Polyfjord®

Real Caustics Video Texture

Added 2021-12-06 15:50:22 +0000 UTC

Hello!

More caustics! At first glance, this can look similar to the previous experiments about caustics in Blender, but this time I've explored a new and simpler workflow. Instead of simulating this procedurally, we'll use video footage of real caustics! Then a simple color ramp can be used to extract the data we need.

I stumbled upon a shallow fountain when I was out for a walk, and filmed these caustics patterns in 240fps. When slowed down and played back at 30fps, it looks really smooth and organic!

The video texture uses an ocean modifier to subtly displace the mesh a little bit. It's not necessary for a great result, but it adds a little extra. Other than that, this setup is basically just a video texture and a color ramp into the alpha texture!

This is the node setup of the video texture, and you'll see how simple it is. The invert node is not necessary, you could just flip the color ramp, I just used it for easier previews.

The final result is almost exactly the same as I've experimented with previously, but the motion feels more random and less computer generated. Perhaps someone can use it as a reference to create a killed procedural caustics setup!

This scene renders quite slowly due to all the volumetrics, but in general I think video textures can make any scene much more exciting!

Assets used (CC0, from Poly Haven):
Clock model: https://polyhaven.com/a/alarm_clock_01
Sand texture: https://polyhaven.com/a/aerial_beach_02

You can download this simple scene below, to se how the video texture can be set up. The download also includes the video texture, which you can use for commercial projects if you like. Download link: Real_Caustics.zip

The footage was shot on iPhone 11 Pro at 1080x1920 in 240fps.

Looking forward to see what you'll create with this video texture! Perhaps it has other use cases too, like controlling bump map, material type or colors? Try it!

Thanks for the support!

- Asbjørn