Fluid Effects > Create 3D Container >

X, Y, Z Resolution

Define the resolution of the fluid in voxels (volume pixels). Higher resolutions produce finer detail, but increase rendering time and slow the interactive simulation.

The default resolution of a 3D container is 10, 10, 10.

The default resolution of a 2D container is 40, 40.

Even if you do not use any grids to define property values (you use all gradient style values), increasing the resolution increases the quality of the render.

X, Y, Z Size

Define the physical dimensions of the fluid container in the working units set for Maya. The default size of a 3D fluid container is 10, 10, 10.

The default size of a 2D container is 10, 10, 0.25.

Tip

• Make the Size proportional to the grid Resolution, even if you do not use any grids to define property values (you use all gradient style values). For example, if the size is 10.0 5.0 2.0, then a valid resolution would be 40 20 8. If the size is not proportional to the resolution, then the voxels will not be square causing the quality to be higher looking down one axis than another.
• A 2D fluid with a depth (Z Size) of 0 will not render as a volume, but it might do something reasonable as a height field (see Use Height Field) or surface render (see Surface Render).