A dip into water simulation for an innovative biotech company.
Abstract
Starting as a pitch for a (real) biotech company with a recent innovation in artificial enzyme engineering, things didn’t quite go as planned. Some projects evolve in unexpected directions, and this one decided to grow its own way.
The idea to grow an enzyme out of water posed a creative and technical puzzle I couldn’t resist.
Computer-generated water is notoriously tricky to get right: Done well, it can be beautiful - but get the balance wrong and any number of potential sticking points could throw the whole composition off balance.Presented with a daunting opportunity to push the creative, I looked to the little quote stuck above the door on my studio wall, which reads:
I usually know I’m onto something when I’m a little bit afraid of it. I go: “Wow, I could mess this up” - Kevin Costner (yep, Kevin Costner).
I sharpened my pencil and drew up a pitch. They liked it. Working up the style frames, the feedback was strong; they loved it. It’s in the bag… thanks Kevin!
Then, suddenly and quite out of the blue, the project’s scope shifted, the client couldn’t continue, and that was that. You can’t win them all.
But some ideas won’t let you go… Maybe I could render just acoupleof frames...
Methodology
One route was to leverage Cinema 4D’s new water simulation system, which, on paper, sounded perfect. In practice, though, it’s not quite production-ready. Like many new tools that get released early, its scope is still narrow, or buggy, and after a few tests, I found better results doing it by hand.
AI couldn’t be ignored as an option, but I wanted full control over the scene and the final composition. Being able to manipulate every ripple and splash was important, plus the need to composite motion graphics over the final renders meant that generating AI-slop was, fortunately, off the table.
Using the classic approach, I started by animating primitive spheres to represent the push and pull forces acting on the mass of the water.
Using a Volume Mesher to give this base-structure a ‘skin’ and simulate surface tension and keep the elements together.
When observing water impacts, tiny ripples move across each drop, barely noticeable - but there. Capturing this effect dancing across the surface would help the interaction feel kinetic.
Using noise and gradient maps in Displacement Deformers to create ripples. The edit would be quick, so I aimed for a stylised, slow-motion interaction. Hopefully eye-catching, but not distracting.
Results
The animations were layered, objects textured, and scenes lit and rendered in Maxon’s Redshift. Compositing and fixing were completed in After Effects, with edit and sound mix in Premiere.
Finally, fictitious bioengineering powerhouses, Artizyme & BioWorks have their film.
Conclusions
Losing a pitch hurts, but full creative freedom means exploring ideas that don’t always fit in the room, and that’s often where the good stuff lives.
