Go from Beginner to Pro at Making Realistic Liquid Simulations with Chaos Phoenix

Introducing the All-New…

Chaos Phoenix Beginner Liquid Simulation Course 2.0 by RedefineFX

After an amazing response to the tyFlow Basecamp & Deepdive, I’m bringing the same course format to Chaos Phoenix. Follow me along step-by-step as we cover a wide range of simulation scenarios, including an in-depth look at foam & bubble simulations, delicious viscous liquids, melting, freezing, and other condition-based effects using the Particle Tuner, interaction with tyFlow, liquid morphing & other forces, RGB mixing, Wetmaps, realistic slow-motion water splashes, and much more. While the general misconception is that these sims take forever, I’ve found they’re very fast if you set them up correctly from the start (I’ll show you the proper workflow). With 60+ videos (most content I’ve ever recorded for a course), this one is truly jam-packed, but don’t worry – everything is made in the same beginner-friendly, to-the-point teaching style (with ALL project files included!) you’re used to from me, and all of the new concepts will be crystal clear by the time you’re done with the course. You can immediately take this practical knowledge and apply it to your work, whether it’s for Archviz, Productviz or High-End commercials & motion design. I’ve used these effects to attract amazing clients and charge thousands of dollars per project & I’m giving away everything I’ve learned over 5 years of using Phoenix in this value-packed, Beginner -> Pro course. And why the 2.0 in the title? This course is a new, completely rebuilt and expanded version of the original 2019 Phoenix FD Beginner Liquid FX Course 1.0

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Enroll Now for Instant Access to the All-New Phoenix Basecamp

“RedefineFX is doing an absolutely outstanding job teaching all aspects of Chaos Phoenix”

– Svetlin Nikolov, Lead Phoenix Developer, Chaos

Here’s What’s Included

3ds max liquid simulation

Pouring Orange Soda. Create initial fill of liquid inside geometry, then troubleshoot several problems to get the liquid to pour out at the desired speed & volume & not intersect the soda can geometry. Add bubbles of various sizes inside the liquid after the simulation is already done.

A Glass of Coca Cola with Foam & Bubbles. Understand foam simulation settings in-depth, including foam patterns, interaction of bubbles, rendering modes and much more

tyFlow & Phoenix Interaction and Retiming. Setup a PhysX simulation of ice cubes with tyFlow, make them explode upwards, retime for slow motion, then add a Phoenix water sim on top. The tricky part? Setting up & retiming the phoenix simulation just right to interact with tyFlow correctly.

Take a deep dive into ALL foam settings. Learn how to make foam rise faster or stick to the glass. Understand settings like B2B to create realistic thick foam on top of the liquid. Add more foam AFTER simulation is already done. Use resimulation to only simulate foam again without the need to sim main liquid again, and much more.

Realistic Water Splashes. Understand settings like “Surface tension” or “droplet breakup” to control whether the water creates tendrils or individual drops and have the power to art direct the behavior of realistic water splashes.

Learn all of my best tips & tricks for getting realistic looking close-ups of water splashes

Use the particle tuner to create various melting effects, such as pouring a “hot” liquid that melts a solid object. Understand Variable Viscosity and RGB Diffusion

Learn how to add more foam where needed. Emit from from objects. Explore the Particle Shader to make bubbles smaller or larger, or how bright they appear.

Go deeper on settings like “steps per frame” and scale of your scene to understand how they affect the behavior of your simulations

On top of all of the other ways of mixing liquids that we’re covering inside this course, I’ll also show you a bit more advanced setup of mixing transparent liquids with opaque ones (e.g. water & paint).

Create viscous liquids like creams, gels, oils, soap, caramel, chocolate and more. Learn how to tweak the settings so they fold or coil like they would in real life. Understand settings like “Non-Newtonian” to add realism to your sims!

At one point this was a popular effect all over Instagram. Use a few tricks inside Phoenix to have the simulation run only inside the sphere. Make it spin with a vortex force. Troubleshoot edge touch points issues. And of course, we’re adding some sweet foam on top.

