Undersea environment look...

[jayroth]

Hi everyone,

I need to create a coral environment where I can see the surface of the water and the ocean density, preferably with volume caustics. I am using HOT for the ocean surface, which is working rather well. However, I am not having much luck with the volume caustics, and just dialing in the look of the ocean density is eluding me to a degree. Anyone care to offer some tips? Using the current test build with AS.

Thanks!

[bepeg4d]

Hi jayroth,
have you tried to add a Volume VDB cube under the see to mimic the depth rays and scattering?
ciao beppe

[jayroth]

Hi bepeg4d,

Per your suggestion, I have replaced the Octane Volume with a VDB Volume. Sadly, I don't see an improvement, though there are some differences. I am looking for a Caribbean feel to the underwater illumination, but I just cannot seem to crack it. I guess I need to read up on VDB volumes a bit...

Update: after messing around with it, I have gotten the VDB volume to look much better, in terms of the undersea appearance I'm after. Still some issues though, as discussed in the next post...

[jayroth]

Also, does anyone know of a way to decrease the volume density in a direction perpendicular to the camera? Given that we are in a body of water, and I need to be able to see the water surface, the VDB volume is effectively obscuring the surface, and that's a problem...