• Fixed the UV coming out as a single line when using a 2D profile.

NOTE: This update is for the SHP version compatible with Blender 5.1. For 5.2, use Stylized Hair Pro v4.3.1. 

• Fixed the UV coming out as a single line when using a 2D profile.

NOTE: This version will only work with Blender 5.2 and above! For 5.1, use Stylized Hair Pro v4.2.1. 

• Updated for Blender 5.2

NOTE: This version will only work with Blender 5.2 and above! For 5.1, use Stylized Hair Pro v4.2.0. 

• Updated the add-on to work with DeanTools Hub add-on

• Fixed color shades not appearing on flyaways and ornaments

• Fixed a bug with armature generation, when there is no active object in the selection.

• Fixed a bug, caused by the Working Color Space setting of the .blend file shifting the geometry of the strand away from the guide curve.

• Fixed a bug when adding the setup to an empty hair curves object

• Fixed a bug with the 'Update Setup Version' utility

• Fixed a bug when applying mirrors on non-hair curves (currently mirror apply function does not work with Bezier and NURBS curves)

• Fixed hair attachment to base mesh being lost after applying a mirror (requires updating the setup)

• Fixed an issue where the SHP modifier will get enabled when it was hidden in the viewport

• Fixed an issue with preview resolution from Grooming Optimization sticking after changing the sculpt/edit target with Alt Q

• Added a Shape Factor setting for the Waviness twist effect (requires updating the setup)NOTE: Latest node tree setup is not compatible with previous versions of the add-on (< 4.1.5)

• Fixed a bug with multi-spline custom profile curves not appearing correctly

• Fixed an issue with mesh conversion

• Fixed b-bone armature generation error

• Fixed a bug when you call the quick menu without a strand selected

• Tweaked the strand flattening to produce a smoother shape

• Flattening both ends to the max now switches to a linear 2D profile curve (except for braids)

• Ends 'Round' setting now automatically tapers the root/tip points towards the end to capture the round shape better

• Fixed an error with quick braids

• Fixed flyaways offset from main strand being too large by default

• Fixed flyaways scaling with the 'Scale Factor' setting

• Fixed master gizmo toggle not being enabled by default

• Fixed some gizmos scaling

• Fixed mixed up ornaments and flyaways material

• Remapped the quick settings to produce better results

• Presets can now be applied to all selected strands

Watch the video about the update here.

IMPORTANT: This version of Stylized Hair Pro requires Blender 4.5.0 or above. Using with older Blender versions will cause errors!

New Features and Improvements

General

• Reworked the node group to be optimized for Blender 4.5.

• Improved the visibility of the icons when using a light Blender theme.

Split Tip

• Split Tip functionality now works on all profile types, including Custom profiles.

  • NOTE: Custom profile curves have to be a single spline curve object for the split to work. Multiple spline curves will disable the split tip effect.

• You can now set the exact splits count, rather than splits density.

• Splits Seed has smoother transition between the different variations.

• Improved the splits Bend and Curl for more consistent results.

• Splits Bend and Curl now have a Limit option to concentrate their effect towards the splits' tips, muting it at their base.

• Added a new setting - 'Limit Central Splits Bend' to limit the bend of the central splits, lowering overlapping.

Bumps

• Regular Bumps can now be tapered in both directions.

• Improved the generated resolution when adding gaps between bumps for better results at low resolutions.

• Profiles maintain their sharp points when changing the profile resolution, so you get more accurate to the original shape at lower resolutions.

• Shift Volume on regular bumps produces slightly better shape.

Braids

• Braid strands Thickness and Flatten can now be set individually.

• Added a new setting for the braid roots Size Factor. This allows you to set where the braid root "connects" to the rest of the braid weave.

Profiles

• The Smart Profile functions now apply to all profile types.

• Removed the Robo profile type since it was clashing too much with the Split Tip function. Similar effect to it can be created with the Sub-strand bumps or a custom profile curve.

• Added a new Almond profile type. This was previously the default Smart Profile shape.

• Sharp points of custom profile curves are now preserved during resolution changes to maintain the overall shape of the profile at low resolutions.

• Custom Profile Collections can now be instanced entirely, creating more complex multi curve profiles.

Ornaments

• Added a new setting 'Center Ornaments Position' to help position custom ornaments to the curve.

Shading

• Reordered the UV maps so that the Combined UV Map is now the default when you use a shader node with a 'UV' output. This will help when using pre-made hair shaders.

• Added new shades to the SHP Shades node:

  • Root Pinch Map

  • Tip Pinch Map

  • NOTE: The SHP Shades node in existing materials has to be updated for the new add-on version.

Hair Settings

• Added two new settings for the Auto-Squish Hair Root:

  • Squish Strength - the amount of angle-based squishing

  • Limit Squish - how much of the root length gets squished

Utilities

• Added two new features to the Optimization utility:

  • Optimize Modifier - Dynamically select/deselect and collapse the SHP modifier, based on context. Helps a lot with performance in Blender 4.5

  • Bake Hair Geometry - Bakes the generated hair geometry. Helps with performance during animation playback with dynamics, or just general as the hair geometry doesn't need to be generated each frame.

    • NOTE: Some of the functionality of the add-on will be lost while the hair strand is baked (like adjusting the hair shape or resolution). To regain full functionality, delete the hair bake. You can then bake the hair again when the changes are made. While baked, you can still groom the hair strands or use the dynamics for animation.

Gizmos

• Updated the Thickness and Pinch gizmos for more control over the shape.

• Added new gizmos:

  • Curls

  • Braid Shape

  • Braid Strands

  • Braid Roots

  • Split Tip

  • Resolution

• Added a new setting to pick on which curve to display the gizmos (Gizmos Curve Index)

• Added a new drop-down menu next to the gizmo toggle button with all gizmo controls.

Presets

• Updated the default presets for the new settings and refined their shape.

  • NOTE: Older custom presets might not work with the new version of the add-on.

Fixes

• Fixed Mesh Conversion not working in Sculpt/Edit mode.

• Fixed an error when adding the setup to an empty curve object.

• Fixed tip/root tilt orientation in mirrored strands.

• Fixed tip shade appearing in secondary braid roots.

• Fixed sub-strands and random bumps only appearing in the main braid strand.