Desperate help! Maya fluids

# 1 28-03-2011 , 06:14 PM

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Join Date: Mar 2011

Posts: 3

Hi,
I am completely new to MAYA. I am trying to create 6 or 7 oil fire plumes like in this image for an art project.

I need to recreate 6 or 7 oil fire plumes individually with a duration of 2-3 minutes and I will composite them in an after effects composition. The size and shape should be identical to the plumes in this image.

Last edited by Mayastudent2011; 10-04-2011 at 06:44 PM.

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# 2 29-03-2011 , 01:54 AM

SM Tea Boy
Join Date: Apr 2002

Location: Prague

Posts: 3,228

I hate to say it but if your totally new to Maya forget it. 7 clouds of smoke identical to a photograph lol I know people that would have problems with with this after using Maya for years.

Might as well stick up a picture of toy story 3 and say help, I need to do this in the next 10 minutes.

2 minutes of smoke at realistic resolution and 30fps is 3,600 frames I've just set up a simple fluid x7 with self shadowing and some half decent lighting and it would take about 33 days to finish rendering (quad processed i7 @ 3.8 ghz) and even that would not be what i'd call photo real pretty close but....

If you new to Maya and looking to replicate photrelistic smoke in a hurry i think you'll be in for a disappointment. If you just want crapy low rez smoke well this is doable.

Dave

From a readers' Q and A column in TV GUIDE: "If we get involved in a nuclear war, would the electromagnetic pulses from exploding bombs damage my videotapes?"

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# 3 29-03-2011 , 02:49 AM

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Holy crap, that is terrible news. It doesn't have to be high res at that distance anyway. Doing it in 3D would be over kill anyway. I just wanted to do something like this but with a longer duration and different colour. 1st 17 seconds YouTube - Michael Murphy VFX Reel

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# 4 29-03-2011 , 03:24 AM

SM Tea Boy
Join Date: Apr 2002

Location: Prague

Posts: 3,228

Mayastudent It's not as bad as I make it seam, but this really is not something you'll want to be doing your first time out in Maya.

Anyway good luck with your project and welcome to the site.
David

From a readers' Q and A column in TV GUIDE: "If we get involved in a nuclear war, would the electromagnetic pulses from exploding bombs damage my videotapes?"

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# 5 29-03-2011 , 07:12 AM

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Location: Manchester Uk

Posts: 6,300

Just created this very quickly about 5 mins (not rendered of course, just in the viewport), should give you some pointers.

1. Create a 3D fluid container with a sphere volume axis.

2. Set density emission to 4, emission turbulance to about 5 with a detail of about 0.2.

3. Set the res to about 30 - 40 with auto resize (speeds up sim times)

4. Set damp to 0.01 (essential for any sim) and high detail solve to all grids.

5. Contents details - Density set dissapation to 0.1.

6. Velocity set swirl to about 7 to get eddy's.

7. Adjust the opacity ramp to 0 to start then a ramp up at about 0.061.

8. Add a wind field to move it slightly in one direction.

As David said fluids are difficult to do correctly as they are a balance of a lot of settings and take a long time to learn.

Steve

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"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

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# 6 01-04-2011 , 05:04 PM

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I can't even create that. I guess I really need help. I have to take courses on MAYA.

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# 7 01-04-2011 , 05:57 PM

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Dude, Fluids are probably one of the hardes things to get to grips with, especially to do them well. There is also very little on them online.

Expirement with them, if you get really stuck i'll recreate the scene.

(I teach Maya and a unit on Maya fluids for VFX so dont get disheartened)
Steve

"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

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# 8 01-04-2011 , 06:43 PM

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I did it gster but get the particles all through the container....got the main smoke but it looks like its in fog LOL...seriously hard stuff man!

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 9 04-04-2011 , 07:49 AM

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Hi Ant,

If it looks a little too full adjust the opacity ramp, expirementation will get you there.

Steve

"No pressure, no diamonds" Thomas Carlyle

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# 10 04-04-2011 , 08:56 AM

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Thanks steve...will have another look at it this week

cheers bullet

bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes

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# 11 04-04-2011 , 11:23 AM

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One of the important concept of fluids (nonpatricle) based simulations is that there are no such things as particles ! Data is stored on a grid. In the case of density this is a number that represents the distance from the surface of the fluid (negative for inside positive for outside) using this information maya is drawing the volume representation. Based on the opacity ramp you provide, so if you say anything with a gradient (distance to the surface ..0 ..) is greater than +0.3 should be invisible and everything in your fluid is no more than 0.2 units away from the fluid itself you will get this foggy look to everything.

So the point is, tweaking opacity isnt increasing the size of the particles but telling where the visible boundary of your surface should be drawn, relative to the calculated fluid surface.

FX supervisor - double negative

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