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One of the most impressive features of Blender is its ability to simulate fluids, such as water, smoke, fire, and lava. Blender Fluid simulation is a technique that uses mathematical models and algorithms to mimic the behavior and appearance of liquids and gases. Fluid simulation is not an easy task. It requires a lot of computational power, memory, and time to produce high-quality results. It also involves a lot of settings and parameters that can be confusing and overwhelming for beginners and even experienced users.
That’s why there are addons that can help you with fluid simulation in Blender. Addons are extensions or plugins that can enhance the functionality and workflow of Blender. They can add new features, tools, menus, panels, and shortcuts that can make your life easier and your work faster. There are many fluid simulation addons available for Blender.
FLIP Fluids Blender Fluid Simulation
FLIP Fluids is one of the most popular and advanced Blender fluid simulation addons for Blender. FLIP Fluids uses a technique called FLIP (Fluid-Implicit Particle) to simulate fluids with high accuracy and realism. FLIP Fluids works by combining the advantages of both grid-based and particle-based methods. It uses a grid to store the fluid’s velocity and pressure, and particles to store the fluid’s position and surface.
FLIP Fluids can produce realistic and stunning fluid effects with smooth surfaces, sharp details, and natural motion. It can handle various types of fluids, such as water, lava, mud, slime, and foam. It can also create splashes, bubbles, spray, mist, and droplets.
The drawbacks and limitations of FLIP Fluids is High memory usage: FLIP Fluids requires a lot of memory (RAM) to store the simulation data. The more particles you use, the more memory you need. If you don’t have enough memory, your simulation may fail or crash.
MantaPro
MantaPro is another Blender fluid simulation addon for Blender that uses a technique called Mantaflow to simulate fluids. Mantaflow is a framework that implements various methods for fluid simulation, such as SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics), APIC (Affine Particle-In-Cell), and FLIP (Fluid-Implicit Particle). MantaPro is a wrapper that integrates Mantaflow with Blender’s interface and workflow.
MantaPro is easy to use and understand. It has a simple and intuitive UI that follows Blender’s layout and conventions. It also has a preset system that lets you choose from different types of fluids, such as water, honey, oil, blood, etc. You can also create your own presets and save them for later use.
The drawbacks and limitations of MantaPro is less accurate and realistic than FLIP Fluids. It uses a lower resolution grid to store the fluid’s velocity and pressure, which can result in numerical errors and artifacts. It also uses fewer particles to store the fluid’s position and surface, which can result in loss of volume and detail.
Real Water
Real Water is a water shader addon for Blender fluid simulation that allows you to create realistic water simulations. It is designed to work with Cycles and Eevee render engines in Blender 2.8x and above. The addon provides a range of features that allow you to customize the look and behavior of the water, such as wave height, foam, and reflection settings.
To use Real Water in Blender, you have to buy it from the Blender Market for $76 USD. You will receive a zip file that contains the addon files and documentation. To install Real Water in Blender, you have to unzip the file and copy the folder named “flip_fluids_addon” to your Blender addons folder. Then you have to enable the addon in Blender’s preferences menu under the “Add-ons” tab. You will see a new panel named “FLIP Fluid” in Blender’s physics properties tab.
To create water simulations with Real Water in Blender, you have to create a domain object that defines the simulation area. Then you have to add other objects that interact with the water, such as inflows, outflows, obstacles, forces, etc. You also have to adjust the settings and parameters of the domain object according to your needs. Then you have to bake the simulation data using the “Bake” button in the domain object’s panel. After baking is done, you can play back the simulation using Blender’s timeline or render it using Blender’s render engine.
Procedural Fluid Simulators
Procedural Fluid Simulators has three main components: Fluid Simulator for Grid-Curve, Fluid Simulator for Mesh, and Fluid Particle Advector for Fluid Simulators. Each component has its own settings and parameters that you can adjust to fine-tune your simulation results. You have to create a domain object that defines the simulation area.
Then you have to add other objects that interact with the fluid using BIM data, such as pipes, ducts, valves, fittings, inflows, outflows, obstacles, forces, etc. You also have to adjust the settings and parameters of the domain object according to your needs. Then you have to bake the simulation data using the “Simulate” button in the domain object’s panel. After baking is done, you can play back the simulation using Blender’s timeline
Vortex – Fluid Enhancements
Vortex – Fluid Enhancements is an addon for Blender fluid simulation that allows you to create realistic and stunning fluid simulations. It works by using data from the actual fluid simulation to generate and animate waves and ripples that match the flow of the fluid. It also includes a physically accurate water shader, a foam map generator and shader, and a lightweight addon to quickly generate shader presets
To create fluid simulations with Vortex – Fluid Enhancements in Blender, you have to create a domain object that defines the simulation area. Then you have to add other objects that interact with the fluid, such as inflows, outflows, obstacles, forces, etc. You also have to adjust the settings and parameters of the domain object according to your needs. Then you have to bake the simulation data using the “Bake” button in the domain object’s panel. After baking is done, you can play back the simulation using Blender’s timeline