We spoke with Tibor Meliš (VFX Supervisor) and Tomáš Srovnal (VFX and Post-production Producer) about recreating wartime Bratislava in pixels, managing crowds and chaos with procedural logic, lighting bus scenes with LED walls, and what happens when a cornfield refuses to catch fire at 5 AM. Spoiler: compositing wins.

DP: What was your initial reaction to being selected as Slovakia’s Oscar entry, and how did this impact your approach to the VFX work?
Tibor Meliš: I was very happy about it. This film was a very exciting journey, as the creative core of the production was in constant contact with us, which allowed us to fully express ourselves.

DP: Your team worked across multiple offices. How did you ensure consistency in visual quality and technical approach across such a distributed pipeline?
Tibor Meliš: Our main management tool is Ftrack, to which we have developed our own engine that drives the pace :) and brings logic and structure, while communicating with all the software we use in-house. Additionally, for leadership and supervision, we have our own internal software, which is a very important tool for daily reviews, giving feedback, and also for bidding – it’s really excellent. :)

(Comment: We are working with PFX on a seprate story for that tool – stay tuned!)

DP: How did you structure asset creation and shot tracking to maintain efficiency while meeting the film’s tight deadlines?
Tibor Meliš: Shot and asset production ran in parallel, organized by sequences. Compositors focused on the straightforward shots with no heavy dependencies while tracking and asset teams built the necessary elements in the background. We broke down environments into modular kits—facades, props, street elements—and versioned them heavily in Ftrack. Assets were linked directly to scenes, so when an updated version was dropped in, it automatically propagated. That saved us tons of time and enabled rapid iteration across sequences.
Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, we have our own software that allows us to track shot continuity with excellent quality and near-instant response. That means when an artist changes something for review, it appears on the timeline within a second, and we can immediately compare multiple shots or versions.

DP: PFX is known for supporting productions that utilize tax incentives. Did this play a role in The Hungarian Dressmaker?
Tomáš Srovnal: We generally support all projects regardless of size or method of financing. By providing services across six Central European countries, we help producers in situations where a project needs to be completed in a specific country due to local spend requirements. This was also the case for this film. However, since it was a Slovak production, finishing the project through our Slovak office was naturally the first preferred choice for multiple reasons.

DP: What lessons or innovations from this project will influence your future work at PFX?
Tibor Meliš: One of the most interesting challenges was working with LED walls for the bus sequence. The technology is amazing—it can create incredibly immersive lighting and reflections in-camera—but it also demands a shift in production thinking. Not every director or DOP is fully ready for that yet. It requires decisiveness, and often that’s at odds with the natural desire to leave options open for post.

We ran into that too, but we made the most of it. We used the LED walls to generate interactive reflections and flickering light across the actors’ faces. We built a forest scene in Unreal Engine and placed the LEDs at an angle, so they not only lit the scene but also complemented the greenscreens visible through the bus windows. That kind of real-time content and lighting interaction is something we’re definitely bringing forward into other projects, but we need to be weary of the potential issues. Sometimes a simple green screen is less costly and a better option, mostly when you are working with less experienced or prepared on-set teams.

Apart from that during this project, we really deepened our collaboration with the grading and mastering department. While we were finalizing VFX shots, the grading team was already progressing in parallel. We kept a tight feedback loop, sharing updates frequently to make sure the VFX work aligned with the DOP’s vision and the overall tone of the grade. To make the process smoother, we developed custom scripts for DaVinci Resolve that automatically synced in the latest VFX versions and allowed for batch uploading of EXRs directly to the Barrandov office. We also tested a color pipeline to synchronize our Resolve workflow with their Baselight environment, which helped maintain consistency across departments and avoid surprises in the final master.

DP: Recreating 1940s Bratislava required detailed architecture and period accuracy. How did your team approach building the digital environments, and what were the key steps in your pipeline?
Tibor Meliš: The first step was detailed research. The director already had a large collection of references from archives, covering buildings, houses, and streets. Biskupice was particularly specific because several nationalities lived there, something many Slovaks today can’t even imagine. It was a village near Bratislava (today it’s part of the city) right on the Hungarian border, so naturally there were strong Hungarian and German influences.

