Speed Boat Scene Using Water Reactor And Particle Flow

Part 1

by Didik Wijaya

In this tutorial, you are going to create realistic speed boat scene using 3ds max. A cabin speed boat moves in the ocean and creating water wakes and foamy water trails. You will use several 3ds max features, including Reactor and Particle Flow. This tutorial is divided into several section: (1) Creating speed boat movement, (2) Creating realistic water wakes using Reactor, (3) Creating and applying ocean material, (4) Creating foamy water trails material at the back of the boat, and (5) Creating water effect at both boat sides. If you don't familiar with reactor or Particle Flow, browse my previous 3ds max tutorials. There are a lot of reactor and Particle Flow tutorials.

1. Let's begin with first step: Creating speed boat movement. We need a speed boat 3D model. You can download here. Import in 3ds Max. Then create water surface. In Command panel, go to Create>Space Warps>reactor. Click Water button. Click and drag in Top viewport to create water surface. Position this water surface in front of boat.

In Modify tab, use Size=10000x10000. Subdivisions=100x100. Wave Speed=200, Max Ripple=50 and Depth=300. The Depth value limits the depth of waves.

2. Next, create path for boat. Create Line starting from in front of the boat. Use Initial Type=Smooth and Drag Type=Smooth.. You can create your own line as you like.

3. Before we continue, we need to add more frames. Click Time Configuration button at the bottom of screen. Enter End Frame=300 and click Rescale Time.

Add some lights and create Camera. Change one viewport into Camera view (press C).

4. Select speed boat object. Go to Motion tab. In Assign Controller rollout, highlight Position XYZ. Click Assign Controller button (small button above. In opened window choose Path Constraint. This controller enables object to move along specified path.

In Path Parameters rollout, click Add Path, and click line. 3ds Max will automatically creates boat animation. Activate Follow and Bank. Increase Bank Amount if you want. This will make boat banks when turning.

You need to rotate speedboat in frame 0. In Top viewport, orient the boat the same direction with the line. If you play the animation, boat will move along its path. Next step is creating realistic water wakes using Reactor

You can download sample of 3ds max lesson file here. This zipped file also contains texture file

part 2

by Didik Wijaya

In Part 1 tutorial, you have created speed boat movement using Path Constraint. Now, you will create realistic water wakes using 3ds Max reactor. It's very simple and easy.

1. In Command Panel, go to Create>Helpers>reactor. Click RB Collection button. Click anywhere in viewport to create Rigid Body Collection icon. Go to Modify tab. Use Add button to add speedboat to the list.

Go to Utilities. Click reactor button. If reactor button doesn't show up, click More button to reveal this button. Make sure speedboat object is still selected. In Properties rollout, check Unyielding. This option will make speedboat stay above the water level.

In Preview & Animation rollout, set End Frame value=300.

Click Preview in Window button. In opened window, click Simulate>Play/Pause to start the animation.You will see the boat moving and creating water wakes.

2. Unfortunately, water surface is only a space warp. It will not visible when you render the viewport. That's why you need to create a plane as water surface. Create plane with the same size (10000x10000) and divisions (100x100). Position this plane exactly the same position with water space warp.

Make sure plane is selected. Click Bind to Space Warp button. Then press H. In opened window, choose Water space warp. Go to Modify tab, in Properties set Scale Strength = 1.5 or 2. This value controls how deep the wave will be created

3. Go to Utilities, then reactor. Click Create Animation button. Water wakes animation is created. You will see the plane deformed as the speed boat moves. Next step: Creating and applying ocean material.

part 3

by Didik Wijaya

In Part 1 tutorial, you have created speed boat movement, and in Part 2 tutorial, you have created water wakes effects. Now in this tutorial you will create and apply animated ocean texture. You will create ocean material using procedural textures.

1. Open Material Editor (press "M" in keyboard). By default one of material slot is active. Change this material name to "ocean". Apply this material to plane by dragging from material slot to plane in viewport. Change Diffuse color to blue (R=79, G=99, B=149). Also increase Specular value to 40 and Glossiness to 20 to make ocean surface more shiny. .

2. Scroll down until you see Maps rollout. Open Maps rollout. Increase Bump value to 70. Click button right next to Bump. In Material/Map Browser window, double-click Noise. In Noise Parameters rollout, activate Fractal with Size=150. You can try a test render (F9) to see the result. Note: Bump is used to simulate material "roughness".

Right now, you had static ocean waves. To create wave animation, you need to animate material. Click Auto Key button. Move slider to frame 300, and enter Phase=5. When finished, turn off Auto Key. Using Phase, you can animate noise to simulate wave movement.

3. Image below shows sample render. It looks more convincing now. The result may be different, depending on how you lit the scene and the viewing angle. Next step: Adding water foam behind the speed boat

part 4

by Didik Wijaya

After creating ocean material, next you will add more details to the material. You will create foamy water material behind the boat. Here you will use Particle Flow to create the foamy water.

1. First, create a plane and modify like image below. This plane will be used to emits particle later. Position the plane slightly above water level. This will make sure particle emitted visible above water. Link the plane to the speed boat (select plane, activate Select And Link Tool, press H and choose speedboat.

