For grid meshes “Displacement” is surely the most interesting, because you can directly display the displacement generated from a cached grid fluid simulation. With this fluid type you have the option to activate the calculation of a displacement map and use it with any mesh. Other forms of displacement are valid, too, of course, and the shader can be used as a preview if you are planning to add some custom displacement later inside your 3D software, for example. The image format must follow the 2n rule: you can use any bitmap with a colour range of 2, 4, 8 or 16 bit. RealFlow uses colour images instead of grey scale bitmaps to achieve displacement along all three axes to create effects, like choppy waves.
Shader Type
RealFlow offers a total of four different methods with additional options: “None”, “Transparent”, “Displacement” and “Custom”. It is also important to know that a mesh’s colour selection from the "Node" panel can influence the final appearance of some shaders. Each entry unlocks a set of completely different parameters. The default mode is "None" and does not provide any options or functions.
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