The Lighthouse
This wave break simulation was done in Houdini 21.0 using FLIP Fluids. I composited the background elements to practice integrating a visual effect into an entirely new shot/environment.
Progress Reel
This fluid simulation took me about 20 hours to cook and render. I went through many iterations of the 'splash' look before settling on a drag coefficient and velocity that I liked. After that, I sourced whitewater particles, rendered in Karma, and composited the scene elements.
Splash Look Development
In order to create a weighted look for the splash particles, I used a POP Drag node to affect detected droplets, which causes them to retain their position in the air for a longer duration. This makes the top-most water particles appear heavy, adding an important bit of visual interest to the simulation.
Wetmap
I wanted to make the sand damp where the particles land, and dry out slowly over time. I initially struggled to achieve this; there are many ways to make a wetmap and most of them weren't working for my simulation. I ended up using an Attribute Transfer node to source an animated mask, then applying that mask to mix the 'wet' and 'dry' sand shaders together in my MTLX ground material.
