Texturing

Hair Cards Look Flat or Fake

Hair that reads as flat strips

Also known as: Hair cards flat · Fake looking hair cards · Hair cards tutorial · Game hair looks bad · Hair cards layering · Hair cards alpha

Character Texturing Technique

Quick answer

Hair cards look flat when they are placed as evenly spaced, parallel strips with the same length and width. Layer the cards from the scalp outward, with a solid base layer under the surface cards, vary their length, width and rotation, follow the natural flow of the hair, and add a few loose flyaway strands. Use a texture with soft, varied strands, a gradient of color from root to tip, and correct highlights.

How to fix it

Build the hair in clumps, from big shapes to small, and keep the card count under the budget for the platform. Use a tangent-based or anisotropic highlight if the engine's hair shading supports it, and keep the alpha edges soft, relying on anti-aliasing to smooth them. For close-ups and high-end projects, strand-based hair is an alternative, while cards remain the standard for most game characters.