How to Use RealFlow Cinema 4D Plugin for Fluid Simulations
RealFlow Cinema 4D is a plugin that allows you to create realistic fluid simulations in Cinema 4D. You can use it to create splashes, waves, bubbles, fountains, waterfalls, and more. RealFlow Cinema 4D integrates seamlessly with Cinema 4D and offers a fast and easy workflow.
In this article, we will show you how to use RealFlow Cinema 4D plugin for some basic fluid simulations. You will need Cinema 4D R23 or higher and RealFlow Cinema 4D 3 or higher installed on your computer.
Step 1: Create a Fluid Emitter
The first step is to create a fluid emitter that will generate the fluid particles. You can choose from different types of emitters, such as Circle, Sphere, Fill, Spline, or Object. For this example, we will use a Circle emitter.
To create a Circle emitter, go to Plugins > RealFlow > Emitters > Circle. A Circle emitter node will appear in the Object Manager and a circle shape will appear in the viewport. You can adjust the position, rotation, and scale of the emitter using the Move, Rotate, and Scale tools.
To edit the emitter parameters, select the node in the Object Manager and go to the Attributes Manager. Here you can change the settings such as Resolution, Speed, Variation, Thickness, etc. You can also use Cinema 4D materials and textures as emission masks by dragging them into the Mask slot.
Step 2: Create a Collider Object
The next step is to create a collider object that will interact with the fluid particles. You can use any Cinema 4D object as a collider, such as a Cube, Sphere, Plane, or Spline. For this example, we will use a Plane object.
To create a Plane object, go to Objects > Primitive > Plane. A Plane object will appear in the Object Manager and a plane shape will appear in the viewport. You can adjust the position, rotation, and scale of the plane using the Move, Rotate, and Scale tools.
To make the plane a collider object for RealFlow, you need to add a Collider tag to it. To do this, select the plane in the Object Manager and go to Plugins > RealFlow > Tags > Collider. A Collider tag will appear next to the plane in the Object Manager.
To edit the collider parameters, select the tag in the Object Manager and go to the Attributes Manager. Here you can change the settings such as Friction, Bounce, Stickiness, etc. You can also decide which fluids will collide with the plane by checking or unchecking them in the Fluids list.
Step 3: Create a Mesh Object
The final step is to create a mesh object that will convert the fluid particles into a smooth surface. You can use different types of meshing algorithms, such as Standard Particles Mesher (SPM), OpenVDB Mesher (OVM), or Particle Skinner Mesher (PSM). For this example, we will use OVM.
To create an OVM mesh object, go to Plugins > RealFlow > Meshing > OpenVDB Mesher. An OVM node will appear in the Object Manager and a mesh shape will appear in the viewport. You can adjust the position, rotation, and scale of the mesh using the Move, Rotate, and Scale tools.
To edit the mesh parameters, select the node in the Object Manager and go to the Attributes Manager. Here you can change the settings such as Voxel Size, Filter Width, Adaptivity Thresholds etc. You can also choose which fluids will be meshed by checking or unchecking them in the Fluids list.
Step 4: Simulate and Render
Now you are ready to simulate and render your fluid simulation. To simulate your scene, go to Plugins > RealFlow > Simulation > Start Simulation. A progress bar will appear at the bottom of the viewport showing you how many frames have been simulated.
To render your scene, go to Render > Render Settings and choose your output options such as Resolution Format Frame Range Save etc. Then go to