Fluid on PATH: Blender Tutorial

Introduction

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a realistic water simulation in Blender that follows a specified path using the Mantaflow system. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the essential steps to achieve a dynamic water animation, perfect for enhancing your 3D projects.

Step 1: Setting Up the Scene

• Open Blender and create a new project.
• Delete the default cube by selecting it and pressing X.
• Add a curve to your scene:
  • Press Shift + A, then navigate to Curve and select Bezier.
  • Enter Edit Mode (Tab) and adjust the curve points to your desired path.

Step 2: Creating the Water Domain

• Add a new mesh to serve as the water domain:
  • Press Shift + A, choose Mesh, and select Cube.
  • Scale the cube to encompass the path you created.
• With the cube selected, go to the Physics Properties panel (the bouncing ball icon).
• Click Fluid and set the type to Domain. Choose Liquid as the domain type.

Step 3: Adding the Fluid Object

• Create the fluid object that will flow along the path:
  • Press Shift + A and select Mesh, then UV Sphere.
  • Scale the sphere down to a smaller size that fits within your domain.
• With the sphere selected, go to the Physics Properties panel again.
• Click Fluid and set the type to Flow. Choose Liquid as the flow type.
• Set the flow behavior to Geometry and select Mesh for the ‘Flow Type’.

Step 4: Animating the Fluid

• Ensure your fluid object is positioned at the start of your curve.
• In the Flow settings, set the flow source as Object and choose your sphere.
• To animate the fluid along the curve:
  • Select the sphere, go to the Object Properties panel (the orange square icon).
  • Under Transform, find Location and enter keyframes for the sphere's position:
    • Move to frame 1 and set the location at the start of the curve.
    • Move to the desired end frame, position the sphere at the end of the curve, and insert another keyframe.

Step 5: Baking the Simulation

• With the domain selected, go back to the Physics Properties panel.
• Under the Cache section, set the type to Modular for baking.
• Adjust the frame range to cover the entire animation.
• Click the Bake button to process the simulation.

Step 6: Adding Materials and Finishing Touches

• Select the domain and go to the Material Properties panel (the sphere icon).
• Click New to create a new material and set the surface type to Principled BSDF.
• Adjust the Transmission to 1 for a clear water effect and fine-tune the Roughness for realism.
• Optionally, add some lighting to enhance the visibility of the water simulation.

Conclusion

You have successfully created a realistic water simulation following a path in Blender using the Mantaflow system. Experiment with different curve shapes and fluid settings to further refine your animation. For more advanced techniques, consider exploring additional Blender tutorials focused on water effects and particle systems. Happy animating!