<hr>Hi everyone! I’m beyond excited to share something I just discovered that completely changed my workflow – and I had to post it here because I know I can’t be the only one who needed this!🔍 I’ve always loved working with VMODs for fabrics in CLO, but as someone who renders mainly in external software (Unreal, Blender, etc.), I always felt limited – like I was missing the full power of those textures outside of CLO. Until now.✨ I started experimenting with Fur Strands inside VMODs, and the results blew my mind. Turns out, you can totally bake strand-based effects directly into the 3D model, and then render them outside of CLO – without rebuilding the entire shader from scratch. No more starting from zero to simulate that delicate fiber look!<hr>🔄 Before &amp; After – Render Comparison<img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202505/2014fe3da04741ff949f9c1465d403b7/images/1909bd239af846589b549ce418e393bd1.png" alt="1909bd239af846589b549ce418e393bd" class="custom-image original-size" data-id="1909bd239af846589b549ce418e393bd" data-width="1920" data-height="1080">Left: VMOD 3D with Fur Strand Right: Original VMOD 3D What’s crazy is this used to be just a render-time effect. But now… it’s actual geometry inside the 3D view! No tricks, no illusions – those fibers are real mesh strands you can see and work with before even hitting render.<hr><h3>🧵 True 3D Vision – No More “Render-Only” Magic</h3><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202505/2014fe3da04741ff949f9c1465d403b7/images/41a5e9f5e5e7453185cdf320e069adf42.png" alt="41a5e9f5e5e7453185cdf320e069adf4" class="custom-image original-size" data-id="41a5e9f5e5e7453185cdf320e069adf4" data-width="1920" data-height="1080">On the left: VMOD with Fur Strand – you can clearly see the strand geometry right inside the 3D viewport. On the right: Original VMOD – the texture is there, but it’s just a visual placeholder until render. And here’s the amazing part:🔁 Once you copy over the fur settings (shape, density, roughness map, etc.), 🎯 The final render looks almost identical to the original! But now you’re working with actual geometry — not a preset shader effect that only comes alive at render time.This opens up a whole new world of flexibility: ✅ You can preview and tweak fur in real time. ✅ Export it to external engines like Unreal or Blender. ✅ And finally bridge the gap between hyperrealism and workflow control. <hr><h3>💡 Why This Matters (at least to me!)</h3>This discovery means:<ul><li>I can re-use my entire library of custom VMODs outside CLO.</li><li>No need to rebuild complex shaders in other tools.</li><li>Textures look richer, fuzzier, and closer to real fabric, especially for knits, fleece, and delicate materials.</li></ul>Honestly, it felt like unlocking a secret power-up. If you’ve ever wanted to push the realism of your renders while keeping a smooth pipeline, this is for you.<hr><h3>🔧 Super Tip!</h3>When transitioning from Fur Render (render-only) to Fur Strand (real-time), some settings reset or behave differently — but with a few adjustments, you can recreate the original look or even enhance it.Here’s my personal checklist and advanced tips after testing:✅ Base, Normal, Metallic, Displacement texture → This is preserved. No changes needed.⚠️ Fur parameters → These reset, so you’ll need to reapply:<ul><li>Hair shape</li><li>Shine</li><li>Gravity</li><li>Curl</li><li>Variation</li><li>Roughness → Switch from value to map input for more accurate surface behavior.</li><li>Density &amp; Seed → Play with different seed settings to discover subtle or dramatic variations. A single seed change can alter the entire flow without touching the base design.</li></ul>🌓 Opacity Map → I recommend increasing contrast, especially in darker areas, to restore the sense of translucency and depth seen in the original render. Without this, the material can look flat or less realistic.🧩 Custom Density Mapping (Advanced) → If your fabric has different fur behavior in specific areas (e.g. front vs. sides), unlink them:<ul><li>Separate the textile into front and side sections using the properties editor</li><li>This lets you control density, length, and hair direction by faces.</li></ul><hr><h3>🗣️ I’d love to hear from others:</h3>Have you tried integrating strand-based textures into your external workflow? Any tips, feedback, or renders you want to share? 👀 Can you tell which one this is? <img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202505/2014fe3da04741ff949f9c1465d403b7/images/fbd6d41e40ae4f5c973bdb717e841ef8VMOD%203D%20ORIGINAL.png" alt="fbd6d41e40ae4f5c973bdb717e841ef8" class="custom-image original-size" data-id="fbd6d41e40ae4f5c973bdb717e841ef8" data-width="1500" data-height="2000">Thanks for reading! — Seer <img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202505/2014fe3da04741ff949f9c1465d403b7/images/a356275c837f4137ac1e77ca099f22c63.png" class="custom-image hidden-thumbnail" data-id="a356275c837f4137ac1e77ca099f22c6" data-width="1500" data-height="2000">

Unlocking VMOD Magic Outside CLO: Fur Strand Breakthrough!

tried putting a graphic in the back of a mesh, and now it turns inverted in the render. In the viewport it looks ok, and same for 2D view. But once you go and render it, it appears inverted. Had to downgrade to the last one to make it work... but is this a bug that has not been reported yet?

Unlocking VMOD Magic Outside CLO: Fur Strand Breakthrough!

Sofia Escauriza

Sofia Escauriza