Xgen having ago

 This is a render of my simple Xgen test. For this test I decided to use a simple primitive so I could focus on the fur. Using xgen allows you to adjust the many attributes.This includes length, thickness and position.
The interface of xgen allows you to create a description and then a collection with in that description. This means you can have a description of body fur say body. Then have different groups known as collections say feet,head, arms ect.. with in that description. This allows you to focus on different parts of the fur with out it effecting everything you are working on.     

Grooming the fur can be tricky as I found out. When the fur is short and the density is low it is easy to move. However when the fur is dense and fine. The fur can often bend into the model and made it hard to manipulate. It also takes a long time to groom the fur to make it look the way you want it to look. The results can be great and you could end up with a realistic looking animal. However this would take a lot time as you would have to get the correct length, thickness and texture. Another great feature Xgen has, just like texturing an object in Maya you can use texture maps to add colour. This is helpful if your creating a creature with a particular pattern on it.You can change the colour in the attribute editor however this only allows you to create solid colours. You can ether paint the map on your self or import as map you have made your self. All the splines are driven by maps which you can adjust and layer to create the effect you want. The maps are driven by expressions which is then passed to the instant geometry.