HairStorm Buy HairStorm
Menu

Getting Started

Install HairStorm, learn where everything lives in the workspace, and open a project ready for the six-stage hair-card pipeline.

This guide is the setup pass that comes before the pipeline. By the end you will have HairStorm running, a character head imported, and a project open — ready for Stage 1.

Setup

Workstation requirements

HairStorm is a Windows desktop application. Install it, start the trial or enter a license key, and have your character head asset ready before you open a project.

Scroll horizontally to view all columns.

What you need before opening a project
Requirement What to use Why it matters
Workstation Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. A dedicated GPU is recommended. The viewport shades hair with PBR specular and anisotropic response as you work.
License tier The 7-day free trial, or a Personal, Professional or Studio key. Your tier decides maximum bake resolution and whether the UV Cards and Groom workspaces open. See the plan reference.
Character head An OBJ, glTF, GLB or FBX head model. Provides the scalp surface that guide curves snap to and that cards are groomed onto in Stage 5.
Orientation

Workspace layout & navigation

HairStorm opens into a viewport with a toolbar above it and panels to the left. Four controls account for most of the navigation you will do, so it is worth finding them before you start.

The viewport toolbar. History sits on the left, then preview and shading controls, then settings and export on the right — the same bar you return to at every stage. · select to enlarge
The workspace tabs. Each pipeline stage has its own tab: 3D and 2D for building strands, Texture after baking, UV for cards, Groom for placing them on the head. · select to enlarge
The orientation cube. Click a face to snap the camera to it — faster than orbiting when you need a clean side or front view to judge silhouette. · select to enlarge
Undo and redo. Every modifier and card edit is reversible, which is what makes the stack safe to experiment in. · select to enlarge
First project

Create a project

Four steps take you from an empty application to a project with its first hair layer, ready for the modifier stack in Stage 2.

  1. Create the project

    Press Ctrl+N for a new project canvas.

  2. Import the character head

    Press Ctrl+I and choose your head model. HairStorm builds a surface cache in the background; grooming tools stay locked until it finishes, which is expected.

  3. Add the first hair layer

    In the Hair panel on the left, click + Add Layer to generate a procedural strand stream. Hair Layers covers what to do with it.

    The 2D canvas with several strand arrangements laid out. This flat working area is where strands are drawn and positioned before anything is baked. · select to enlarge

  4. Check it in the viewport

    Use F1 to F4 to switch between lit PBR shading, anisotropy flow, wireframe cards and alpha cutout, so you can see shape and texture problems early.

Reference

Keyboard shortcuts

The shortcuts you will use across every stage.

Scroll horizontally to view all columns.

HairStorm essential keyboard shortcuts
Shortcut Action Context
Ctrl+NNew ProjectGlobal Workspace
Ctrl+OOpen Project (.hairstorm)Global Workspace
Ctrl+SSave ProjectGlobal Workspace
Ctrl+Shift+SSave Project AsGlobal Workspace
Ctrl+IImport Head ModelGlobal Workspace
Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+ZUndo / Redo ActionGlobal Workspace
W / E / RTranslate / Rotate / Scale Gizmo2D & 3D Viewport
BDraw Hair Brush Mode2D Viewport Mode
SToggle Transform SnapViewport Mode
ZFrame Selection in ViewportViewport Mode
T / POrthographic 2D / Perspective 3D CameraViewport Mode
DCycle Debug Shading ModesViewport Mode
1 – 9, 0Direct Debug View Channel Slots (1-10)Viewport Mode