An Understanding of Fluid Simulation in 3ds Max

Fluid simulation is a powerful technique that adds realism to 3D modeling and animation. Whether you’re creating a majestic waterfall or a simple spilled drink, mastering fluid dynamics can significantly enhance your projects. In this blog, we’ll explore how to leverage fluid simulation in 3ds Max, a robust software that combines advanced physics with intuitive tools. Join us as we journey through the essentials of creating stunning and lifelike fluid effects in your 3D artwork!

Using Fluids, you can simulate the physical properties of such liquids as water, oil, honey, and lava as well as replicate the effect of gravity, collisions with objects, and disruptions by motion fields in order to achieve your desired result.

Fluid simulations are constructed from the following components:

• • • Emitter: a defined shape that continuously emits fluid particles. You can choose from standard emitters such as spheres, boxes, and planes, or choose a custom object as your shape.
    • Container: a type of emitter that contains a fixed amount of liquid at the start of the simulation. You can choose from standard containers such as spheres, boxes, and planes, or choose a custom object as your shape.
    • Solver: the engine that computes the simulation based on current parameters and associated objects. You can use multiple solvers in each liquid simulation to help tweak the results without losing your work in earlier iterations.
    • Collider: an object set to collide with the fluid, splashing and/or changing the fluid’s direction.
    • Foam: particles that simulate bubbles, foam, and spray effects.
    • Guide: a system that creates a liquid surface such as a section of ocean using a polygon mesh or a low-resolution simulation. This restricts higher detail to the top surface layer to reduce memory and computation requirements.
    • Kill plane: a surface that removes particles from the simulation as soon as they cross it. Kill planes are useful for preventing the unnecessary computation of particles that are no longer in view.

From the Create panel, choose Geometry > Fluids, then click the Liquid button. Alternatively, you can also create a Liquid object using the menu:

• • • Default menu: Animation menu > Fluids > Liquid
    • Alt menu: Animation menu > Fluids > Liquid

From the Modify panel, in the Emitters rollout under Icon Type, choose the type of emitter to use: either Sphere, Box, Plane, or a custom shape.

Adjust the parameters as required.

Drag in the viewport to place and size the Liquids logo that shows the liquid object. The object is added to the scene, with an emitter and voxel grid (if enabled) also shown.

In the Setup rollout, click Simulation View to open the Simulation View window.

In the Simulation View window:

• • • Use the Display Settings panel to specify how to display liquids and foam in the viewport.

• • • Use the Liquid Attributes panel to adjust the emitter and add colliders, kill planes, foam masks, and motion fields. Use this panel to also create a guide system if suitable.

• • • Use the Solver Parameters panel to adjust the properties for the solver created for the liquid. Adjust simulation parameters such as scale and voxel size, and liquid parameters such as surface tension and viscosity. You can also configure additional options for objects and helpers involved in the simulation.

• • • In the Management System area, run the solver so you can view the simulation and make further adjustments. You can solve the liquid component, the foam component, the mesh, or any combination of the three. Typically you would solve the liquid first, the foam, and then finally the mesh once you are ready to render.
    • Add and clone solvers to experiment with the simulation, and to troubleshoot problems like particle leakage. As the simulation improves, you can decrease the voxel size to see higher-resolution previews and make your final tweaks.
    • When you are satisfied with the result, use the Render Settings panel to set options before rendering the simulation.

You can stop a solve at any time, or pause a simulation and then resume when ready.

You can render a fluid simulation using many different renderers. Most require a cached or dynamic mesh to process a result.

• • • Adding Channels

You can add channels that are generated during the simulation to your mesh. These channels can be used at render time for various operations such rendering with motion blur or creating a custom channel that can be used in maps of the liquid’s material. When using dynamic caching, these channels can be added at any time. When using a cached mesh, you must add the channels before caching.

The added channels have no effect in Arnold Surface or Arnold Points. Arnold Surface and Arnold Points get their data directly from the .bif cache file.

• • • Rendering with Arnold Surface and Arnold Point

Arnold Surface and Arnold Point is the recommended solution for rendering fluid simulations. Unlike the cache mesh render option, Arnold Surface and Arnold Points procedurals are generated directly within the Arnold renderer itself. This offers the highest quality and most efficient solution.

iRender provides high-configuration servers that increase CPU and GPU rendering speeds. We offer the most powerful RTX 4090 configuration packages on the market, all equipped with AMD RyzenTM ThreadripperTM PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz and AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz processors, 256GB RAM and 2T NVMe SSD hard drive capacity. With a wide range of GPU servers (1/2/4/6/8x) – RTX 4090, you can choose the server that suits your needs to start the rendering process. 

In addition to its powerful configuration, iRender offers a range of additional services. For large scenes, our server 4N features NVLink with dual RTX 3090s. We also provide a free transfer tool called iRender Drive for macOS and Linux users. Windows users are encouraged to utilize our comprehensive iRender GPU application, eliminating the need to visit our website. Our pricing is flexible, offering hourly rentals on a pay-as-you-go basis, as well as daily, weekly, and monthly subscriptions with discounts ranging from 10-20%. Furthermore, you can access 24/7 support from real professionals who are ready to assist you with any issues you may encounter.

To welcome Halloween, we have a huge promotion for our beloved customers, you can receive up to 100% bonus points this month. Do not miss out on this best deal today! 

Also, you can have a look at the video below to understand the workflow of our service more easily:

For more detailed information, please contact us via Live chat 24/7 or WhatsApp: +(84)915875500 or Email: [email protected]

References: help.autodesk.com