Rendering

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To create an animation, you must first save the simulation data to files. There are two file formats suitable for this purpose:

  • Data files (*.sdf) - store basic information about particles, like particle velocities, internal energy, etc.
  • State files (*.ssf) - store all the simulation information, so it can be used to save and resume the simulation.
For rendering, the data files are preferred, as the state files can become huge for high-resolution simulations.
Output files of a simulation can be set up in the Output category. You have to specify the following:

  • Directory - path to the directory where the files will be stored
  • File mask - specifies the generated file names; for simulation_%d.sdf, the simulation will create files simulation_0000.sdf, simulation_0001.sdf, etc.
  • Output interval - period of output files; do not set too low to avoid saving excessive number of files.
Once the files are created, they can be rendered using Render animation node (under Rendering category). The node requires a camera as an input. OpenSPH includes several camera models, Perspective camera being the most common one. In the render node, set output paths of rendered images, similarly as in the simulation node.
The render node works in two modes:

  • Single frame - reads particle data from the connected input and renders a single image.
  • File sequence - renders an animation, given the first file in the sequence.
Once the nodes are set up, right-click the render node, and choose either Preview to get a quick preview of the rendered result, or Render to create and save rendered images.

Rendering algorithms:

Render as particles

Draws individual particles with their corresponding radii.

Render the surface using raymarching.

Useful for visualization of solid bodies, such as planets or asteroids.

Render the emission from volume.

Suitable of visualization of stars, circumstellar disks or other emitting media.