Your First Project

Owned by thomas (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 14 Oct, 2015
4 min read

Getting started with RealFlow is very easy and requires only a few steps. Everything starts with a new project:

  • Open RealFlow and specify a location on your hard disk and a project name in the "Project Management" window.
  • Click on "CREATE A NEW PROJECT".

 

The "Project Management" dialogue.

 

RealFlow will create several standard folders. If you want to see the project directory's content go to File > Open Project Folder...

Adding Fluid Simulation Nodes

Now you are ready to → add the scene's nodes. Here, we want to start with a very basic → Dyverso fluid simulation. The point of particle emission is determined with an emitter:

 

The Dyverso "Circle" emitter icon.

 

  • Dyverso - Particles shelf > Circle
  • A circle-shaped icon with an arrow appears in the viewport. An arrow indicates the emission direction (see image below).
  • With the E key it is possible to rotate the emitter, the W key is used to define a new position.
  • Additionally, a domain node (HY_Domain01) is created. The domain is responsible for the number of particles ("Resolution" parameter) and the fluid's physical characteristics like density or viscosity.

 

The emission direction arrow.

 

Adding Interaction Nodes

We want the fluid to fill a vase. To do that, two more nodes are needed:

 

The "Gravity" and "Vase" node icons.

 

  • Daemons shelf > Gravity
  • This node accelerates the fluid and makes it fall.
  • Geometry shelf > Vase
  • Rescale the vase with the R key and reposition/rotate the "DY_Emitter01" node, if necessary.

Relationships

Please check if all scene elements are properly connected via a "Hub01" node in the → "Relationship Editor". In this configuration the fluid will be able to collide with the vase and the daemon attracts the particles. Without these connections you will not see any particles. If the lines and the "Hub01" icon are missing please add a → "Hub" node from the panel's icon bar. Then connect the nodes as shown below by dragging lines between the icons with a pressed Ctrl/Cmd key. Also make sure that Edit > Add > Add to Default Hub is active. With this option all new nodes will be linked via a "Hub" automatically to establish global connections.

 

 

This is everything and you can press the → "Simulate" button:

 

The complete setup: domain, emitter, daemon, and vase.

 

  • In the → timeline you can see an orange progress bar, indicating which frames have been simulated already.
  • During the simulation, files with the particles' data are written to disk – they are cached.

Refining the Simulation

In oder to create more particles select the "HY_Domain01" node:

 

 

In the "Node Params" panel open the "Particles" tab:

 

 

  • DY_Domain01 > Node Params > Particles > Resolution > 50.0
  • Now, the fluid will be "denser" and you will see more details.
  • A more natural look of the fluid is achieved with the settings from the image below. These parameters remove the regular emission pattern.

 

 

Most probably you will see a gap between the vase object and the fluid particles. Here is how to improve the quality of the interaction:

  • Vase01 > Node Params > Volume > Cell size > 0.02

 

The result of this short tutorial (press the 8 key for the wireframe view).

 

Of course, you can add other daemons, e.g. → "Wind" or a → "k Volume" daemon in oder to delete escaping particles. Play with the "DY_Domain01" node's settings to see how the fluid will react to your changes.