We created around ten types of house assets with porches (“gánok”) and carefully studied the environment, as the porches were built mainly to shade from the sun, depending on the sun’s trajectory. Since the porches were a key visual element we wanted to emphasize, we had to adapt the lighting conditions to place them correctly relative to the camera.

The material was shot after sunset, which gave a very soft light, so the cinematographer had to lower the aperture, creating a shallow depth of field. We simulated clouds to pass the sunlight intermittently, keeping the protagonist in the shade while illuminating the houses in the background as if during daytime.

In compositing, we animated the cloud movement using P_noise to make the transition between sunlit and shaded areas feel natural. This approach also helped us highlight the Church of St. Nicholas in the distance, a landmark important to Biskupice. When viewers watch the shot, their gaze naturally moves from the actress’s face toward the brightest point – the church.

DP: Crowd simulation was a significant part of the project. Which tools or techniques did you use for this, and how did you manage the interactions between digital extras and the environment?
Tibor Meliš: Crowds are one of our long-term trademarks. Thanks to previous projects, we already had a pretty extensive internal library of Houdini-based 3D agents from this exact historical period—and already animated. So for The Hungarian Dressmaker, we just adapted and extended them to fit the new sequences. That saved us a lot of time on both modeling and rigging.

DP: The fire sequence features a long, intricate shot. Could you walk us through the preparation process for this sequence, from previsualization to final compositing?
Tibor Meliš: I would start with the production plan: we intended to create a real, controlled fire that would cover a significant part of the frame. We also had the SFX team ready to create fire elements in the third plane to help us integrate everything later.

When working with fire in a realistic film, I always try to create an atmosphere on set with smoke and strong flickering light sources that we can later match in post-production. This scene was truly massive, and since it was meant to be filmed in a single take, it became even more challenging. Unfortunately, the plan to set the cornfield ablaze in the background failed. The sequence was shot around 5 AM as the sun was rising, so we had to capture what we could, and the rest was left for post-production.

DP: The fire sequence was one of the most challenging. How did your pipeline handle simulations for such long shots, and what solutions were critical for maintaining realism without compromising render times?
Tibor Meliš: We initially planned for a lot of FX team support for this shot.
When I got the first rough cut, I started developing a preliminary lookdev myself, focusing on the timing and creating the best reference for the FX team using ActionVFX footage. Since the scene’s dramaturgy involved the fire gradually growing while the camera interacted with it, this approach seemed the quickest.

After the first version, I was surprised at how well it worked. I requested an additional burning tree asset in the background from the FX team because many objects felt too static, and with so much heat buildup, there should have been turbulence affecting twigs and grass. In Nuke, I projected the cornfield and added multiple light sources parented to the light intensity of the VFX footage, integrating them into the scene. The beauty of the shot is that when you look at such a strong light source, you must also feel it in the camera — most objects were slightly desaturated and softened, and the added mist between the actors provided great integration. In the end, a significant part of the scene was built through compositing.

DP: Do you have any recommendations for VFX artists preparing similar large-scale fire scenes?
Tibor Meliš: Definitely create smoke on set and shine light through it to achieve that strong luminous component. This will make it easier for the camera to capture the atmosphere and will greatly assist in post-production, whether for masking or optical effects.

Always think ahead – you can easily blend the luminous layer later based on your CG or footage fire. Lighting on set is absolutely crucial. Nowadays, creating fire digitally isn’t difficult, but making it match real set lighting perfectly – that’s the real challenge.

DP: What role did procedural workflows play in creating wear, grime, and historical imperfections in the digital assets?
Tibor Meliš: Procedural workflows played a key role in depicting wear, dirt, and imperfections in digital assets, especially in shader creation. They enabled the automated generation of realistic effects such as chipped edges, scratches, dust, and patina, giving objects an aged and well-used appearance.

This approach significantly accelerated and streamlined the texturing process and the creation of variations, while ensuring consistency and a sufficient level of detail. The workflow involved the use of various types of noise patterns and the consideration of convex and concave shapes of the assets, which allowed for the combination and layering of materials to achieve the desired look.

