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| This is the first NeoFur asset we created for V:SotN |
I've briefly spoken about this tool with my discord server. NeoFur is an amazing tool that has been designed by Neoglyphic Studios for use with Unreal Engine 4. This outstanding technology will allow us to render dynamic, shaded fur, feathers, and fibers on our models in game, in real time.
NeoFur works by using a shading technique called "shells and fins". Basically, fur strands are generated from the geometry of the mesh that they're applied to. The direction and flow, as well as the growth length can be changed in different ways by the use of growth meshes, morph targets, and masks. It's easiest to visualize this technique by thinking of the fur strands as a stack of wafers that come off of the model and have a favored direction for the stack to lean. From really up close, this technique really doesn't look too good if you can see all the shells. If done correctly though, from a respectable distance, the outcome is astonishing!
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| A close up view of our first fur asset. Notice how you can't see the individual shells. |
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| The fur length has been exaggerated and shell counts reduced for what would be recommended to better show how the "shell shading" technique works. Fur is 10 units long in this example and only has ~15 shells. |
Mentioned earlier, what makes this tool even more impressive is that the fur strands that are rendered are also dynamic! This means that gravity affects each strand, and the character's movement can dynamically alter the positioning of each fur strand. If that wasn't enough for simulation, the fur is also affected by wind and radial force actors in Unreal Engine 4!
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| A .gif of simulated fur physics. |
As far as detailed rendering goes, fur stands are also able to receive and cast shadows, which adds a whole new layer of depth to the fur. Not only can individual strands cast and receive shadows, but other advanced shading techniques like rim lighting, ambient occlusion, and advanced specular techniques can easily be implemented. Below, you can see the difference between casting and receiving self shadows (left), compared to not receiving self shadows (right).
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| Self and world shadow casting example using different colored light sources. |
All of these previous images have been test images that were generated by using the tool in our PreAlpha map. If you'd like to get access to NeoFur, check out NeoFur on Neoglyphic's website. If you're on the edge of deciding if you want to buy it or not, you can visit that link and download a demo project that shows off all of NeoFur's features and even shows off some content examples.
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| A collection of NeoFur assets that are shown off in their demo project. |
I'm really looking forward to getting character models in game and actually adding some realistic fur to them!