Then, create PF Source icon.

2. Open Particle View window (press 6). I won't explain much about how to use Particle View window, instead read Particle Flow for beginner tutorial here. Here's what you have to do:

Select Birth 01 operator. Set Emit Start=0 and Emit Stop=300. Amount=2000. Two thousand particles will be emitted along 300 frames.

Replace Position Icon operator with Position Object operator. In Position Object 01 rollout, click Add button and choose plane linked to speedboat as particle emitter (Plane02).

Select Speed 01 operator. Set Speed = 0.

Select Rotation 01 operator, set Rotation= Random Horizontal. Thus, all particle will be at the same level with water surface.

Replace Shape operator with Shape Facing operator. Use Size (In World Space)=200. By default Shape Facing creates square plane as particle.

Select Display 01 operator. Set Display type=Geometry. Now, you can see particle in viewport as square plane.

Add Age Test operator at the most bottom row in Event 01. Use Test value=35 and Variation=10.

Add Delete operator into Particle View window. But this time, place this operator outside the other Event. You will get new event (Event 02). Now connect Age Test operator in Event 01 to Event 02.

When particles reach about 35 frames, it will be deleted.

3. Scrub slider. You will see particles emit behind the boat..

4. Next step is creating material for each particle. Open Material Editor (press M). Select unused material slot. Name this material "foam".

In Shader Basic Parameters, activate Face Map and 2-sided. These option will make each side of square plane (particle) mapped with texture.

In Blinn Basic Parameters, change Diffuse Color to white. Activate Self-Illumination and change color to gray. It will make the material looks brighter.

5. In Maps rollout, click None button right next to Opacity. In opened window double click Mask.

In Mask Parameters rollout, click button right next to Map. In opened window, choose Cellular.

In Cellular Parameters, Set Cell Color=black and Division colors=white. In Cell Characteristics, activate Chip and Fractal. Use Size=100 and Spread=0.3.

Click Go To Parent button to go back to Mask Parameters rollout. This time click button right next to Mask. In opened window, choose Gradient.

In Gradient Parameters, set Color 2 Position=0.2 and activate Radial.

Cellular material will create pattern like hollow bee's house. And Gradient will make edges in each particle transparent. Thus, you will have smooth edges.

7. Now, you need to apply the material to particle. Open Particle View window. Insert Material Static operator inside Event 01 like image below. In Material Static 01 operator, click button under Assign Material. In opened window, choose Browse From: Material Editor and use "foam" material. Do a test render, you will see foamy material behind the boat.

Unfortunately, all particles are located at the same height level with water. Meanwhile, water surface is deformed when creating wakes. Sometimes there is a gap between water wakes and foamy texture. The solution is render the foamy material, saved as video file, and then use video file as ocean texture.

8. Open Environment window (from top menu, Rendering>Environment). Set Background color = the same color as ocean material (R=79, G=99, B=149). Then render Top viewport as video, with the square size. For example I use 640x640 pixel. You can set the setting in Render Window (F10)

I have included sample of ocean map with foamy texture in downloaded file (MPG file).

9. Then open Material Editor, Open Maps rollout. Click button right next to Diffuse Color, in opened window choose Bitmap and use video file as texture.

Delete plane under speed boat. But don't delete PF Source icon, you will need this in the next tutorial.

Next step: Creating foamy effect at both sides of boat.

part 5

by Didik Wijaya

This is the final section of Speed Boat Scene tutorial. This time you will add another detail. You will create water effect at both sides of speed boat using Particle Flow.

1. Move slider to frame 0. Create a plane with 2x1 segments in Top viewport. Modify the vertices to match the side of boat. You can mirror to create the other side. Attach one plane to another to create single object. And link this object to boat.

Select object and right click. Choose Properties. Uncheck Renderable or set Visibility=0. These options tell 3ds Max no to render the object.

2. Open Particle View window. This time you will modify several settings.

Select Birth 01 operator. Use Amount=10000.

Select Position Object 01 operator. In Position Object 01 rollout, click Add button and choose plane linked to speedboat as particle emitter.

Select Rotation 01 operator, press Del in keyboard to delete this operator. You don't need this operator

Select Shape Facing operator. Use Size (In World Space)=300 and Variations=50. Click button under Look At Camera/Object. Then click Camera in viewport (Remember, I told you to create Camera in Part 1 tutorial). This option will make particle always perpendicular to Camera view.

Select Age Test operator. Use Test value=5 and Variation=5. The small value will make particle looks like constantly changing fast. That's whay we need more particle amount.

3. Image below shows particles appear at both sides of the boat.

4. Next, modify the "foam" material. Basically we need to change the Map material in Mask Parameters. Here's how to change it. In Mask Parameters, click Map # (Cellular) button. Next, click Cellular button above the Cellular Parameters rollout. Choose Noise to exchange Cellular to Noise. In Noise Parameters rollout, activate Fractal and Size=20 Yup, that's it.

5. Particle is already applied with "foam" material. Do a test render. Speed Boat Scene tutorial is finished.