This tutorial comprises of two render shots and numerous steps. Here we focus on the Phoenix-related steps only. Feel free to use the camera and light settings in the provided sample scene. For reference, you can find the camera, tyFlow, light settings, and the Alembic trees below.
Camera Settings for Shot01
From Create Panel → Cameras → V-Ray, select the VRayPhysicalCamera and add it to the scene. Rename it to VRayCam_Full-shot. The exact position of the Camera is: XYZ: [ 317.7, -389.1, 42.2 ]. The exact position of the Camera Target is: XYZ: [ 232.0, -241.0, 37.0 ]. In the Sensor & Lens rollout:
Film gate is set to 36.0mm. Focal length is set to 90.0mm. Film speed is set to 20.0. F-Number is set to 2.0. Shutter Speed is set to 1000. In the DoF & Motion blur rollout, enable Motion blur. In the Color & Exposure rollout, White balance is set to Neutral.
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To make the shot more visually compelling, we have animated VRayCam_Full-shot and VRayCam_Full-shot.Target over time. Here is a table with the keyframes for the VRayCam_Full-shot. |
Frame | Position (X, Y, Z) | Tangent type |
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0 | 317.7, -389.1, 42.2 | Linear | 180 | 306.0, -372.0, 41.0 | Linear |
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Here is a table with the keyframes for the VRayCam_Full-shot.Target. |
Frame | Position (X, Y, Z) | Tangent type |
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0 | 232.0, -241.0, 37.0 | Linear | 180 | 223.0, -224.0, 36.0 | Linear |
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Camera Settings for Shot02
From Create Panel → Cameras → V-Ray, select the VRayPhysicalCamera and add it to the scene. Rename it to VRayCam_Close-up. The exact position of the Camera is: XYZ: [ 198.65, -480.0, 6.8 ]. The exact position of the Camera Target is: XYZ: [ 121.8, 6.0, 40.9 ]. In the Basic & Display rollout, set the Focus distance to 193.0m. In the Sensor & Lens rollout:
Film gate is set to 36.0mm. Focal length is set to 65.0mm. Film speed is set to 20.0. F-Number is set to 2.0. Shutter Speed is set to 1000.0. In the DoF & Motion blur rollout, enable both Depth of field and Motion blur. In the Color & Exposure rollout, White balance is set to Neutral. In the Bokeh effects tab, the Blades option is enabled and set to 7, with a Rotation of 15. Center bias is set to 1.0.
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Bokeh is the result of achieving a soft, defocused background while capturing a subject with a fast lens at its widest aperture. It represents the visually pleasing quality of the out-of-focus blur in a photograph, and enabling this option subtly enhances the realism of the rendering. |
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As Shot 02 is a close-up shot, we invest additional effort to heighten its impact. We introduced a Dummy object into the scene, renaming it Dummy_camera-shake, and subsequently linked VRayCam_Close-up.Target to it. To create the camera shake effect, we initially apply a Noise Controller to the position of Dummy_camera-shake, causing a continuous, unrealistic shaking motion. To address this, we incorporate an Ease Curve on top of the Noise controller, animating the ease value over time. At frame 148, we intensify the effect to simulate the impact of the avalanche colliding with trees as it descends in the valley. Each frame and value used are shown in the screenshots. |
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Lighting
From the Create Panel go to Lights → V-Ray → VRaySun and create a VRaySun in the scene. The exact position of the VRaySun is set to XYZ: [ 4346.0, -1138.0, 2675.0 ]. The exact position of the VRaySun Target is set to XYZ: [ 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 ]. Increase the Size multiplier to 8.0 to soften the shadows. |
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tyFlow Settings
This section contains information about the tyFlow settings. The setup is not discussed in-depth, it is only provided as a starting point for the Phoenix Simulation. In this tyFlow configuration, we initiate Event01 particles from the Terrain_for_Position_Object. These particles follow a gravity-induced descent along Terrain_lowpoly_collsion. Concurrently, as the particles are in motion, Event02 dynamically spawns new particles using the Spawn by travel operator which are subsequently removed after a specified duration. If during this process, any particles breach the Terrain, they are promptly deleted upon entering the Box_fill-box region. Although the velocity of the particles can be controlled by the strength of gravity, and the friction in the Collision operator, we end up fine-tuning the final velocity in the tyFlow Retimer. We check Enable simulation retimer to use By speed mode. Set Speed% to 80.0. Shot01 and Shot02 share the same tyFlow settings, but we fine-tuned the tyFlow settings in Shot02 to make the close-up more impactful. We turn up the strength of Force (gravity) and lower the Friction in Collision, so the final particle speed is faster. |
If only event01 particles are generated and used as a smoke source, you may notice intermittent puffs of smoke in the simulation results, which do not convincingly resemble an avalanche. This is why we introduce an additional event02 particle, generated using the Spawn by travel operator. This approach ensures a continuous stream of smoke, resulting in a more realistic representation. |
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Here is a preview animation of the particle simulation of tyFlow. |
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Animated Trees
To enhance the impact of shot02, we introduce some dynamic trees in the scene. We strategically position some trees near the avalanche flow and configure their rigs and dynamics using tyFlow. Since this process involves many steps and setups, and the tree rigs make the scene heavy, we streamline the tutorial by converting these animated trees into an accessible alembic format for your convenience, allowing you to concentrate on the Phoenix simulation. We then apply these Alembic meshes with the Tree Snow 98-16 material to achieve a realistic shading. |
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The animated trees are composed of three Alembic groups: one for the leaves, one for the snowdrifts on the tree, and one for the branches and trunks of the tree. Originally, these trees were set to be dynamic using tyFlow, allowing them to react to the force of the wind. This dynamic behavior becomes particularly evident when an avalanche begins to interact with the trees around frame 140, causing them to sway dramatically in response. By converting the rigged trees into Alembic objects, we eliminate the need of wind, of additional ground geometry, or multiple tyMeshers, and tyflow setups for the tree rigs. |
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Terrain Geometry and Shading
For realistic shading, we apply Snowy_Terrain_with_bump material to it. In this setup, we use Terrain_diffuse.jpg for the diffuse slot and Terrain_normal.jpg for the bump slot. The 4K resolution of the normal map greatly enhances the details of the terrain mesh, which is especially useful for the close-up shot. |
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