Problem with fog/smoke

[thechapmanbrothers]

I have been trying to sort this problem out for ages and cannot find any litrature anywhere so I am now asking the experts.

When I create a smoke emitter and then import the fog that is used in the example oceans in maya I end up getting a light/whitish (semi-transparent)box that surrounds the smoke when rendered in mr. Has anybody got a solution? It is really frustrating as I want to use fog and smoke in my scene but am unable to do so. If anyone needs a screenshot I can post one.

Thanks to anybody with a potential solution.

[kevjon]

Not many maya users here at MM. I usually find it is quicker, easier and more realistic to create smoke, fire and fog effects in photoshop. Won't help you though if your trying to do an animation with these effects.

[zarroun]

The best way to do it is by filling the container with a gradient. Here, i'll put down the steps for you:

- Create your 3D Container. Remember don't scale the container by hand, always do that by puting in the numbers in the attribute editor (Ctrl-A)

- Change the resolution to your needs. Always keep the resolution proportional to the size. So if your size is 10 x 20 x 30, your resolution should be 20 x 40 x 60. Twice the size for the resolution should be enough in most cases. If you don't keep the size proportional, you can get strange artifacts

- Under "Contents Method" in the attribute editor, change the "Density" to gradient

- Open the "Shading" section and scroll down to "Opacity" and change the "Opacity Input" to Z-Gradient (or any direction you desire)

- Change the interpolation to smooth

- Play with the graph and input bias until you have your desired fog

- If you want to add noise to your fog, just play around in the color section. You could add a noise node to the color rap (click the checker box)

Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you need anything else, been working with maya dynamics for quiet a while now.

[thechapmanbrothers]

Thanks for replying guys, I will give your advice a try tonight zarroun. Sorry I didn't reply straight away, I have been away for a couple of days.

Thanks again

[zarroun]

You're welcome. Let me know if you have any other problems with it.

[thechapmanbrothers]

Thanks guys, I think I have it finally sorted, although I was trying to render it all in one pass as well (duh), I have ripped my scene to pieces and now working everything as layers - much easier.

Anyway thanks again.

[zarroun]

My bad, I was certain that I put somewhere to render in different passes. It's a bit more work at first, but with the Maya render (sw or hw) you can avoid a lot of mistakes and weirdnes that way.

Good job on solving your problem.