DP: How did you balance “dirty realism” – the lived-in look of the city – with the polished historical aesthetics required by the story?
Tibor Meliš: On Ventúrska Street, there’s a moment when someone in a CG building gently opens a window, creating a glare into the camera. These are the little moments that bring a space to life. And if you noticed, I intentionally wrote “someone” to further enhance that feeling of life. In reality, it was just the animated window. :)

DP: The film integrates subtle details like flags, uniforms, and street decor. How were these assets designed and implemented into the final shots?
Tibor Meliš: These kinds of details—like flags, signs, posters, or other ambient decor—are crucial for immersion. We knew this period would require a lot of specific details, like the banners carried by groups of people on the street. We carefully selected what reflected the society at that time and used it as inspiration for asset creation. For example, in the opening scene on Ventúrska Street, the hustle and bustle are enhanced by a parade of children pushing baby carriages, which is also edited within the shot.

When looking down either end of the street, we had to work with the crowd to make sure it wasn’t too aggressive but complemented the parade atmosphere. Most of them were Houdini-based procedural elements that helped break the static feel of the scenes, creating natural motion and realism.

DP: Achieving historical authenticity often means working with incomplete or limited references. Do you have any tips for sourcing high-quality references for similar historical projects?
Tibor Meliš: Definitely consult the city library of the relevant city. We relied heavily on archival materials!

The Hungarian Dressmaker

Director: Iveta Grofova
Producer: Zuzana Mistríková, Ondřej Trojan
DOP: Martin Strba

PFX Team
VFX Supervisor: Tibor Meliš
VFX and Post-production Producer: Tomáš Srovnal
Grading: Tomáš Chudomel

About PFX
PFX is a full-service post-production studio operating across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany. With over 250 talented artists, they provided services to film, TV, animation, and commercial creators for well over a decade.

PFX.tv

instagram.com/pfxcompany/
facebook.com/PFXcompany/
x.com/pfxcompany
youtube.com/pfx
linkedin.com/pfx-company/
vimeo.com/pfxcompany/

The post The Hungarian Dressmaker – by PFX first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

The fire is lit—again. Version 6.7 of FumeFX for 3ds Max brings practical updates for visual effects artists working with fluid dynamics in postproduction, real-time graphics, or game cinematics. Known for its specialization in fire, smoke, and explosion simulation, this version emphasizes workflow efficiency, compatibility, and—yes—flames. As always: test before committing it to production, because new features can spark both joy and bugs.

New Fire & Explosion Presets

Version 6.7 introduces fire and explosion simulation presets designed to streamline setup time and reduce parameter guesswork. These presets allow artists to quickly initiate realistic simulations, focusing effort on creative choices instead of numeric tweaking.

Arnold Shader Updated for 3ds Max 2024

Arnold users can breathe easy—FumeFX’s Arnold shader is now compatible with 3ds Max 2024. No manual workaround needed to maintain your rendering pipeline if you’ve updated your environment.

Thinkbox Stoke MX Support Returns

Back by demand: support for Thinkbox Stoke MX, a tool enabling the manipulation of simulation data via particle reflow techniques. Stoke’s utility in retiming, blending, and customizing fluid sims is once again accessible within the FumeFX pipeline, offering TDs and simulation artists greater control over cache data.

Technical Snapshot

FumeFX uses a highly optimized simulation core with GPU-accelerated rendering for viewport previews and final output. It supports simulations involving fire, smoke, explosions, and other gaseous phenomena. The plugin integrates seamlessly into 3ds Max, supporting Arnold, V-Ray, and mental ray for final rendering workflows.

Licensing & Pricing

A perpetual license for FumeFX 6.7 is available for $695, with volume licensing options for studios. Pricing and purchase details can be found via Toolfarm or directly through Afterworks.

