Grant Wilk Shows His Process for Creating the Ultimate Curl Wave With Blender Fluids.

Getting realistic looking dynamic simulations is a gentle balance between getting a great setup and the ability to art direct the effects. This fantastic tutorial from Grant Wilk has a bit of both. Wilk shows his process for working with Blender Fluids to create the perfect curl wave, like the kind you would see in the ocean. His wave simulation is the result of four months of production, 96 hours of baking, 240 hours of rendering and 15 computer crashes like he was keeping count.

All of the efforts were to answer the question “There are many software out there dedicated to simulating large realistic bodies of fluids, but is such a feat possible in the free computer graphics software, Blender?” It turns out the answer is yes. Much of the ability to get the perfect curl wave is in the set up and understanding how those waves work in real life. In the end, the system is very similar to a wave-maker in a water-park.