FlowmapIT

how to use - 

open the Flowmapit.HTML = done 

Web-based tool ( no install or anything like that ) 


FLOWMAPIT - HOW TO USE

1. LOAD YOUR MESH

   Drop your hair mesh (.obj or .fbx) into the "Hair mesh" box.

   It needs a UV layout - that's what defines your cards.

2. BAKE

   Hit "Bake flow map" at the bottom. That's it - you'll get a working

   flow map straight away, root pinned to tip, solved per card.

   If you want more control, open EDIT to change:

   - which UV axis is root→tip

   - how the root end is detected

   - the encoding (tangent/object space, channel packing, etc.)

3. FIX DIRECTIONS (optional)

   Go to the FLOW tab → GUIDES, then PAINT GUIDES panel:

   - Normal guide: drag a line down one card, root to tip.

     Bends the flow inside that card to follow your stroke.

   - Mega guide: switch modes, then drag across several cards.

     Instead of bending the field, it flips whole cards that are

     running the wrong way - great for fixing clumps of reversed

     cards in one go. Adjust the radius to grow/shrink how many

     neighbouring cards it catches. Click "Remove MEGA guide" when

     you're done with it - it doesn't clear itself.

   Tip: drag directly on the 3D mesh (3D tab) for guides — it

   snaps to the surface and carries across seams properly.

4. STRANDS (optional)

   Open the STRANDS panel to generate strand textures on top of the

   flow map - density, thickness, cross-section shape, color, the

   works. Nothing here touches the flow map itself.

5. EXPORT

   Open EXPORT, click the maps you want (flow, root→tip/ID, strands),

   hit "Save selected maps." Done.

   Want to keep working on this later? Use the save/load icons next

   to "Live" in the header - that saves your whole project (mesh,

   strokes, settings, theme) as one file.

A FEW THINGS WORTH KNOWING

---------------------------

- "Live" (top right) re-bakes automatically when you change a

  setting. Turn it off if you're tweaking a lot of sliders and don't

  want it re-baking on every single change.

- ` (backtick) isolates whichever card is under your cursor - handy

  in a crowded atlas. Press it again to show everything.

- F frames whatever's currently in focus (an isolated card, a

  selected stroke, or everything).

- Arrow field colors: green = running the direction you'd expect,

  red = running the opposite way. Use it to spot cards that need

  fixing at a glance.

That's the whole workflow. Everything else in the panels is there

to fine-tune the result once the basics are working.

—

Flowmapit, generated by Rakan Khamash using AI-generated code.

artstation.com/rakan