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"Maya Unlimited: Fluid Effects"
focuses on the innovative fluid technology, which gives you integrated tools and
controls for accurately simulating and rendering all fluid effects. The
concepts, methods, and tools used for each process are presented in clear and
easy to follow steps with an array of interactive training exercises. As you
learn cutting-edge effects in detail, other techniques you will also learn
include: dynamic simulations, container properties, texturing, color maps,
emitting fluids from objects and curves, colliding fluids with objects, pond and
ocean systems, wakes, explosions, creating atmospheric systems, and all the
controls necessary to give you the ability to create stunning visual effects of
professional magnitude that until recent were almost impossible to achieve.
Intro
We will be setting up our workspace for fluids as well as getting a road
map of what we will be creating.
Container Properties
Working with 2D containers is easy and we'll show you how to
make one and adjust some of the properties.
Setting Content Methods
To get proper simulations you need to adjust and modify the
content methods of density, fuel, temperature, heat and color.
Adjusting the content methods from dynamic to static will let you set
up a proper environment for a reaction in Maya.
Display Properties
More often than not, you need to adjust the properties of the container
to display different attributes. For example, if you are trying to
pinpoint the fuel locations in your container, it is hard to see them
unless you change the display to fuel as the shaded display attribute.
Dynamic Simulations
To get your fluids to move correctly you need to make
modifications to the fluids? dynamic simulation attributes. These
include gravity, friction, viscosity and simulation rate scale.
Content Details
In the content details area of a fluids container you can adjust things
like fluid buoyancy, dissipation, diffusion and turbulence of things
like velocity, density and temperature, to name a few.
Caching and Surfaces
To create "Blobby" and "Gooey" fluids you need to render them as
surfaces and not volumes. This is very processor and memory intensive,
so be prepared to wait. The outcome is worth the wait.
Shading Attributes
Having built-in ramps in the attribute editor makes it really easy to
shade your fluids simulation. You can set up ramps that correspond to
life-span of the particle and represent density, temperature, constants
or any one of a number of different properties.
Shading Quality
You have a great attribute to control the overall quality of
the fluid simulation rendered output. To get a real high quality
output, please remember to increase the resolution of the container.
Texturing (adding noise)
When you want to break up the fluid so it looks cloudier,
just add textures to both color and opacity.
Shadows
You have many options when it comes to shadows on your
fluids. Use self-shadowing and connect them to real lights or use a
built-in directional light that you can adjust.
Displaying 3D Containers
Controlling your display properties on a 3D container can
speed up your workflow and make the whole process of creating fluids
move a lot smoother.
Emitting Fluids From Objects and Curves
Emitting from objects and curves can result in a really
interesting effect. An example that comes to mind is a block of dry ice
and the way the gas emits from it. You can use both 3D and 2D containers
that hold objects that emit fluids.
Painting in 3D Containers / Gradients
One of the coolest things about 3D containers is the paint
fluids tool. This tool will let you paint directly into a slice of your
container and set the initial state. You can also paint while the
simulation is playing back which makes it very interactive.
Using Curves to Set Initial State
You don't have to just emit from a curve but you can use a
curve to set the fluids in a start state. This way you can use an EPS
curve of your logo and create a set of fluids that are positioned in the
shape of the logo. You can also load initial states to save time when
working on projects.
Using Maps in Your Containers
Using color maps to control where density and color is
located can give you a lot of creative control. In this lesson we show
you how to turn our mascot, Rosco, into a fluid.
Adjusting the Resolution Size
The higher your resolution, the better it will look when
rendered, but the longer it will take to playback and render. So the
best way to approach this issue is to create the lowest resolution
needed for fast playback, and then adjust the resolution to a higher
quality for rendering.
Colliding Fluids With Objects
You can create object collisions with your fluids so when the
fluid approaches the colliding object the fluid will move around the
object and not through it.
Motion Fields
Often times you need your object to move the fluid as the
object moves through the container. This might be something as simple
as a car moving through some steam and the steam being moved by the
motion of the car.
Working With Fluid Caches
To speed up your fluids and their playback just create a
cache. The fluid cache is similar to a particle cache and once created
will allow you to scrub the timeline.
Getting Started With Oceans
One of the most amazing features of the Fluid Effects system is the
ocean system. We will cover the overview of creating an ocean and a
preview plane.
Adding Floating Locators
You can use locators that float on the surface of the ocean as points to
attach objects or controls. We'll use a floating locator to make a leg
float on the surface of the ocean.
Creating Boats
There are a number of different types of "boats" you can
create in Maya. You can make one that just floats and one called motor
boat that actually move around on the ocean surface. These are lots of
fun and can get you started on simulated boats really fast.
Ocean Shader - Ocean Attributes
We'll show you what the attributes in the ocean attributes do
in the ocean shader tab. There are many items to cover and this video
will give you a fast understanding of what they do.
Ocean Shader - Frequency Length
To adjust the speed and number of waves, it is best to make
those adjustments in the frequency length attributes. You can also
control the wave length min and max using the controls in the frequency
tab.
Ocean Shader - Wave Height
Using the built in widgets to control the wave height is a
lot of fun because you can use the graph widgets to control the shape of
the waves.
Ocean Shader - Foam
To get foam on the crests of the waves we will need to adjust
the foam emission attributes to control how much foam gets generated.
Ocean Shader - Color
This area of the shader will allow you to control ocean
color, foam color, amount of transparency, and refractive index to name
just a few. One really important attribute is the trough color and the
shading you can create in your ocean.
Wakes
Wakes can simulate objects in the water that move fluids.
Wakes use spring solvers to deform the ocean surface and create foam, if
you choose.
Ponds
Ponds are great simulation tools and evaluate really fast.
We'll show you how to use wakes, collision objects and heat to create
interesting simulations.
Creating a 2D Explosion
We'll show you how to create a simulated explosion using the input bias
as a way to adjust the color in the 2D container. We'll also show you
how to create puffy clouds that would simulate an explosion.
Using Fluids as Textures
Since fluids are nodes you can connect them to your shader nodes to
create some really interesting shaders. The fluids can mix and react
all while being projected onto a surface. This can be a great tool for
creating things like transforming textures like in X-Men.
Using Fluids With Active Rigid Bodies
You can use fluids to move your objects just like particles. In this
video, we'll show you how to use a hinge constraint and use fluids to
move the object.
Creating a Stormy Cloud System
This final video will show you how to get shadowed clouds without using
shadows. This way you get fast feedback and can make adjustments really
fast.
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