Set up interaction between tyFlow and Phoenix and drop ice cubes into water. Learn how to make them float using either Active Bodies or tyFlow PhysX Fluid.

Harden liquids over time and change their color based on Viscosity with the Particle Tuner

A staple of any beginner liquid course, set up a Liquid Path Follow. Learn how to change the fluid behavior, thickness of the “tube”, speed of movement and so on.

Learn how to achieve the “Coiling” or “Folding” effect with liquids (3 main settings need to be tweaked for the magic to happen 🙂

Use various forces for more abstract liquid sims

A beginner setup early in the course. A warm-up quick win lesson to get you to fall in love with Phoenix fast. We cover initial fill here, emitters, scene resolution and scale, adaptive grid and other vital features.

Liquid Morphing from one object to another! What more to say, this is super fun.

Take an in-depth look into the Particle Tuner. Go beyond simple conditions and setup more complex effects with multiple particle tuners. Make liquids freeze, melt, change viscosity, speed, or remove shooting foam particles. Set up “2-level” conditions and enable force if they are met (e.g. only IF the liquid is older than 1 second and closer than 5cm to an object, THEN affect it by a path follow force). This is one of the most powerful, yet overlooked features of Phoenix that will allow you to make unique and very cool effects.

Here’s a short making-of video full of breakdowns of the various simulations

BONUS LESSONS!

Bonus Lesson #1: Liquid on fire!

Learn the basics of how to use the other half of Phoenix – fire simulations – to set our liquid on fire. Use the volumetric shader to color the fire from hues of blue to fire orange. Adjust settings like vorticity, cooling, and temperature to achieve this particular look of flames.

Bonus Lesson #2: Milk Dissolving in Liquid

Use a bunch of tricks with Phoenix to achieve this shot of (an artistic representation…) milk dissolving into coffee. This shot is inspired by a live action shot showcased in the 2016 reel by The Marmalade, who specialize in high-speed cinematic videos of real food & beverages.

Bonus Lesson #3: Wetting

Make objects appear wet wherever liquid touches them using wetmap particles & the phoenix particle texture.

Bonus Lesson #4: Emit Bubbles from Models

For example you can imply that objects (medication, pills, active agents, dirt, stains, rust etc. dissolve in water). You can also make a pretty cool “dissolve in acid” shot with this setup, too.

Bonus Lesson #5: Dynamic Rain!

Use tyFlow particles as a liquid source for Phoenix to create an actual liquid simulation of rain – with drops combining and separating, interacting with the surface dynamically, just like in real life.

“Jesse’s clear and straightforward tutorials let us spend less time guessing values to get results, and ultimately help us create award-winning 3D animations

– Max Taylor, Senior Art Director at Random42, London 

Enhance Your Portfolio with Satisfying Liquid Simulations

(so you can attract better jobs & clients and charge MORE for your work)

  • Get a full & complete introduction to Phoenix
  • Acquire an UNCONVENTIONAL skillset that is in high demand
  • Get my best tips from years of running liquid sims
  • Learn time-saving techniques that speed up simulation & rendering
  • Create realistic water splashes, slow motion, or frozen time setups
  • Take the confusion out of settings like “surface tension” or “droplet breakup” – I’ll visually show you how they work
  • Create cool & SATISFYING effects: liquid morphing from one object to another, path follow, vortex force, plain force and more
  • Go deep on ALL THINGS FOAM & BUBBLES: we’re covering it all, creating stunning shots of fizzy drinks and floating bubbles
  • Learn several ways of mixing colors and viscosities of different liquids together
  • Confidently set up viscous liquids such as paint, chocolate, honey, gels, dish soap and more
  • Control & influence liquids based on various conditions with the Particle Tuner first introduced in Phoenix 4
  • Make geometry float, bounce, and interact with liquids using Active Bodies and tyFlow 
  • Go even deeper with a variety of fun (yet useful) bonus lessons (check them out below)
  • Learn from a Chaos Group Authorized Instructor, award-winning 3D artist & an experienced course creator
  • Learn to understand Phoenix to the point where you’ll confidently setup your own liquid sims

Why Learn Liquid Simulations?

