Phoenix Lava, How??

[Ivaylo Katev]

the explicit mapping is useless, the only particularly working method is the particle texture.
you have to use some particles that have attached orientation to them. unfortunately our particles have no orientation, they are just points. the particles must be with low density, to make the distance between them bigger than the lava details.
using such particles in the particle texture you have to set the lava map (i'ts cellular map, i hope maya has it) in the slot of the particle texture and set it to use object space.
this will do the trick but i really doubt that it will look perfect, i suppose the borders where the mapping is switched from one particle to another will be visible.

[CCX]

here is the result until now, however the hardest part is not the appearance, but the movement of the displacement texture together with the liquid. excluding the uvw based displacement, the only way that i see is to use the particle texture, it is made with this in mind. for smoke this technique is very slow, but for geometry can be useful i think.

This is exactly what i am looking to create... Although I am having difficulties creating a proper displacement...
Ivaylo, could you brief a bit more on using two grids and getting the displacement working. I am not able to find explicit mapping ( using Maya and PFD ).

Thanks

[Raven]

fantastic. Thanks very much. I think can work with this.

[Ivaylo Katev]

no through a texture, but through it's curve. i think the result is crappy, but if you find it promising, here is the scene

[Raven]

Hi Ivaylo.

Been trying what you suggested, but how do i get the emissive curve to apply to the liquid?
When I apply it throught the texure using emissive channel it comes out black.

Thanks
Gavin

[Raven]

another problem I've come across with using the phoenix texture using the uvw channel. is as soon as the emitter faces upwards, it looses the internal uvw data so the lave becomes one colour, as on the left hand one in the image.
The right is the closest I've got to the look so far. but I guess I its not designed to be used that way.

[Raven]

that looks promising, can you send me the file.

Thanks
Gavin

[Ivaylo Katev]

the rgb curves make the sampling point to move in 3d that produces a different result than 1d movement. you can achieve 1d mapping without any uvw channel, just use the curves in the phoenix shader, they give the ability for 1d mapping.
see the attached image that illustrates the result from 1d mapped color made with the emissive curve.

[Raven]

i thought it may be that. does the RGB edited curves in the output make a difference or would a black and white image do the same?

[Ivaylo Katev]

if the source texture is not animated, the result will look like threads starting from the source and going through the entire lava surface until the leading edge.

[Raven]

yes that what i was thinking, but i see now that bercon metaballs doesn't have uvw support anyway.
I've been playing with using the phoenix texture map of the uvw as a mask on 2 materials, looks promising.
In the map u had generating the uvw is there a particular reason you had the rgb colour mapping, and what does the animating of the scale and phase do?

Thanks
Gavin

[Ivaylo Katev]

you mean to force the particles to be exactly over the liquid's surface?

[Raven]

Hi Ivaylo

I was thinking of maybe try to use the phoenix for the sim, then pass it to pflow and use becon metaballs for rendering.
How would I get the particles to copy the phoenix sim exactly, at the moment they are following the velosity not the liquid itself, so they dont match.

Thanks
Gavin

[Ivaylo Katev]

no way for the same appearance

[Raven]

so is there any sort of work around?