Merging and emulating

If you want to duplicate one Fur node onto another model, you can merge or emulate it. While both merging and emulating are ways to copy the shape and attributes of one Fur node onto another Fur node, they have slightly different outcomes.

Merging fur

Merging transfers one Fur node onto another. It is a form of duplicating with advanced options, which are available in the Merge Fur Options menu.

If you want the most exact transfer possible, make sure the following attributes on the target Fur node match the source Fur node before merging:

• Master Density
• Width
• Tip Scale
• Tip Scale Offset
• CVs Per Strand

While merging works across meshes with different topology/UVs, the target growth mesh must have a Fur node on it for merging to function. Although the Fur node attributes are not retained during a merge, if you create a paint mesh using the merged Fur node, the values are the same.

During the merge operation, the source strands don't get added to the target node. Instead, the already-existing target strands are modified to resemble the nearest source strands. The root position of the target strands doesn't get changed during a merge operation.

The merge operation only modifies enabled strands. If you want to change a subset of the target node, you can select the strands you want to modify and only those are changed. Keep in mind that while the merge may remove hairs (by setting their density scale to 0), it does not bring back hairs that are already disabled, so you may have to do that manually before merging.

Emulating fur

Emulating transfers one Fur node onto another. It is a form of duplicating, and retains all attributes of the source Fur node in the target growth mesh. You do not have to make sure any attributes match between the source and target Fur nodes, and there are no options to customize the duplication process.

Similar to merging, you must create a target Fur node on the target growth mesh before emulating, and you can also generate a paint mesh.