Creating a fluid container is the first step in creating a non-dynamic fluid effect.

Fluid containers do not need to be uniform in X, Y, and Z. In fact, because larger fluids take longer to render, you should make containers only as large in each direction as necessary for the effect. A cloud bank sits above the ground like a blanket, so the container can be rectangular rather than cubic.

To create a 3D fluid container

1. Select Fluid Effects > Create 3D Container > .

   The Create 3D Container Options window opens.

2. In the Create 3D Container Options window, set the following:
   • X resolution: 50
   • Y resolution: 5
   • Z resolution: 60
   • X size: 50.0
   • Y size: 5.0
   • Z size: 60.0

   The resolution is defined in voxels. Higher resolutions produce finer detail, but increase rendering time. The size of the container is defined in the working units set for Maya. The size of the fluid determines the size of each voxel.

   TipIt’s good practice to make the container’s Resolution and Size proportional to ensure that the voxels are square making the quality the same along each axis.
3. Click Apply and Close.

   Maya creates an empty 3-dimensional fluid container centered at the origin.

   

Next, you add fluid to the container.