Liquid simulations are widely used in architectural visualizations for pools, fountains & water displays. In product CGI commercials to showcase drinks, water resistant products, fruit splashes and more. And of course in traditional visual effects for shots involving liquids. The lessons include a complete and comprehensive overview of Phoenix & all main liquid simulation settings. I will walk you through everything step-by-step, including my exact tips & tricks to speed up your simulations & make them stand out.

There Are So Many Opportunities

  • Soda, tea, & bottled water commercials
  • Creams, shower gels, dish soap, shaving foam
  • Chocolate, honey, syrup, frosting
  • Luxury product visualizations
  • Archviz (fountains, pools, water features)
  • Waterproof products (sport watches, phones, speakers)
  • Music videos & VFX for films and TV shows (blood splatters)
  • Concert visuals (abstract fluid sims)
  • Industrial animation (water filters, humidifiers etc.)
  • Tradeshow & lobby displays (water gates, waterfalls…)
  • and so much more

25+ Ready-to-Sim Project Files Included ($5,000 value)

I know what you’re thinking – $5,000 value sounds like a lot. But every single one of these project files can immediately be used on paid client work. All you have to do is open the file, import your client’s product model (or anything else), and run the simulation. No setup process. If someone were to hire my studio to setup all of the effects in this course, I would charge north of $25,000. Included are project files for everything in the trailer and above images plus many additional project files to supplement the video lessons throughout the course. I’ve been told before that I should sell the project file separately, because they’re as valuable as the course itself.

Noticed by Chaos, Creators of Phoenix

What Our Students Say About RedefineFX? 

Below reviews are mostly from tyFlow Basecamp & Deepdive courses. Phoenix Basecamp reviews will be added as more of you go through the new training.

…and so many others

“If you’re looking for training that’s straight forward, without fluff and time wasting side talk, these are the courses you’ve been looking for”

–  Russell Boebert, VFX artist at FuseFX, New York

BONUS PROJECT FILES!

Cover anything in beautiful bubbles. These are not just spheres – Phoenix connects and creates a wall between any 2 foam bubbles that intersect (just like what happens in real life), creating a highly realistic bubble foam that is hard to achieve any other way. Learn to control the size, randomness, stickiness and ability to “grow on top of each other” of the individual bubbles.

Fanta pour. Complete setup with foam, bubbles, materials. With a few a tweaks (that I’ll teach you throughout the course), you can turn this into beer, cappuccino, coke…

Logo water splash with caustics. Just replace the text with whatever you want… 😉

Cereal floating in milk (complete setup, includes tyFlow & Phoenix events). This setup can be used to make ANYTHING float in liquid of any viscosity. Hazelnuts in chocolate. Veggies in water. Lemon slices in lemonade…go to town.

Logo paint splash. Replace the logo with your client’s logo and work done.

IMAGINE…

being the kind of person that can do this type of CG work…

 

  • How would that change how people perceive your value?

  • How much more could you charge per hour / per project?

  • How would your clients / boss / friends / family / followers react?

NOW IS THE TIME TO JUMP INTO FX

…if the images on this page intrigue you even just a little bit, I’m confident you’ll love this course

 

At only $297, which is less than what you can make in ONE DAY as an FX artist (usually $200-$400 a day OR $2,500-$10,000 per project as a freelancer) this is a no-brainer investment for anyone wanting to invest a little bit of money for a massive leg up over everyone who will let this opportunity pass them by. I’ll see you inside! – Jesse

ENROLL IN PHOENIX LIQUID FX NOW FOR ONE-TIME PAYMENT OF ONLY $297

What You’ll Get:
  • 60+ Total Videos
  • 25+ FX Setups Covering every major Phoenix feature
  • Water Splashes, viscous liquids, color mixing, morphing, particle tuner, interaction with tyFlow, and a ton more. 
  • Huge Chapter & 20+ videos on just Foam & Bubbles 
  • All Project Files Included ($5,000 value)
  • 5 Valuable Bonus Lessons ($247 value)
  • 5 Bonus Project Files ($147 value)
  • Learn from an experienced, Chaos Phoenix Authorized Instructor
  • Instant access to the Entire Course (No waiting for “terms” or “weeks”) 
  • Lifetime Access
  • Fully edited, focused lessons with portfolio-ready results
  • Beautiful online learning platform
  • Same to-the-point, straightforward, beginner-friendly teaching style you’re used to from my tutorials & other courses (no surprises here!)
  • A resource you can trust, RedefineFX has produced 8 premium courses, 100+ tutorials, and is a community of 40,000+ subscribers

GET STARTED NOW

Make the small investment into advancing your 3D career

ENROLL

Got questions?

