this is a question for RageCgi :) about heat distortion
 

I thought that you might know this. Do you know a way to create Realistic heat distortion? I know you can use a hardware rederer and render particles and distort it in Aftereffects, but do you sugest anything else?? Thanks,
Brian

Well, basicly, that's the way I do it as well, only I DON'T use hardware particles, unless I need REALLY small streaks...

To create controllable heat distortion effects, I mainly do this:

Say the shot calls for hot exaust coming out of your jeeps' tailpipe, and the vehicle and camera are not moviing very fast, if at all.

I would try this first:

1. Make a small emitter inside the tip of the tailpipe.

2. Make it emit software cloud particles mapped with a basic lambert grey shader with little, or NO transparency.

3. tweak the particles with a turbulence field etc. to get it to act correct.

4. If you want to, tweak the software cloud particles size with a radiusPP() creation expression like this: (you will have to add radiusPP as a new attribute)
particleShape1.radiusPP = rand(1,3);

5. Render the particles out using the software renderer.

6. Using After Effects, use the particle render sequence as a displacement map sequence for your background:)

7. Use that sequence to also add a little blur to the background as well for spice:)

Hope that helped...

If not, lemme know what more you need to know, and I'll try to help out:)

I am really in a hurry with my demo reel, and a friend droped off a model of a Harrier. It is incredibly detailed! Well there is a 6 story Parking garage at a mall that has a huge open area in the middle, I wanted to show a Harrier taking off or landing in there! Since I don't have heat distorting on anything else, I wanted to use it on that.
Thanks,
Brian

BTW thanks alot for the reply! I will try that out

No prob, and by the way, the basic idea of what I said was the basic way that the Harrier heat fx were done for the True Lies Harrier shots....( among other techniques )

2d particle renders used as the bg displacement and blur in post:)

Good luck, and I can't wait to see it!

Nice one rage! :)

Hi Brian,

I have been looking around the net a bit... and maybe some of this might help with your problem... :)

"Jet Engine Heat Haze" By Andrew Smallwood, it is unfortunately a Lightwave tutorial, but I don't know if some of it might be converted to Maya, because I don't know that much about Maya yet... -->
http://www.cgfocus.com/ArticleDetails.cfm?ArticleID=89

there is a tip here for a Heat Haze effect in Maya... -->
http://www.goat.com/alias/particles.html#heathaze

"Creating Heat effects in Universe"... I don't know if something similar could be made i Maya... by using some other techniqes to get it done... -->
http://www.gasoline-prod.com/electro...ips013-US.html

maybe Denfo's Hot-Glass shader might help a bit... -->
http://www.denfo.grc.ru/shaders.asp?...&sort=&page=06
to produce some of the effect e.g. for a Heat Haze sphere part of it... I don't know...

as I have understood it, fog and Heat Haze is kind of the same category in a way... fog is just a kind of solid Heat Haze, were you can see throug the Heat Haze... and I have seen them mentioned in connection with "Volumetric Effects"... so maybe the plugin "Ray Marcher" which is free might help... -->
http://www.lightengine3d.com/downloa...yMarcher1.html
it should be a shading plugin that is allowing rendering of true volumetric effects... :)

maybe this tutorial from Gnomon, can give some ideas also... "Spotlight Fog"... -->
http://www.the-gnomon-workshop.com/t.../lightfog.html
and this one from Gnomon also... "Controlling Fog Density"... -->
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tut...g_density.html
they also have this one... "Simple Fog"... -->
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tut...imple_fog.html

"Make your own Fast Environment Fog"... -->
http://aw.aliaswavefront.com/pit/may...xt/tutor1.html
"Moving Smoke"... -->
http://aw.aliaswavefront.com/pit/may...xt/tutor2.html

I don't know if this Tutorial by ZooRender... "How to create Real Smoke using Software Render"... maybe can be used if the smoke gets all colors away... an then is transparent an only reflect the light... -->
http://www.zoorender.com/html/tutorials_zoo_smoke.htm

for the motion of the Heat Haze, maybe some of the things in this "Candle Flame" tutorial from Gnomon can be used... -->
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tut...le/candle.html


I don't know if some of this is useful or not... sometimes my mind is running faster than I can think... and I really don't know so much about Maya yet, that I have could try some of these thing in practice... but it is just some ideas and I have a feeling that it might be something like this...

I would properly have to find a mindcooler before it is running again... :banghead:

regards

Strarup

THanks for the replies! So many links!! Thanks alot starup! I will look into it in a little while, hopefully around Lunch time I will have something figured out and have an image for you guys. Thanks alot!

STARUP!!! dude! nice stuff man! Thanks!

Brian, take a look over at dvgarage.com, they have a video tutorial on creating heat distortion. You need to register to access it though. It's pretty informitive. It's video No 14.

all this info! Thanks alot!
Brian

Thanx... :)

BTW. very nice & good Video Tutorial at DvGarage.com... :)

I also found a bit more... got very curious... :D

"Smoke & Mirrors - Heat Wave" by Alex Lindsay
http://www.3dgate.com/news_and_opini...4alindsay.html
it looks a bit like it... he is also using red and green colors for the particles...

here is also one which look interesting... but it is unfortunately for lightwave... "Afterburn Tutorial"... -->
http://www.dynamic-realities.com/sup...afterburn.html

I don't know if this tutorial also might be useful... e.g. if the speed of jetflow is going up or down... "Using Particle Speed" by Alex Alvarez... -->
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tut...eed_color.html

btw. is the "6 story Parking garage" a movie part or a part of an model in Maya?

regards

Strarup

The garage is pretty cool, Haven't take the footage yet, but its real. Its just big enough for a Harrier to fit inside. Hopefully the footage will work ok, not sure. Thanks,
Brian

I went thru the links that you guys have posted. I really recomend the one on DV Garage. Its pretty good. Goes along with what Ragecgi stated. Thanks!!
Brian

Cool:)