Generate XGen menu

XGen

XGen Editor

If your scene contains an XGen Description, such as a hair groom or instanced geometry, the XGen Editor appears. Otherwise, the Getting started with XGen screen appears. Follow the on-screen instructions to start a hair groom or instance geometry.

The XGen Editor lets you create and edit hair, fur, and instanced geometry using XGen Descriptions.

XGen Library

Opens the XGen Library Window, which lets you create hair, fur, and instanced geometry from selected XGen presets.

See Create hair or fur using an XGen preset.

Create Description

Opens the Create XGen Description window, which lets you create hair, fur and instanced geometry.

See Create hair and fur with gooming brushes, Create hair or fur with spline curves, and Instance primitive and archive geometry.

Import Collections or Descriptions

Opens the Import Collections or Descriptions window, which lets you load Collection (.xgen) or Description (.xdsc) files into the current scene.

Note: When you import a Description into the current scene, the target surface geometry must have the same topology as the original geometry. Otherwise, any Ptex maps associated with the Description have no effect.

Select Generate > Import Collections or Descriptions to set Import Collections or Descriptions options.

See also Export and import XGen Collections and Descriptions.

Export Collections or Descriptions

Opens the Export Collections or Descriptions window, which lets you save Collection (.xgen) or Description (.xdsc) files. You can load Collection or Description files into the current scene or other scenes.

Select Generate > Export Collections or Descriptions to set Export Collections or Descriptions options.

See also Export and import XGen Collections and Descriptions.

Export Selection as Archive(s)

Opens the Export Selection as Archive(s) window, which lets you save Maya geometry in a scene file as XGen archive geometry. When you export the geometry, Maya creates archive (.xarc) files and other files that contain information about geometry, its shading network, and render proxies.

Select Generate > Export Selection as Archive(s) to set Export Selection as Archive(s) options.

See also Create custom archives.

Batch Convert Scenes to XGen Archive(s)

Opens the Batch Convert Scenes to XGen Archive(s) window, which lets you convert Maya geometry in selected scenes to XGen archive geometry. When selected for conversion, Maya creates archive (.xarc) files (and other supporting archive files). For information about the files created in the conversion, see Custom archive primitives and Create custom archives.

Select Generate > Batch Convert Scene to XGen Archive(s) to set Batch Convert Scenes to Archives options.

Convert XGen Primitives to Polygons

Lets you convert instanced XGen spline primitives to polygon objects.

Select Generate > Convert XGen Primitives to Polygons > to set Convert Primitives to Polygons Options. See also Convert XGen hair and fur to Maya geometry.

Convert to Interactive Groom

Lets you convert legacy XGen Descriptions, meaning guides-based or groomable splines Descriptions, to interactive groom Descriptions.

Import Preset

Opens the Import Preset window, which lets you apply an XGen preset Description to the selected mesh. Use XGen presets as a starting point for hair and fur grooms and instanced geometry or as a way of creating shot-based grooms, landscapes, and environments. XGen presets are topology independent.

You can also select Genetrate > Import Preset from the XGen Editor to set the Import XGen preset options. See also Create hair, fur, or instanced geometry using XGen presets.

Export as Preset

Opens the Export Preset window, which lets you save the selected Description as an XGen preset. You can then apply the preset to other mesh objects. Presets also provide a way of sharing and transferring XGen Descriptions in production pipelines.

Select File > Export Preset from the XGen Editor to set Export Preset options. See Save hair, fur, or instanced geometry as XGen presets.

Important:

• You cannot create XGen presets from a groomable splines Description.
• If you save a preset that contains Ptex-based mask or region maps, Maya creates a Ptex map expression with the necessary connections in the preset file. You must repaint the map values on the preset's target mesh (see Create hair or fur using XGen presets).
• XGen presets do not support animated attributes.

Create Interactive Groom Splines

Creates interactive groom splines for hair and fur on a selected mesh object or selected faces of a mesh object.

Select Generate > Create Interactive Groom Splines > to set Create Interactive Groom Splines Options.

See also Create hair and fur using interactive grooming tools.

Interactive Grooming Editor

Opens the XGen Interactive Groom Editor, which is your main tool for creating, editing, and managing Descriptions, modifiers, and sculpting layers for interactive grooming.

See XGen Interactive Groom Editor.

Interactive Groom Tools

Lets you groom hair and fur using a brush-based tools. You can also access these tools by clicking the Interactive Groom tool icons from the XGen shelf. For a list of these tool see Interactive Groom Tools.

Select Generate > Interactive Grooming Tools <tool name> > to set the corresponding grooming tool settings.

Cache

Lets you save hair and fur created by interactive groom spline Descriptions to Alembic cache files. You can then load the cache file from a network location or local hard-drive into your scene at a later time.

Use caching to save key-frames hair deformations, hair animations or simulations driven by Linear Wire and Guide modifiers.

When you select multiple Descriptions for caching, all of the data is saved to a single Alembic cache file. When you import this cache, Maya automatically creates the node networks for each Description.

See XGen Caching submenu.

Convert Interactive Groom to Polygons

Lets you convert hair and fur created by interactive grooming splines to polygon objects.

Select Generate > Convert Interactive Groom to Polygons > to set Convert Interactive Groom to Polygons Options. See also Convert XGen hair and fur to Maya geometry.

Display HUD

Displays grooming statistics for the interactive grooming objects in the scene, including hair count, graphics processor unit (GPU) memory usage, active Description, sculpt layer, and interactive groom tool.

The HUD appearing in the top-left area of the scene view displays the following information:

XGen Splines	Total hairs for all the Descriptions in the scene.	Total hairs for all the selected Description(s).	Total selected hairs.
GPU Memory	Total available.	Total used by all the Descriptions in scene.	Total used by the selected Description(s).

The HUD appearing in the bottom-center area of the scene view displays the following information:

Grooming On	Active Description	Active Sculpting modifier	Active Sculpting layer
Grooming Tool	Active interactive grooming tool.