Sisir is a new hair-grooming tool being developed as a free standalone application. It is designed as a complete solution for creating a production-ready groom from scratch.
The application uses physics simulation to provide a workflow that feels like working with real hair. Users place guides, which are generated lines that guide the hair, while the simulation handles the rest. The guides fall, drape, and settle naturally under physics as the hair is styled. Once the guides have been placed, hair can be procedurally generated from them and adjusted in a non-destructive way.
During the editing process, users can take advantage of tools such as a precision eraser for individual hair strands, layers with independent visibility and color controls, and hair sets with dedicated materials. Masks can also be painted directly onto the mesh to control hair distribution and length.
The application also supports the creation of hair ties and braids, with the latest update introducing a new Braid Clump Modifier feature. It can also be used to create realistic eyelashes and eyebrows.
Results can be viewed in real time while grooming through the application's dedicated real-time GPU renderer module. The renderer offers features such as melanin pigmentation, dual scattering, skin subsurface scattering, HDR lighting, and cinematic tone mapping.
Another standout feature is the ability to move an existing groom to another character by placing a few markers on the character's head. The process can speed up the workflow by allowing existing work to be reused across multiple characters.
For game developers, Sisir can export hair in the Alembic format, providing compatibility with engines such as Unity and Unreal, as well as other engines that support Alembic curve import.
Sisir is available for free for both personal and commercial projects. According to the developer, the decision to make the tool available for free is tied to the project being a passion project rather than a business. The core motivation is to get the application into the hands of as many artists as possible and see the characters they create.
The developer has also shared plans to continue improving Sisir and turn the application into the ultimate hair creation suite. However, the application is being developed by a single person in their spare time, meaning new features and updates will not happen overnight.
Sisir is compatible with 64-bit Windows and requires a GPU with DirectX 12 support.
For more information and access to Sisir, be sure to visit the tool's website. Tutorials can also be found on the tool's official YouTube channel to help users get started.
