Recently, the ChaosGroup released Phoenix FD for Maya, adding features such as a GPU accelerated preview, and lets you easily refine simulations by increasing simulation details. Also of not are new fast presets. Instead of starting every simulation from scratch, you can simply select one to work on from a library of presets.
Showing how you can instantly create a fiery explosion that simulates a gasoline accelerant, the Chaos Group posts a guide to get you started quickly. The tutorial covers creating a an explosion effect using the toolbar preset, and then covers creating it manually with step by step instructions.
Watching the video, you will be able to follow along to create your own gas explosion simulation and learn most the basics for editing primary settings for the simulations.
Other new features for Phoenix FD include:
- Force controls – Art direct and control simulations with forces like wind, mesh attraction and more.
- Path follow – Create simulations that follow a path along a spline.
- Interactive simulations – Fine-tune simulations interactively in the viewport with Phoenix FD’s GPU-accelerated preview.
- Refine simulations – Increase simulation resolution and add detail without changing overall shape or behavior.
Phoenix FD 3 is available now for Autodesk Maya. If you already own Phoenix FD 2.x for Maya3 is a free upgrade.