The post FumeFX 6.7 for 3ds Max: Stoke Up Your Sims first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In the course of the “Elemental Week” JangaFX has presented updates – and they look interesting. Here is the keynote:

EmberGen 1.2: Movable simulation domains and mouse recording

Version 1.2 of EmberGen introduces movable simulation domains that allow the simulation volume to be keyframed or bound to objects and characters. An example shows a fire simulation on a character rig, which is supported by the ability to parent emitters to bones. Another new feature is mouse recording. This allows quick test animations by moving an emitter in the viewport, with the results being recorded in the timeline. This function significantly improves the workflow.

EmberGen 1.2 also brings several workflow improvements and bug fixes. The Curve Editor has been reworked and the ability to snap to individual frames in the timeline has been added. The software continues to support the export of data in OpenVDB and Alembic formats and can output rendered flipbook image sequences for game engines such as Unity and Unreal Engine 5.

The minimum requirements are low: an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or an AMD equivalent is sufficient. EmberGen 1.2 is compatible with Windows 10 and Linux. Prices start at 19.99 USD per month for indie subscriptions, with a perpetual licence after 18 months. More information can be found on the JangaFX website and in the product documentation.

LiquiGen 0.3: New functions for fluid simulations

LiquiGen, the real-time fluid simulation software from JangaFX, is now available in version 0.3 as a public alpha. This version brings a new PIC/FLIP solver that enables more realistic and detailed simulations.

A significant new feature is the Whitewater system, which supports the simulation of spray, foam and bubbles. These particles can be exported separately from the main body of the fluid, allowing targeted control and application of forces. New view options show wave crests or bubbles where whitewater particles are created. Support for surface tension is another important new feature that improves the simulation of liquid splashes. A revised rasterisation renderer provides a practical alternative to the path tracer for production work and now supports refraction and transmission colour.

The overall performance and quality of the simulations have been improved, resulting in an increased maximum particle count and improved meshing and volume preservation. New force nodes such as line force and toroidal force as well as a revised turbulence node are also included. LiquiGen 0.3 is compatible with Windows 10 and Linux and supports NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. Prices start at 19.99 USD per month for indie subscriptions. Further information can be found on the manufacturer’s website and in the product documentation.

GeoGen 0.3: New beta version for terrain artists

GeoGen 0.3, the real-time terrain generation tool from JangaFX, is now available as a public beta. This version offers spline-based terrain control, which makes it possible to define specific features such as mountain ranges, rivers or roads. These splines can branch out and form complex networks that update the terrain in real time. A new directional colour blur system generates surface colour gradients and provides options for terrain detailing, such as layering and blending procedural noise types. Subgraphs support merging an entire node graph into a single node, which helps keep large projects organised.

GeoGen’s key nodes have received updates, especially the Rock and Splatter nodes. Gizmo controls for key nodes make it easier to edit terrain in the viewport. The render engine update increases the level of detail in the preview renderings. GeoGen 0.3 runs on Windows 10 and Linux and supports NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. Pricing starts at 9.99 USD per month for indie subscriptions. For more information, visit the JangaFX website.

Links

GeoGen on JangaFX

Manufacturer page of EmberGen

Documentation of EmberGen

Manufacturer page of LiquiGen

Documentation of LiquiGen

GeoGen Beta Announcement

The post Ember-, Liquid- and Geo-Gen now available! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

There are features in Blender that users have been waiting decades for. Until now, these have included a new particle system developed from scratch. In Blender 3.6, an alternative to the outdated, conventional particles is now finally available: The “Simulation Area” in the Geometry Nodes. As a side effect, not only particles can be simulated, but also cloth, soft bodies, etc. However, you still have to create the simulation manually from scratch. And that’s what we’re going to do in this article using a particle system as an example.

Burn, logo, burn!

As a concrete example, an object should burst into flames, because the fire simulation in Blender also has its quirks, so we use an old-school particle simulation for a stylised fire effect. The Digital Production logo serves as an example object, but you can use any other 3D object.

What actually is a Simulation in Blender?

In Blender, all processes whose state in a frame depends on the state in the previous frame are a simulation.
This classically includes particles, Cloth, Soft Bodies, Rigid Bodies, Fire, Water, Smoke and the Blender speciality “Dynamic Paint”. On the other hand, there are tools such as the modifiers from the “Modify”, “Generate” and “Deform” categories as well as
geometry Nodes, where each frame can be each frame is independent of the others.

