For a long time my characters had semi-realistic fur. That changed when I started noticing a shift in animated films toward a more stylized look. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a big part of that. Seeing that direction in cinema made me want to push my own characters the same way.

What followed was a long stretch of experiments. Bugs, workarounds, ideas that half-worked, setups that only worked for one specific model. But eventually it came together. I reworked my characters around that style, and this shader was the core of it.

A lot of people then asked how I pulled it off. I made a couple of posts showing the basics, explaining that I mix mesh and hair normals. But that method does not work well in Cycles, which is what I actually use for rendering. So I spent even more time figuring out how to make it work properly there.

I put off sharing it for a while because the shader was still rough and had too many workarounds tied to my specific model. I also did not want to sell my full character since Tomas is the main asset of my channel. That left me stuck.

The fix turned out to be simple. I kept using and refining the shader during real production. Anything that broke, I fixed. And instead of giving away the whole model, I realised I could just use the tail.

This is that release. A .blend file with Tomas's tail and the fully configured shader, so you can study it and bring it into your own projects 💜

• Stylized Artists: If you want to give your fur a unique, non-photorealistic look without the "glued-on" appearance.
• Learners: If you are curious about how to mix mesh and hair normals and want a production-ready setup to study.
• Starting Point: If you need a solid foundation to develop your own stylized direction in 3D animation.

Skill Level: Basic. While the internal math can be complex, I have designed this to be a "plug-and-play" experience. The included ReadMe explains everything you need to know to get it working in your scenes.

• Procedural Shader: The shader itself is fully procedural. Just plug in your own texture, a solid color, or any procedural setup into the Color input and you are ready to go.
• Universal Rendering: Works in both Eevee and Cycles render engines.

You will receive a .zip archive with two files:

1. StylizedFur.blend - The source file featuring Tomas's rigged tail so you can study the setup in context. It includes:
   • "BlendNormals" node group (Geometry Nodes)
   • "StylizedFur" material node group
   • Optional Kuwahara compositing node tree for an "oil painting" look
2. ReadMe.txt - Step-by-step instructions on how to append and apply this shader to your own characters, along with a brief explanation of how the setup works.

Does it work with existing fur modifiers?
- Yes, just add the "BlendNormals" Geometry Nodes modifier to the very end of your modifier stack.

Can I use it in commercial projects?
- Yes, you are free to use this shader in your commercial work.

Does it work with the old Particle System fur?
- This setup is designed specifically for the new Geometry Node-based fur system. However, you can convert your existing Particle Systems to Geometry Nodes to use it.

Will there be updates?
- Yes. As new Blender versions are released, or as I improve the shader for my own animations based on production and user feedback, I will be adding those improvements to the product.

• Software: Blender 5.1 (Recommended) or higher.
• Hardware:"Will my PC run this?" If your computer meets the Official Blender System Requirements, you are good to go!
  (Tip: Fur can be heavy on older systems. The ReadMe includes optimization tips, such as hiding the fur in the viewport while working.)

Important Note for Cycles Users: Light Tree MUST be disabled in your Render Properties. If Light Tree is enabled, the custom lighting calculations for this shader will not display correctly.