# Apex Cloth Weird Artifacts **URL:** \ **Category:** World Creation\ **Tags:** APEX, apex-cloth, distance-field-ambie, apex-clothing, unreal-engine, question\ **Created:** [November 27, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803 "2015-11-27T03:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DamirH](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/damirh/32/906591_2.png) [@DamirH](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/DamirH)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803/1 "2015-11-27T03:16:27Z")
I’ve been trying to create a hair simulation using Apex, but it’s been quite a bumpy ride. Most recently I’ve been seeing weird rendering artifacts that seem to happen when several strands of cloth overlap each other: [![](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/7/3/7/737d2b8b95925b115c9b9493c3b14519815a654b.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/aKWreKt.png) The artifacts also linger for a bit if I move the camera quickly, making me think it’s somewhat related to Distance Fields. Any help would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Hobson](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Tim\_Hobson](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Tim_Hobson)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803/2 "2015-12-09T22:27:21Z")
Hi DamirH, At the moment I’m not able to reproduce this on my end with any test cloth assets that I have or have created. I created a simple cloth flag with multiple strands that could overlap but I’m seeing no issues on my end. In reference to Distance Fields this is not a likely issue since Distance Fields cannot affect Skeletal Meshes currently. They only work with static meshes, this include AO, Shadows, and other forms of Distance Field implementations. There is likely something that you’ve setup with your cloth asset that is either something in the way it was authored or something in the material. If you just use a base material and nothing else, do you get the same shadowing issues? If the issue is with the mesh you may want to try some tests with basic cloth asset to see what may be going on. Let me know. Tim ---
**Author:** ![DamirH](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/damirh/32/906591_2.png) [@DamirH](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/DamirH)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803/3 "2015-12-09T23:30:20Z")
Hey there Tim, It shows up with the default material too. If it’ll be helpful I can provide you with the hair asset in question first thing in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Hobson](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Tim\_Hobson](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Tim_Hobson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803/4 "2015-12-10T15:44:02Z")
You can send the asset here if you don’t want to post publicly. I’ll have a look when I can and see if I can offer any feedback. [https://forums.unrealengine.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=4894](https://forums.unrealengine.com/private.php?do=newpm) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Hobson](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Tim\_Hobson](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Tim_Hobson)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803/5 "2015-12-17T19:56:12Z")
Just wanted to respond back here since our last brief conversation was in a private message from the forums. I’ve not got a solution for the overlapping triangles shadows other than using a translucent hair material. You had asked about some of the character work from Epic, and from what I am aware of the characters do not use Apex Cloth for hair simulation. For something like a pony tail this would be boned and simulating physics. There would be some layers of translucent materials with a base mesh that is opaque. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Create\_Art](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@I\_Create\_Art](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/I_Create_Art)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/apex-cloth-weird-artifacts/339803/6 "2016-12-09T17:59:35Z")
Did you resolve this? I’m having the same problem.