Sometimes you don’t need a complicated setup, simulation or process to get a great result. Take this example. Drunk PandaBeer takes a snapshot of his process for creating an organic vortex animation. The shape and animation is similar to what you would see with a twister or tornado.
Drunk PandaBeer is actually Wojtek Piekarczyk is a 3D Generalist from Warsaw, Poland. In his example, he doesn’t use fluids, or a cloth object. He’s just using C4D standard tools to get the animation going. A simple cylinder, a displacer, a spline wrap, a tracer object and a coupe of effectors. All of these things come together to give the vortex some animated life.
If you don’t need something highly realistic, and a little more stylized, this is a fast and easy solution for creating a fluid-like vortex or tornado effect.