Simulation Zone

In Blender 3.6, you can now set up a so-called “Simulation Zone” in these geometry nodes zone”, which is the area in which the simulations run. You can visualise this as follows. At the input of the simulation zone you can feed in data. These are read out once and remain in the simulation zone from then on Simulation zone. Processed data can be output. These are then fed back into the simulation in the next frame via sent back to the simulation zone via the input and can be further processed there. This can be the position of a particle, but also its size or any other property size or any other property, which can be accessed with Geometry Nodes. Changing the size with the lifetime of a particle, for example, was previously not possible at all. Thanks to geometry nodes, we now have almost complete freedom when it comes to the structure of particle systems. However, this is still accompanied by the requirement that you have to create everything yourself. On the geometry node side, Blender 3.6 only offers the simulation zone and the associated features such as baking, but not yet any high-level tools such as emitters or force fields. These will probably be delivered in the future as nodegroup assets similar to the hair assets that have found their way into Blender 3.5. Until then, however, manual work is the order of the day.

Create a new scene and leave the default cube

Leave the default cube alive for a change. It should act as a container for our particle system. It is best to give it a suitable name such as “Particle Nodes Container” using the shortcut F2. Then switch to the Geometry Nodes workspace and click on “New” to create a new node tree. Assign a suitable name here too, such as “Fire Particle System”.

Enter the Zone

Use “Shift A – Simulation – Simulation Zone” to create a sub-zone in which the simulation will take place later. This is highlighted in burgundy and has its own input and output. If nodes are interposed, the highlighted area becomes larger. Nodes that are located within it have access to simulation data and are themselves part of the Simulation. Nodes from outside can be connected to the nodes in the zone, but then have no access to the simulation themselves, which will prove to be practical later on.

Distribute points on surfaces

A particle system is based on points, so our first task is to add them. For now, the geometry of the default cube will serve as the emitter. Add a “Point – Distribute Points on Faces” node and place it between the geometry inputs and outputs of the simulation zone. Nothing should happen yet, however, as the simulation zone is not yet connected to anything. Drag the geometry output of the simulation output node to the geometry input of the group output node and the geometry input of the group input node to the input of the simulation input node with the same name. If the playhead in the timeline is set to frame 1, points should now appear in the viewport.

Set in motion

However, the dots are not yet moving, i.e. we have a particle system but not yet a simulation. A node that changes or updates the position of the particles in each frame is still missing. Add a “Geometry – Write – Set Position” node and place it between the Points output of the Distribute Points on Faces node and the Geometry input of the Simulation Output node. Under “Offset”, set the value for Z to 0.1. If you now start the animation from frame 1, the particles move upwards at a constant speed, as 0.1 is added to the Z position in each frame.

My first Particle system

Congratulations, you have just created your first own particle system with the Blender Simulation Nodes. It consists of an emitter that distributes particles on the surfaces of the input object. These particles are shifted upwards by a constant factor in each frame. The structure corresponds to a legacy blender particle system in which the start and end of the particle emission fall on the same frame.

Influence from outside

Another typical way of emitting particles is recurring emission over several frames, a kind of inflow object. This is also the default setting of the legacy particle system. In the simulation nodes, we have to regularly add new particles from outside the simulation area. This requires an additional object. At this point, the previous cube becomes the container of the particle system and another object takes on the role of the emitter.

It’s a logo!

In our example, we use the DP logo, but you can use any mesh objects. Add an “Input – Scene – Object Info” node. This has an orange input socket. Connect it to the empty socket of the group input node. An input field for objects now appears in the modifier. You can name it by opening the sidebar in the Node Editor with the N key and entering a suitable name such as “Emitter Object” in the Group tab under “Inputs”. You can even define a tooltip here.

Degraded to a mere container

Switch the object info node to “Relative” so that the points also appear in the correct position later if you move, scale or rotate the object. Then connect the geometry output to the mesh input of the Distribute Points on Faces node and disconnect the geometry input of the Simulation Input node. This cuts the connection to the original geometry of the cube; it is now just a container for the simulation.

