Choose an approach
How to go from the shot in your head to a finished bake in Blender: four questions to plan the effect, then the same steps for every shot.
Every effect in VecFlow is made the same way. Plan it with four questions, then follow the same steps in Blender. For ready-to-follow examples, see Shot ideas.
Plan it: four questions
Picture the shot and answer these in order. Each answer points to one part of the flow.
| Ask | Where you set it |
|---|---|
| Where does it come from? A whole object, one part, a point or a line | Position |
| Which way does it go? Off the surface, along an aim, or with the object | Speed |
| What does it do next? Rises, trails, fades or follows a path | Forces in the flow, and the Smoke and Fire panel for gas |
| How does it look? Colour, brightness and thickness | The material's Render Look, or the Display panel |
The first question usually decides the setup:
| It comes from | Do this |
|---|---|
| A whole object | Select the mesh, then add a starter made from it |
| One part of an object | Make a separate mesh of that part, and use that |
| One point, such as a mouth or a hand | Move the starter's emitter there, and parent it |
| A line or a path | Draw a curve, and use Position on a Curve or Follow Curve |
For smoke and fire, remember one idea: particles give off gas into the air, and the gas stays there while the object moves on. So a moving source leaves a trail, and a still one builds a plume.
Make it in Blender
Save your file
The bake goes in a vecflow_cache folder next to the .blend, so save first.
Add the nearest starter
Select a mesh if the effect comes from one. In the 3D Viewport, press ShiftA and open VecFlow, or press N and use the VecFlow tab. See All starters.
Put the source in place
Move and scale the starter's emitter, the object named “starter Emitter”. If the source should move with something, parent it: select the emitter, Shift-select the parent, and press CtrlP. For a character, go into Pose Mode, select the bone, and use Bone in the same menu.
Bake a first look
Turn on Draft and press Bake in the VecFlow tab. Then press Space to play it. Check the motion and the timing, not the detail.
Change the flow
Press Edit Flow in the simulation's panel. In the flow editor, press N, open the VecFlow tab, and click an event. Pick an operator to see its settings. Use + to add one, and ▲ ▼ to change the order, because operators run from top to bottom.
Adjust and repeat
Change one thing at a time and bake again. With Auto Bake on, it bakes after each change.
Make the final bake
Turn off Draft, make the detail finer (Cell Size for gas, Spacing for liquid), and bake. Then set the look, which needs no new bake, and render.
Related
Effects guides
Recipes for the effects people make with VecFlow: what to start from, the flow to build, the settings that matter, and what goes wrong.
Shot ideas
Ideas for what to make with VecFlow and how to make each one in Blender: a bird on fire, a dragon's breath, smoke paths, rocket exhaust, magic trails, pours, flags and things that break.