Shot ideas

Each idea lists the Blender steps to make it. They all follow the same process: add a starter, put the source in place, bake a Draft, then adjust. Paths such as Edit FlowFlamesSpeed mean the event, then the operator, in the flow editor.

Use the numbers already in each starter as your start, and change them to fit your scene.

Fire and smokeCopy Anchor Link

A bird on fireCopy Anchor Link

1. Select the bird's mesh and add VecFlowSet on Fire. The fire follows the mesh as it flies and flaps.
2. For fire on the wings or tail only, duplicate the bird and delete everything but those faces. Keep its armature modifier so the copy flaps with it. Then set Edit FlowFlamesPositionObject to the copy, and hide the copy in renders.
3. Bake. The flames stay in the air where they started, so a faster bird leaves a longer trail.
4. For a shorter trail, raise Burn Rate in the Smoke and Fire panel.
5. To carry the flames with the bird, move Speed above Position with ▲, then raise the Position's Inherit Motion.

A dragon's breathCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowFire. Scale Fire Emitter down to the size of the mouth and place it there.
2. Parent the emitter to the head bone, then rotate it so its Z axis points out of the mouth.
3. In Edit FlowFlamesSpeed, set Object to the emitter, so the flame aims with the head. Raise Speed for a jet.
4. Set the reach with Edit FlowFlamesDeleteAge: it goes about as far as the speed times the age.
5. Set when it breathes with the Birth's Start, Stop and End.
6. For a big dragon, raise the Smoke Source's Radius and the Cell Size together.

A smoke pathCopy Anchor Link

Start with VecFlowSmoke. Then pick what the path means:

• A trail behind something moving: animate Smoke Emitter along the path, or parent it to the moving object.
• A line that draws itself, like skywriting: draw a curve. In Edit FlowPlumePosition, set In to Curve, Object to the curve and Spread to Sweep. Then turn on the Birth's Stop.
• Smoke travelling along a path: draw a curve and set the Position as above, on Random. Remove Speed, add Follow Curve on the same curve, and raise Delete's Age so the particles last the whole way.

To keep the smoke on the path, set Wind to 0 and lower Buoyancy. Raise Fade if the old end should vanish.

A torch in a handCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowFire.
2. Scale Fire Emitter to the top of the torch and parent it to the torch.
3. In the Smoke and Fire panel, try the Campfire or Candle look.
4. Parent the torch to the hand bone. The flame trails behind as the arm swings.

Rocket exhaustCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowFire, and scale Fire Emitter to the nozzle.
2. Parent it to the rocket, and rotate it so its Z axis points out of the nozzle.
3. In Edit FlowFlamesSpeed, set Object to the emitter and raise Speed.
4. Raise Fade or lower it to set how long the smoke trail lasts.

An explosion that breaks somethingCopy Anchor Link

1. Select a closed mesh and add VecFlowShatter.
2. Set its break with Edit FlowPiecesBindBreak Impulse.
3. Add VecFlowExplosion, and move its emitter inside the object.
4. Time it with Edit FlowBlastBirthStart, on the frame the object breaks.

The fire and the pieces are separate simulations, so line them up by frame.

Particles and magicCopy Anchor Link

Sparks off a spinning wheelCopy Anchor Link

1. Select the wheel and add VecFlowEmit Particles.
2. Keyframe the wheel turning, at less than half a turn each frame.
3. In the sidebar, set Inherit Motion to 1, so sparks fly off the rim.
4. Turn on Trails for streaks.

A magic trail behind a wandCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowParticles, and press Convert to Flow.
2. Parent the emitter to the wand's tip.
3. Build the flow in A trail of magic: a negative Gravity lifts the dust, and Drag makes it hang.

A character walking through snowCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowSnow and move it above the character.
2. In the Collisions panel, add the character's body to the Colliders list, under Objects.
3. Bake. The flakes now land on the body, and it pushes through them as it walks.

A flock following a leaderCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowSwarm.
2. Keyframe Swarm Leader along the path you want.
3. Put your bird or fish in the Swarm Shapes collection in place of Dart.

A logo that forms from particlesCopy Anchor Link

1. Make the logo as a mesh or text, and a big cube for particles to start in.
2. Add VecFlowParticles, and press Convert to Flow.
3. Follow A logo reveal: a Goal on the logo brings them in by a frame you choose.

LiquidsCopy Anchor Link

A tap filling a glassCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowLiquid.
2. Model a short cylinder at the tap, and a closed glass.
3. In Edit FlowWaterBirth, set Object to the cylinder, turn on Stop, and set Velocity downward.
4. Set Edit FlowWaterCollideObject to the glass.
5. Lower the Liquid's Spacing, because a glass needs fine detail.

Honey on your own spoonCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowHoney Pour.
2. Set Edit FlowHoneyCollideObject to your spoon.
3. Move Honey Nozzle above it.
4. Adjust the Liquid's Viscosity and the Collide's Stickiness.

A boat pushing through waterCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowLiquid, and widen the tank and column to make a body of water.
2. Add a second Collide to the Water event, with your hull as its Object.
3. Keyframe the hull moving through the water. It pushes a wake as it goes.
4. For spray and foam, add Whitewater.

Breaking, cloth and solidsCopy Anchor Link

A ball through a wallCopy Anchor Link

1. Put the 3D cursor where the ball will hit, and select the wall.
2. Run ObjectQuick EffectsFracture (VecFlow), with Near Cursor at 0.5.
3. Build the two events in A ball through a wall.
4. If the whole wall falls, raise Break Impulse. If the ball bounces off, lower it.

A statue crumbling piece by pieceCopy Anchor Link

1. Select the statue and add VecFlowShatter.
2. In the Pieces event, add a Chance Test, wired to a new event.
3. In the new event, add Rigid Body with no Bind, plus Gravity and Collide. Pieces then drop away at random.

A flag on a poleCopy Anchor Link

1. Model the flag as a subdivided plane, and put its pole-side vertices in a vertex group.
2. Add VecFlowCloth, and set the Birth's Object to the flag.
3. Add a Group Test for the group, wired to a new event with a Pin.
4. Give Drag a Wind, and add a little Turbulence to make it ripple.

Sand from a bucketCopy Anchor Link

1. Add VecFlowSand.
2. Set Edit FlowSandCollideObject to the bucket.
3. Place the grains inside it, then keyframe the bucket tipping.
4. Raise Static Friction for a steeper heap.

A wobbling jellyCopy Anchor Link

1. Select a closed mesh, add VecFlowSoft Body, and set Edit FlowJellyBirthObject to your mesh.
2. Lower Stiffness for a softer wobble.
3. Raise Damping so that it settles sooner.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Choose an approach
• All starters, Effects guides