Union

Add an object of your choice to the scene and select it in the Geometry Nodes modifier of the container. If you now play the animation from frame one using the space bar, particles will only appear once again. In order for the emitter to emit particles permanently, the newly added points must be merged with the existing ones in each step.
Add a “Geometry – Join Geometry” node and place it on the connection between “Distribute Points on Face” and “Set Position”. The Join Geometry node has a slightly elongated input socket. This illustration is intended to indicate that any number of nodes can be plugged in here. Connect the geometry output of the simulation input node to it.

Randomness at any time

If you now start the simulation from frame one, you will see a stream of particles from the emitter. But they still look like threads because they are generated from exactly the same position on the surface of the object at each frame. However, we need a different distribution in each frame so that it looks like particles are being emitted from the entire surface. Add a node “Input – Scene – Scene Time” and connect the frame output to the seed input of the Distribute Points on Faces node. Also connect the Density input of the node to the empty socket of the Group Input node in order to be able to control the emission density from outside.

Animated particle emission

If you now play the animation, you will not only see a particle beam flying away from your object, you can even animate how many particles the emitter generates per frame. This was previously not so easy to do with the legacy particle system in Blender. This is where the strength of Simulation Nodes comes into play, because you no longer have to worry about such limitations.

For life

Another feature of particle systems is the option of giving each particle a lifetime and reading out its current age. In the simulation nodes, we achieve this by setting an “age” attribute for each point at birth, which is then incremented by one in each frame. Add a node “Attribute – Capture Attribute” between Distribute Points on Faces and Join Geometry. A float with the value 0.0 is now assigned to each point when it is created. Connect the attribute output to the empty input socket of the simulation output node. A corresponding output now appears at the simulation input node.

Marry

Just as with the Join Geometry node for the points, we also need to find a way to “marry” the age of the existing particles with the newly added ones. Add a “Utilities – Math – Math” node. This is already set to the correct “Add” operation by default. Now all particles have the attribute and it is looped through the simulation. However, we are not yet counting up. Duplicate the add node and place it between the existing add node and the simulation output node and set the value in the lower input to 1.0. Now one is added to the age with each frame.

Age vs. lifetime

Age has not yet had any effect. We can use it to make particles die or disappear after a certain time in frames. Duplicate one of the add nodes and place it in a free area in the simulation zone. Connect the upper input to the second add node and change the The operation to “Greater Than”. Add then use “Input – Group – Group Input” to add another Group Input node and connect the threshold input of the Greater Than node to the free socket of the Socket of the group input node. Name the new parameter “Lifetime”, a default value of 50.0 makes sense here. Add a “Geometry – Operations – Delete Geometry” node and place it between the Geometry output of the Set Position node and the Geometry input of the Simulation Output node. Connect the Selection input to the the Value output of the Greater Than Node. From now on, all particles that are older than their lifetime will be removed from the simulation. If you play the animation now, the particles will disappear again from frame 50.

Normalisation

We can also use the age of the points as an output attribute so that we can later colour the particles differently in Cycles depending on their age. As Cycles likes to be fed with values between 0.0 and 1.0, we should normalise it to this value range beforehand. First connect the attribute output of the simulation output node to the free socket of the group output node. If you now open the Ouput Attributes panel in the modifier, you will see an empty field. Here you can later give the attribute a name so that you can access it in the shader, e.g. “age”. It will then also appear as a separate column in the Spreadsheet Editor. You can change the labelling of the field and the tooltip again in the Group tab of the sidebar of the Node Editor, for example to “Age”.

Force fields

The second component we would add to the legacy particle system would be force fields to control the movement of the particles. In the simulation nodes, this is done within the simulation zone via vectors that control the offset of the Set Position node. In our case these would be two components. A kind of wind that blows the particles in a desired direction and a field for swirling. We can simplify the wind extremely by assuming a constant movement in one direction. If we add a Z component, we have also integrated the buoyancy.

Drift

Connect the offset input of the Set Position node to the free socket of the Group Input node and name the newly created input “Wind Force”. A value of 0.05, 0.01 and 0.025 causes the particles to drift gently and slightly backwards.

