3D Grooming

Import the head

Import a head model to act as the grooming scalp. Set the file's scale units correctly at import — centimetres for Unreal Engine, metres for Blender — because fixing scale afterwards means redoing placement.

1. Import the head mesh

   Click Import Head Model (Ctrl+I) and choose the scale units. HairStorm then builds a raycast surface cache in the background.

   

2. Wait for the surface cache

   Grooming tools stay locked until the cache finishes. This is not a hang — the tools need a surface to project onto.

3. Draw cards onto the scalp

   Press B for Draw Strips and draw card guide paths directly on the head surface.

   

4. Set the draw parameters

   The toolbar parameters govern what each new strip looks like before you place it.

   

5. Shape the cards

   Select with Q, then use Twist (T) to rotate card normals, Width Size (W) for thickness, and Width Bend (E) for curvature across the card.

   

6. Use snapping to keep placement even

   Snap levels keep successive strips regularly spaced instead of drifting.

   

12 Dedicated groom tools & 3D brushes

HairStorm provides a dedicated 12-tool suite split between geometric curve placement tools and interactive 3D sculpting brushes. Once the surface cache is ready, pick a tool from the toolbar or press its shortcut. Sculpting brushes and curve tools project conformed cards onto the cache; Select and hierarchy tools work universally.

Duplicate, move & extend

In Select mode (Q), every card spline displays a green root handle, interior deformation handles, and a tip handle. You can move, stamp, extend, and slide cards directly on the scalp surface using modifier keys.

Mirror & X-Symmetry

HairStorm includes native sagittal symmetry tools so you never have to author both sides of a hairstyle manually.

1. Mirror Selected Cards

   Select one or more card strips and click the Mirror Cards button () on the Viewport Toolbar. The engine inverts coordinates across the sagittal plane (x → −x on root, normal, tangent, and all spline guide points), re-normalizes the card coordinate frame, generates new unique card IDs, and selects the new mirrored copies.

2. Live X-Symmetry Mode ( Y )

   Press Y or click the symmetry toggle () in the Groom Hotbox or toolbar. An illuminated red center loop appears along the head model's X = 0 sagittal plane. When drawing conformed cards with Draw Strips (B) or Loft Draw Strips (L), the engine automatically creates and previews an exact conformed mirrored twin strip on the opposite side in real time.

Fill Gap interpolation

Bridge open gaps and parting lines on the character scalp without drawing every card by hand.

1. Select boundary cards

   Select two or more conformed card strips that flank an open gap on the scalp surface.

2. Trigger Fill Gap ( G )

   Press G or click Fill Gap in the Groom Hotbox. The engine's spline interpolator generates conformed intermediate card strips bridging the boundary cards:

   • Configurable Step Count: Generate between 1 and 32 in-between cards (default: 3).
   • Width Fan Factor: Adjust width flare or taper (0.2× to 3.0×, default 1.0×) across the bridge.
   • Surface Conformance: Interpolated spline vertices snap directly to the surface cache with active snap-level standoff offsets.
   • Profile & Length Preservation: Maintains constant arc length and smoothly blends card width, twist, and bend profiles from boundary card A to B.

Loft strips & fade haircut

Press L to activate Loft Draw Strips. This two-stroke dual-rail tool provides two dedicated creation modes:

Geometry types & braids

HairStorm cards are not limited to flat strips. In the Card Properties panel, you can switch any selected card between five distinct geometry types:

Hotbox & isolate modes

Dense character grooms require fast navigation and uncluttered viewports:

Formats and scale units

Supported head import formats and what each scale unit converts to.

Validate the groom

Orbit the head and check the silhouette from front, side and back before exporting. Look for cards floating off the scalp, cards intersecting each other at the parting, and twist that makes a card disappear edge-on under the environment light.