AUTHENTIC HAIRSTYLES: ANIMATING XGEN IN A SHOT-BASED WORKFLOW (5 Day, Advanced)

About Course

Course Details

Course Schedule

Learn professional hair and fur simulation inside a real VFX pipeline. This short, intensive course reveals the complete process behind lifelike hair creation using Maya’s XGen – the same methods used in studio productions.
Instead of theoretical demos, you’ll build a dynamic, production-ready hair system that can adapt to multiple shots efficiently.
Perfect for artists who want to elevate their character work and understand how professionals think, optimize, and deliver results.

*Course descriptions are subject to change as the software evolves and new tools are introduced, ensuring that our course content remains current and accurately reflects the latest updates.

*Die Kursbeschreibungen können sich ändern, wenn sich die Software weiterentwickelt und neue Tools hinzukommen, sodass unsere Kursinhalte stets aktuell bleiben und die neuesten Updates widerspiegeln.

Understand how and why we work with dedicated XGen patches
Learn how to create caches out of your animation
Dive into the world of XGen by creating descriptions and collections, and create guides for your character's hair
Take your guides to the next level by converting them to dynamic hair curves, ensuring they behave realistically
Gather the caches to bring your XGen to life
Learn the final steps to bring all elements together for rendering, making your character come to life with realistic hair and fur

Course Content

Day 1 – Kickoff
Quote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: …especially when Houdini crashes and imagination is literally all you have left. Welcome to the course.

Day 1 – Kickoff

Day 2 – Creativity Boost
Quote: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: If your simulation explodes today… that’s just your intelligence partying.

Day 3 – Technical Motivation
Quote: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — Dalai Lama Humorous note: Small parameter changes can break your scene completely. Power lives in tiny values.

Day 4 – FX Spirit
Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela Humorous note: Like that render that says “2 hours remaining”… for 19 hours. Keep going — you’re close.

Day 5 – Farewell Day
Quote: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs Humorous note: If you love CGI and VFX, you’re officially doomed (in the best way). Keep creating magic!

Add this certificate to your resume to demonstrate your skills & increase your chances of getting noticed.

AUTHENTIC HAIRSTYLES: ANIMATING XGEN IN A SHOT-BASED WORKFLOW (5 Day, Advanced)

About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Day 1 – Kickoff
Quote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: …especially when Houdini crashes and imagination is literally all you have left. Welcome to the course.

Day 1 – Kickoff

Day 2 – Creativity Boost
Quote: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: If your simulation explodes today… that’s just your intelligence partying.

Day 2 – Creativity Boost

Day 3 – Technical Motivation
Quote: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — Dalai Lama Humorous note: Small parameter changes can break your scene completely. Power lives in tiny values.

Day 3 – Technical Motivation

Day 4 – FX Spirit
Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela Humorous note: Like that render that says “2 hours remaining”… for 19 hours. Keep going — you’re close.

Day 4 – FX Spirit

Day 5 – Farewell Day
Quote: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs Humorous note: If you love CGI and VFX, you’re officially doomed (in the best way). Keep creating magic!

Day 5 – Farewell Day

Earn a certificate

Quick Links

Resources

Support

About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Day 1 – Kickoff Quote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: …especially when Houdini crashes and imagination is literally all you have left. Welcome to the course.

Day 1 – Kickoff

Day 2 – Creativity Boost Quote: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: If your simulation explodes today… that’s just your intelligence partying.

Day 2 – Creativity Boost

Day 3 – Technical Motivation Quote: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — Dalai Lama Humorous note: Small parameter changes can break your scene completely. Power lives in tiny values.

Day 3 – Technical Motivation

Day 4 – FX Spirit Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela Humorous note: Like that render that says “2 hours remaining”… for 19 hours. Keep going — you’re close.

Day 4 – FX Spirit

Day 5 – Farewell Day Quote: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs Humorous note: If you love CGI and VFX, you’re officially doomed (in the best way). Keep creating magic!

Day 5 – Farewell Day

Earn a certificate

Quick Links

Resources

Support

Day 1 – Kickoff
Quote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: …especially when Houdini crashes and imagination is literally all you have left. Welcome to the course.

Day 2 – Creativity Boost
Quote: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” —Albert Einstein Humorous note: If your simulation explodes today… that’s just your intelligence partying.

Day 3 – Technical Motivation
Quote: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — Dalai Lama Humorous note: Small parameter changes can break your scene completely. Power lives in tiny values.

Day 4 – FX Spirit
Quote: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela Humorous note: Like that render that says “2 hours remaining”… for 19 hours. Keep going — you’re close.

Day 5 – Farewell Day
Quote: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs Humorous note: If you love CGI and VFX, you’re officially doomed (in the best way). Keep creating magic!