I'm worried that these simulations take too long to run

This is a common misconception spread in YouTube comments by people saying “simulation time 5 years lol”. In reality, the simulations can be very fast if you set them up correctly from the start. If it’s taking too long, it’s almost always because the setup is incorrect, rather than the software or your PC being slow.

I'm completely new to all this, will I be able to follow?

Absolutely yes. The entire first chapter is made with absolute beginners in mind, making sure you guys feel comfortable with Phoenix before moving forward with the course.

How is the 2.0 version different from the original Phoenix Beginner Liquid FX 1.0 & Yummy Courses?

The new Phoenix Liquid FX 2.0 is an entire re-build from absolute scratch. Re-imagined, expanded, and about 4x the size and scope of the original course, it combines the best techniques from both courses & introduces lots of new material, now better explained with more visual examples, including a huge deep dive into foam & bubbles, condition-based effects with the particle tuner such as melting & freezing, viscous simulations (chocolate, coiling honey), interaction with tyFlow (e.g. trailer opening shot with ice cubes), new realistic water splash techniques, visual demonstrations of all main settings, PLUS several exciting bonus lessons.

I'm already familiar with Phoenix, will I still learn NEW valuable skills?

Yes! If you’re a bit more advanced with Phoenix, I’m confident you’ll still learn plenty of new techniques. After we get through the introductory lessons, there’s plenty to dig into even for more advanced users.

What software do I need?

3Ds Max (free trial available) and Phoenix (free trial available) are necessary. Vray (free trial available) is highly recommended since it’s best optimized to render Phoenix foam and other effects. You can use tyFlow Free to follow this course. We’re using After Effects for some simple compositing and color correction. The Frischluft Lenscare plugin for AE is optional (to add shallow depth of field in post).

Can I use older Phoenix versions? 

Yes, you can. But be aware that this course was made with Phoenix 4.40 and any older versions may produce different looking simulations even if you plug in the exact same numbers as me.

Do I need tyFlow Pro?

No. You can fully follow this course with tyFlow Free.

I work with Phoenix for Maya - should I take this course?

Yes, you can. Even though this is a 3Ds Max course, Phoenix is nearly identical for Maya and majority of the setups covered in this course can be ported over.

When does the course start and finish?

This is a completely self-paced online course. I’ve made the lessons bite-sized so you can make progress every day without feeling overwhelmed.

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like – across any and all devices you own.

What PC do I need for this?

While you don’t need a high-end PC to follow along with the course, I do recommend 32GB ram and at least a decent quad core. For Phoenix sims, clock speed will make a bigger difference over number of cores. Phoenix sims are not GPU accelerated so your graphics card isn’t particularly important for simulations.

Are the project files included?

Yes. All of the project files are included so you can just open the file and look at my settings if at any point you’re stuck. Or you can just straight up use them for commercial work. All good with me.

The soda can 3D model and ice cubes are also included.

Some of the other models (like the food models and background vases etc.) I purchased online and cannot include them with this course for legal reasons. Links will be included under the videos if you’d like to get the exact same models.

Do I get a Certificate?

Yes! Upon completion of all lessons, you will automatically receive a unique Certificate of Completion.

