This version focuses on establishing core functionality and addressing the key pain points artists face when creating and managing hair systems in Blender. Future updates will build on this foundation, introducing new features and further refining workflows based on user feedback.
Hair Wrangler has been tested and is fully compatible with Blender 4.1 and later versions. Using an older version of Blender may result in unexpected behaviour or missing features.
Follow these steps to download and install Hair Wrangler:
.zip file to your computer. There’s no need to extract the file..zip file you downloaded and select it.After installing Hair Wrangler, follow these steps to activate it:
N to toggle it).If you encounter issues during installation:
.zip file wasn’t extracted before installation.The Quick Start Guide provides an overview of how to set up and style a hair system using Hair Wrangler. It covers adding a new hair system, styling techniques, and utilizing modifiers to achieve different looks.
Before diving into the Quick Start Guide, it's important to understand a few key terms that are central to using Hair Wrangler:
Hair System:
Refers to a Hair Object in Blender that contains a pre-configured geometry node setup. This setup converts a collection of curves into hair strands, allowing for customization through additional modifiers and styling options. The Hair System acts as the backbone for creating the hair, but the actual styling is done by editing the curves associated with it.
Curve:
A path or line in Blender used to control the shape and direction of hair strands. By editing curves, you can style hair in a natural and intuitive way.
Modifier:
A feature in Blender that applies specific effects to hair strands, such as duplicating strands for added volume, creating clumps for a natural look, or adding noise for a more organic feel. Modifiers enhance and customize the hair system, allowing for a wide range of styles and effects to be achieved.
The first thing you want to do when using Hair Wrangler is add a new hair system.
Add your first Hair System:
N to open the N-Panel and select the Hair Wrangler tab.
This will import a pre-configured hair system into your scene, alongside a curve/lock of hair.
It will also import a collection into the Outliner with this structure:
dm3d-hair collection: Contains the dm3d-hair-curves collection, and DM3D Hair System
dm3d-hair-curves collection: Contains the curves that are converted into hair strands.
dm3d-hair-curve.001: An initial curve that’s imported by default.
DM3D Hair System: This is the system that converts the curves above into hair strands.