PHYTOPLANKTON CLOUDS IN THE WATER
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My idea is to create phytoplankton clouds into the water... so where do I start?
First of all, I did an intensive research regarding the average water colours of such clouds and particles in satellite images.
The result of my research is now presented...
[attach=1]
Average water colours and phytoplankton cloud colours in open water
(Clean RGB Colours to save them in your Library)
[attach=2]
Average water colours and phytoplankton cloud colours in open water
(With Satellite Reference Pictures)
Next I created a simple water shader based upon these average water colours.
A tuned noise pattern with some stretching and some experimenting are a good start for my shader.
[attach=3]
In this screenshot you can see my first phytoplankton water shader based upon my research
To see the final outcome of the phytoplankton clouds in the water at it's best, I recommend to set up a top view of the scene.
I found out that it is better to fade out all vegetables and add a simple black shader to your terrain. So you will focus mainly on the clouds in the water and not to the whole scenery.
If you do so, you can see the water (lake) with it's phytoplankton clouds much better as it is seen in this screenshot (which I did before I deactivated all the unnecessary stuff).
[attach=4]
Top View of Lake Tahoe
Afterwards I placed a few Vortex Warp Shaders (see Node) in and around my lake and they swirls the phytoplankton clouds in the water nicely around.
Yes, it was fun to check out all the different settings by chance and see which results will finally show up!
[attach=5]
Phytoplankton swirled with Vortex Warp Shaders
Then it was time to make a first test. To get some bright clouds in the water, I set the volume density here up to 100 to see them clearly in the preview window.
In the rendering, I decreased it down to 25. To be honest, I was really eager to see the result because nobody here in the forum did such a phytoplakton shot before!
[attach=6]
The first phytoplankton test rendering
[attach=7]
Lakes and Small Mountains (Phytoplankton Cloud)
The next steps are already planned and will be added soon, so stay tuned!
STORMLORD