Basic Shading
Add Shader
When we go to Cycles, we don't see our explosion. We must add the Shader for our simulation to be seen. The first thing we see is that we must choose to which Domain we are going to add the Shader. If we have several Domains, we will be able to add several Shaders, which is very useful.
Once added the Shader, we will see that we have 2 modes. Basic and Advanced.
Basic Shader - Fire Module
Fire Settings
The first tab is Settings. Here we will have our basic settings for the flames. We will be able to configure brightness, contrast, gamma, fresnel, power, map range...
You can easily change which attribute to work with. Normally we will use Temperature or Flame, but often we will be interested to work with other attributes and configure the flames to our liking. We can even work with a custom attribute.
You can choose between a ColorRamp, or work with BlackBody to set the color of our flames. In addition, we can activate or deactivate the module at any time.
Fire ColorRamp Mask
In the Fire ColorRamp Mask tab, we can create a mask with a ColorRamp, and configure it to our liking to vary the shape of our flame. We can activate it by raising the "Factor" that will create the mix between the attribute and the ColorRamp.
Fire Attribute Mask
Fire Attribute Mask is a very interesting tab. It allows you to mix the Attribute configured in Settings with another attribute. This way, you can "expand" the duration of the flame, or get more interesting results for your explosion.
Smoke Density Detail
The Smoke Density Detail Tab is a very powerful tool. It allows to add more smoke density only in the areas where there are flames. In this way, we can get a very interesting "Crunch" effect. We can "Burn" the shader by adding very high values in brightness and contrast, and then mix them with Smoke Density Detail to get a "Fireball" or Crunch effect.
We can temporarily disable the "Smoke" module to visualize more clearly the Smoke Density Detail effect.
Curve Attribute Mask
The last tab is Curve Attribute Mask. Here we can use a curve to further configure our flames. It is a very useful tool to define how much and where we want more intensity or less intensity.
Basic Shader - BlackBody Module
BlackBody Module
In the BlackBody Module, we will be able to configure our flames based on the BlackBody workflow. We will be able to configure the intensity, temperature... and mix it in an Intensity ramp together with other attributes.
Ideally, it is best to work mixing the BlackBody module with the Fire module, to get an optimal result of our flames.
Basic Shader - Heat Module
Heat Module
The Heat module is used to add an "internal heat" to the Smoke. It should be a subtle value, to enrich the simulation and generate that "heat" effect. As the Smoke dissipates, the Heat will also dissipate automatically.
Basic Shader - Smoke Module
Smoke Module
In Smoke Module we can configure the Smoke options. We can add Fresnel, contrast or use a Map Range to restrict the amount of Smoke. As in the rest of the modules, we have advanced options like the Smoke ColorRamp Mask or Curve Attribute Mask.