Swirl

We need a second force to swirl the particles. We can extract this from a noise texture. This is because the RGB colours of the texture can also be interpreted as XYZ values of a vector. These must be merged with the previous forces, again using maths. Add a “Utilities – Vector – Vector Math” node and place it between the wind force socket of the Group Input node and the offset input of the Set Position node. Click on the lower, free vector input of the add node and drag the mouse to a free position. There should be a plus symbol next to the mouse cursor. If you now release the mouse, a search field will appear. Enter “Noise” there and select “Noise Texture – Colour” from the search results.

Adjustments

A noise texture appears whose colour output is directly connected to the vector input of the add node. If you now play the animation, the particles shoot off at a diagonal. This is because the noise texture only outputs positive values between 0.0 and 1.0 for each channel. The result should be colours, and their channel values are defined in Blender as a Range between 0.0 and 1.0.

Negative

However, the particles should move in all directions, even in the opposite direction to an axis, i.e. in a negative direction. To achieve this, we have to subtract 0.5 from all channels, then the range is between -0.5 and 0.5. Duplicate the Vector Math node, place it between the colour output of the Noise Texture node and the existing Vector Math node, which is currently set to “Add”, and set the operator of the new node to “Subtract”. Enter 0.5, 0.5 and 0.5 in the lower vector field.

Buzz

If you now play the animation, you will see quite a hustle and bustle. The turbulence caused by the noise texture is still much too strong. Duplicate a Vector Math node again, place it between Subtract and Add and set the operation to “Scale”. Set the lower input to 0.2 and connect it to the free socket of the to the free socket of the Group Input Node. Name the new input parameter “Turbulence Strength” and view the animation. Set the Lifetime to 100 and the particles will now be swirled around by the noise texture.

Control

How coarse or fine the turbulence is can be controlled via the scale input of the noise texture node. Set it to 1.0 and also connect it to the Group Input node and name the parameter “Turbulence Scale”. If you now play the animation, the particles will flow as if you had added a turbulence force field to a legacy particle system and set the flow value to 1.0. However, this stream-like flow is not quite the way fire moves. The flames flicker and constantly change direction.

The fourth dimension

To simulate this effect with the Noise Texture, switch the drop-down in the Noise Texture to “4D”. A new input “W” has now been added. This can be used to permanently change the noise texture. In other programmes, the parameter is called “Evolution”, which really is a good name. To animate this, you do not need to set any keyframes. Instead, connect it to the Seconds output of the Scene Time node and the particles will wobble and flicker when the animation is played.

Set material

Before you can move on to shading, you need to give the particles a material. To do this, add a “Material – Set Material” node between the geometry output of the simulation output node and the geometry input of the group output node. Select an existing material from the drop-down menu and edit the name and the shader in the next step.

Rendering in Cycles

To render the particles, we need the Cycles render engine, as Eevee cannot yet display the points. In the Render tab of the Properties Editor, change the render engine to Cycles and switch to the Shading Workspace. Switch on the Render Preview in the viewport; the particles now appear as small spheres. In the Shader Editor, select the same material in the material drop-down that you have also assigned in the geometry nodes. Now you can also change the name, e.g. to “Particle Material”.

Cycles should recognise them by their name

Add a new node “Input – Attribute” and enter the exact name you have given to the Age attribute in the “Name” field and connect the Fac output to the Base Colour input of the Principled BSDF node. The particles are now coloured in a gradient from black to white, depending on their age. The perfect input for a colour ramp.

Ramp

Insert a “Converter – Colour Ramp” node between Fac and Base Color. Set another stop by pressing the plus icon of the node and set the stop on the far left to a light, desaturated orange. Then set the value for “Value” in the colour wheel to 5.0. Now the particles reflect more light than hits them. A nice effect, which is not physically correct at all, but gives a little more detail than when using emission. Set the second stop to a rich red with a value of 2.0 and the last stop to pure black. Also set the interpolation in the dropdown in the top right-hand corner of the node to “Ease”.

