Xgen IGS in Katana

[sharktacos]

Posting here as I do not see a forum for Vray Katana.

What would be the workflow for getting a Maya Xgen IGS hair groom into Katana to render in Vray?

[t.petrov]

Unfortunately there is no V-Ray procedural, so support for XGen directly in V-Ray for Katana isn't possible at moment.

The best option is if you can get the xgen data exported as alembic, but I can't find any info if this is possible.

So we're left with the option for using vrscene files.
The workflow would be something like:
1. Export the XGen as hair in .vrscene file by rendering. You should export only the hair. And you should use the option in the RenderSettings. There is a vrscene export options in the XGen settings, but this might not work with IGS.
2. In Katana you'll have to use a VrayScript node to import the scene. Unfortunately you won't have any viewport preview or an easy way to move the hair in the scene. You'll have to use the appendSceneContent call to import your scene.

See here https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/VNFK/VrayScript for documentation of VrayScript node. It is the same as the post-translate scripting in V-Ray for Maya.

Hope it helps at least a little bit.

edit: add the note about appendSceneContent

[sharktacos]

What about exporting the xgen from Maya as Alembic curves with width information and then applying a Vray shader to that in Katana. Would that not work? Is there a “render curves” node for Vray in Katana?

[t.petrov]

If you can export the Xgen to Alembic this would be the best option.
V-Ray for Katana could render curves just fine. The problem is bringing them in Katana.
If you can get a curves location in the Katana's scenegraph then V-Ray could render them.