How would you go about this? (A question about complex clouds)

[TheBadger]

I would like to use cloud shaders.
[attach=1]

As I said I want to use TG for this. For my purposes, other software or doing it in post will not be a good solution.

I am guessing, but I think this is very doable, only I think I need to use blue nodes to pull and stretch the cloud forms? At any rate, I don't know much of anything about the blues.

What do you guys think?

[Andrew March]

The wisps aren't actually clouds, they are rain.

[zaxxon]

The technical term is "Virga": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virga  Definitely a lovely phenomena.

[TheBadger]

in both images they are volcanic ash. But thats not the point.

How would you do it with a cloud shader?

[fleetwood]

This is one way -

      Stretch the a local clouds density shader noise scales so the scales are x=1 y=10 z=10 or something similar depending on where your camera is situated.
This gives you a vertically stretched pattern.
Pipe that to a Transform Shader where you then rotate the clouds density shader something like x=20 y=0 z=20.
It gives you something like this unfinished example where the starting attempt at falling rain is the local cloud in the middle.
You could then maybe run the density shader into a Fractal Warp shader and put a bit of variation back into it before you feed it to the actual Cloud shader.

[TheBadger]

Thanks  fleetwood,
works just fine. Guess it was not very complex, as these thing go, after all.
[attach=1]

Andrew, Zaxxon
Ok rain too I just have fire and smoke in my eye now

[Oshyan]

Yes, this is a good approach I think. Some earlier attempts and discussions:
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,5740
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,9503.0.html
(there are more as well, just examples)

- Oshyan

[Dune]

Best if you use the same fractal as the cloud that it's raining from, but moved downward to the center of the rainfall area, so that it rains from the heaviest cloud.

[TheBadger]

Is it possible (easily) to mask or clamp (preferably clamp) the cloud depth, so that only the cloud below or above the center line of the cloud depth remains visible?

So if you click the (?) button in the cloud node, you see a diagram of cloud depth. I want to keep only whats above or below the center line in that diagram, but not both. I can do this? While keeping the results otherwise the same?

[Dune]

Sure, use a distribution shader as final input.

[TheBadger]

lol REally, thats it? Well, I just did not imagine anything would be so simple as this. Nice thread!
Thanks!