Course Curriculum

Learn from 12 chapters & 60+ total videos

Chapter 01: The Quick Win Water Sim Project
  • Quick Win Water Sim Setup start to finish (jump right into the cool stuff here)
  • Using the (awesome) Presets
Chapter 02: My best tips from years of running liquid sims
  • My best tips for beautiful & realistic liquid sims
  • My best tips for FASTER liquid sims
  • Finding cool dynamic liquid shots & angles
  • Hardware Recommendations for faster simming
  • My best tips to make money with liquid sims
  • My best tips to GET IDEAS for cool & unique liquid sims
Chapter 03: Introduction to Phoenix
  • Simulation tab (Start, Pause, Stop, Resume, Backup Interval, Initial State)
  • Grid settings (Grid Resolution, Walls, Adaptive grid, Maximum Expansion)
  • Dynamics settings (Steps per frame, Time Scale, Initial Fill)
  • Preview tab (Detail reduction, show mesh, special display)
  • Output and rendering tab (Scene interaction, grid channels, meshing, cacheless sim)
  • Liquid emitter settings (Noise, textures, polygon ID, RGB, viscosity)
Chapter 04: Water Splash Techniques
  • Soda cans water splash project
  • Side splash Quick Tip
  • Frozen time Quick Tip (+ path constraint)
  • Limes Splash with Brush emit mode
  • Ramp Splash Quick Tip + HDRI Lighting & Chaos Cosmos
  • Confine & Cutter Geometry (only run simulation inside specified object)
  • Surface Tension / Droplet Breakup & Droplet Radius Explained
  • Scene Scale Explained
  • Steps per Frame explained (more is NOT always better!)
Chapter 05: Forces
  • Turbulence
  • Plain force
  • Path follow
  • Body Force
  • Sun lighting & caustics setups
  • Vortex force & RGB mixing
  • Wave force
Chapter 06: Introduction to Foam
  • Foam Quick Start
  • Birth
  • Resimulation
  • Lifespan
  • Size
  • Size Distribution
  • Generating foam from objects
  • B2B
  • Rising and falling speed
  • Sticky foam
Chapter 07: Particle Shader
  • Particle shader introduction
  • Size & variation
  • Count multiplier
  • Render settings
  • All of My BEST TIPS to avoid FLICKER in animation involving foam
Chapter 08: Liquid Projects with Foam
  • Let’s Create Some Ice Cubes from Scratch
  • Soda can pour
  • Bubbles slow motion close-up
  • Slow motion fruit drop with extra bubbles
  • Wine flip
  • BIG FOAM CHAPTER SUMMARY & RECAP: A Glass of Coke
Chapter 09: Viscosity
  • Viscosity Introduction / Mixing Different Viscosities
  • Sticky liquid
  • Non-Newtonian explained
  • Getting the coiling effect
  • Folding chocolate & Grid Channel Smoothing (new feature)
Chapter 10: The Particle Tuner
  • Particle Tuner Introduction (e.g. stop liquid from moving if viscosity is 1.0)
  • Particle Tuner Introduction Part 2 (affect by body force if age is greater than 1 second AND within 5 cm to object)
  • Transparent Liquids RGB Mixing Quick Tip
  • Mixing water and paint (2 materials, 2 viscosities, 1 sim box)
  • Melt and Color by viscosity (e.g. the higher viscosity the more orange the color)
  • Melt by proximity (e.g. if liquid is within 10cm to sphere, lower its viscosity to 0.25)
  • Harden Liquid (Donut Frosting) / e.g. if the liquid is older than 1s, increase its viscosity to 1.0)
Chapter 11: tyFlow
  • Fill Glass with ice cubes using tyFlow PhysX
  • Drop ice cubes into water with tyFlow
  • tyFlow Condensation
  • Rain with tyFlow Particles
  • tyFlow PhysX Fluid Introduction (floating dynamic objects)
Chapter 12: Bonus lessons, Project Files & Quick Tips
  • Wetting
  • Liquid on Fire
  • Milk Dissolve (Mesh a smoke plume as geometry)
  • Active Bodies Overview
  • Cover objects with bubbles project file
  • Bath Bubbles Bonus Project File
  • O Pour with Bubbles & Foam project file
  • End Credit Splash project file
  • RFX Logo Paint Splash project file

RedefineFX is always pushing the limits of what software like tyFlow & Phoenix are capable of

– Chaos, Creators of V-Ray & Phoenix