Using RealFlow to create droplet effects

VFX artist Vikrant Dalal creates a viscous droplet effect using RealFlow in this quick guide complete with helpful hints and tips...

Thanks for checking out this tutorial for creating liquid effects in RealFlow. We will also prepare the process of making liquid droplets fall from the air to be manipulated on a flat surface. So get ready for one more exciting tutorial!

In this tutorial I'll show you how I created the effect with the help of RealFlow. This is a very random effect, so it's all up to you; how you take these parameters and use and experiment with them in your own work to create your own effects. It's all about creativity.

I can't teach you each and every parameter of this software, as this software is very vast and needs a lot of time to go through. So as far as the liquid droplets are concerned, we will learn as much as is required for this particular tutorial only.

So get ready for this exciting tutorial!

Creating the effect of liquid droplets

Setting up and creating the five emitters

As we have already learned about creating a new project, scaling the scene and about Export Central in my previous tutorial on liquid flow, I won't discuss these parts again, but you can always check the previous one out!

So let's move on to creating the five emitters. We need to create five emitters to generate particles, and for that we will use Sphere Emitters. Go to Show Particle Fluid Menu > Sphere, and create five Sphere Emitters in the following locations:
1. Sphere 1
• Position – X: 0.0 | Y: 0.0 | Z: 6.64166
• Rotation – X: 0.0 | Y: 0.0 | Z: 0.0
• Scale – X:0.4 | Y:0.4 | Z:0.4

2. Sphere 2
• Position – X: -0.49151 | Y: 0.40757 | Z: 8.25352
• Rotation – X: 0.0 | Y: 0.0 | Z: 0.0
• Scale – X: 0.4 | Y: 0.4 | Z: 0.4

3. Sphere 3
• Position – X: 0.47615 | Y: 0.0 | Z: 9.91143
• Rotation – X: 0.0 | Y: 0.0 | Z:0.0
• Scale – X: 0.4 | Y: 0.4 | Z: 0.4

4. Sphere 4
• Position – X: -1.2521 | Y: -0.84425 | Z: 11.12416
• Rotation – X: 0.0 | Y: 0.0 | Z:0.0
• Scale – X: 0.4 | Y: 0.4 | Z: 0.4

5. Sphere 5
• Position – X: 1.07494 | Y: -0.42213 | Z: 8.92743
• Rotation – X: 0.0 | Y: 0.0 | Z:0.0
• Scale – X: 0.4 | Y: 0.4 | Z: 0.4

Creating and placing the five sphere emitters in RealFlow

Creating and placing the five sphere emitters in RealFlow

Modify the parameters of the emitters

Here we have to change the parameters of our emitters. We will not change all the emitters, just modify the first emitter and then copy all the parameters and paste them into the other four emitters.

To modify the parameters, select the emitter and go to Node Params, which should be located on the right-side of the screen interface. Place all of the parameters into the relevant boxes, then copy and paste all of them to the other four emitters.

1. Sphere 1
Particles -
• Type - Liquid
• Resolution - 5
• Density - 5000
• Int Pressure - 0.1
• Ext Pressure - 20.0
• Viscosity - 250.0
• Surface Tension - 0
• Interpolation - None
• Compute Vorticity - No
• Max Particles - 5000000

Sphere -
• Speed - 0.0
• Randomness - 0.0
• Fill Sphere - Yes

Placing the parameters into one emitter's settings, then pasting them to the other four

Placing the parameters into one emitter's settings, then pasting them to the other four

Gravity Daemon

Now we need to add a Gravity Daemon and modify the parameters. To create this Daemon, go to Daemon Menu > Gravity. There is no need to change the position or any parameters of this Daemon, so keep all settings at default.

Adding a Gravity Daemon to the scene

Adding a Gravity Daemon to the scene

Creating a plane

Now we need to create the base that our droplets are going to hit, so we will create a plane. To create the plane, go to Object Menu > Plane. Don't change the Position, Rotation or Scale of this plane. Keep it default.

Now let's modify the Particle Fluid Interaction parameters, because we want the base to feel like a rough surface. To make this kind of surface, we have to make some changes to the parameters. So let's modify the Particle Fluid Interaction parameters of the plane. We are not going to change all the parameters, only three of them as below.

Parameters
• Bounce - 0.1
• Sticky - 25.0
• Roughness - 1.0

Creating a plane surface for the droplets to interact with

Creating a plane surface for the droplets to interact with

Animating the droplets

With the help of a sphere we are going to mix all the liquid droplets together on the plane, and for that reason we have to create a sphere. We will then have to animate this sphere in a spiral pattern on the surface plane. So let's create the sphere.

To create the sphere, go to Object Menu > Sphere, then place this sphere near the plane and exactly below the emitters.

Sphere
• Position – X: -1.81125 | Y: -1.32715 | Z: 0.22493
• Scale - X: 0.3 | Y: 0.3 | Z: 1.0

Now let's animate the sphere.

I animate this sphere in a spiral/circular shape, but you can animate the sphere as per your requirements. To animate it, just go to frame 50, change the position of the sphere and click the right-mouse button on all three axes and select Add Key. Then go to frame 70, change the position and again select Add Key. You can follow this process until the last frame to get a proper animation of your sphere.

This image here shows the animated shape. Remember, you should only animate this sphere after our last liquid droplet has hit the plane – only then will our sphere be able to mix all the liquid droplets.

Showing the shape of the animation on the plane

Showing the shape of the animation on the plane

Simulation

After finishing all the setup of the emitters and Daemons, it's now time to hit the simulation button.

Showing the simulation button

Showing the simulation button

RealFlow mesh

After finishing the simulation, it's time to create the mesh for our particles. We will use separate particle meshes for every sphere emitter, as we want to assign separate colors to each liquid droplet.

To create the mesh, go to Mesh Menu > Particle Mesh (Standard). Now you can see that the ParticleMesh_ST01 node has appeared in the Nodes section. Select the Particle Mesh and go to Node Params and make the below mentioned changes.

Mesh
• Build - Yes
• Type - Metaballs
• Polygon Size - 0.02
• LOD Resolution - No

Now go back to our ParticleMesh_ST01 and just click the right-mouse button and select Insert Emitters. Now select the first sphere emitter. With the same process, create separate Particle Meshes for the other sphere emitters. You should see the + sign near the ParticleMesh Node – it means that all emitters have been inserted into their particular node. Now click on that + sign, then select the sphere emitter, go to Node Params and make the below mentioned changes.

Field
• Blend Factor - 95.0
• Radius - 0.0246
• Subtractive Field - No

Now copy all the parameters and paste them into the other emitters. Then click the right-mouse button again and hit the Build button and wait until the process has finished.

Working with the particle meshes

Working with the particle meshes

Final output

After finishing the simulation and meshing, import the mesh into a 3D application, whichever is suitable for you. Just add some lights then render it, and let's see how it looks.

A still from the animated scene created with RealFlow

A still from the animated scene created with RealFlow

They look like droplets of paint in this animation

Related links

Check out Vikrant's studio website
Vikrant also has a YouTube page
Download assets to accompany this tutorial

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