Fadeout

The spheres are now coloured, but it would be nice if they fade out as if the flames were burning out or dissipating like smoke. Connect the Fac output of the Attribute node to the Alpha input of the Principled BSDF node. Now it looks as if the logo is smoking at the beginning and the smoke is turning into fire. For the fire to finally fade out, we need another colour ramp. Set three stops again and the interpolation to “Ease”. The centre stop is given a pure white and the right-hand stop a pure black. The left stop is given a value of 0.1 so that the particles on the emitter are still slightly visible and virtually envelop it.

Artefacts

Black artefacts should now have appeared in the tips of the flames, depending on how many particles you use. The black spots are caused by the fact that Cycles only visits a certain number of surfaces, the so-called bounces. And every time a ray passes through one of the spheres, that’s two transparent bounces. Set the number of transparent bounces in the Light Paths panel of the Render Properties to 256. Now the flame tongues fade out cleanly.

Light and shadow

As the particles in our setup are dependent on light from outside to glow, it is worth loading an HDRI texture into the world. You can achieve the black background by opening the “Ray Visibility” panel in the world properties and unchecking “Camera” and “Glossy”. The latter is a small preparatory step for the next step.

Laying the floor

Add a tarp to the scene and scale it by a factor of 50. Then add a new material and set the value for “Metallic” in the Principled BSDF node to 1.0. You can adjust the strength of the reflection by making the base colour lighter or darker. For an exact replication of the result, set the value of “Value” in the colour selection of the base colour to 0.5. Next, delete the light source that is still present and, if necessary, make the material of the emitter object darker so that it is clearly recognisable in contrast to the light “smoke”.

Bake a cake

After placing the camera, it’s time to render. You can render both a still image and an animation. It would be practical if the simulation data could be saved so that you don’t have to simulate again and again. This process is called “Baking” and can be found for the simulation nodes in the Physics tab of the Properties Editor. Open the Simulation Nodes panel there and click on “Bake”. All frames in the timeline are now simulated and saved. A new simulation is not necessary.

Outlook

This article was intended to provide an overview of how particle systems in the new are structured in the new simulation nodes. From this basis you can proceed further. You could also change the radius of the particles with age. A feature that is also not so easily possible with the legacy particle system. Or you can modify it so that the time-dependent calculations always take place in seconds instead of frames, making your system independent of the project’s frame rate. In order to make the fire flicker even better, you could also
also modulate the emission with a safely time-varying noise texture. Even more: you can make the result more realistic by giving the particles a very slight initial velocity along the normal of the emission object.

Conclusion

With the new simulation nodes in Blender 3.6, particle systems can be created whose thickness exceeds that of the existing legacy particle system. Thanks to the power of the geometry nodes, there is enormous potential ahead of you, but it still needs to be realised. Because there are still no high-level nodes, you have to click together things like an emitter or a force field yourself. It is to be expected that there will be numerous node groups and assets in the future, both from the developers themselves and from the community.

The post Your own particle system with simulation nodes first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Gottfried Hofmann.

In nuce: French visual effects service provider The Yard VFX has released an almost three-and-a-half-minute VFX showreel; the video shows the work of the VFX artists très français on the Netflix drama series Notre-Dame – the focus is primarily on set extensions, particle and fire simulation.

In toto: The film revolves around Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which is on fire in 2019, surrounded by a crew of firefighters. The miniseries is based on the experiences of the firefighters who were on duty during the fire. The Netflix series, with a total length of around five hours, was released on the streaming provider Netflix in 2022. The Yard VFX has been (The Gray Man, Enola Holmes 2, Wanda Vision) and will be (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, John Wick 4) involved in many visual effects blockbusters.

Click further: Digital Production has repeatedly reported on how realistic fire effects can be achieved – not least in the following news items.

• 16.09.2020: After-effects tutorial: Playing with fire makes the forest sizzle. All-clear: It’s all virtual!
• 7.04.2022: Here JangaFX demonstrates its fire effects! In this video, developer EmberGen ignites enthusiasm for particle simulation tools. Get infected now!

The post Notre-Dame | VFX Showreel first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.