One of the easiest ways to tell if you are in a virtual environment or not (and we do wonder about that, don’t we) is that computer animation is useless at doing hair, until now. Researchers at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering have developed new techniques that look very promising. There’s a write-up here, but for the full effect watch the video. It is quite a big download, but well worth it. Of course the current demo uses short-haired men. When they do long hair in the wind with the character in motion I’ll be seriously impressed, but for how this is very good. (And yes, it does mean an end to bald spots on male actors.)