Artist Creates Anime-Style Braided Side Ponytail with 800 Shape Keys

This 3D hair modeling time-lapse shows how 3D Artist and CG Animator Nagyunagi created a braided side ponytail, compressing a week of work into a one-minute video. The artist used Blender to create the hair setup.

Nagyunagi explained that they use a single-color shader and regularly check the silhouette from different angles while modeling. The animation used Shape Keys, with 700-800 Shape Keys set up to transition from the completed form back to the initial state and animated to turn on and off in sequence.

The artist shared that the technique uses Shape Keys to revert the detailed mesh back to its pre-refinement shape, then animate the process of sequentially changing the shape key values from 1 back to 0:

Have a look at Nagyunagi's video on modeling pigtails:

Earlier, VRChat enthusiast known on X/Twitter as minimi_rc showcased a 3D model of Chisa from Wuthering Waves featuring a rig with an insane number of bones, including an extensive setup for the hair:

For hair creation, this free Blender tool, Hair Bone Generator by MORI.3D, might also come in handy, as it automatically generates bone chains from a selected hair tip and lets you choose whether the bones follow the hair strand or form a straight line: