Wave World effect

Use this effect to create a grayscale displacement map for use with other effects such as Caustics or Colorama. This effect creates waves based on a simulation of the physics of liquids. Waves emanate from an effect point, interact with each other, and realistically reflect off their environment. Use Wave World to create a top-down view of a logo, with waves reflecting off the logo and the sides of the layer.

This effect works with 8-bpc color.

Wireframe view (top left), Height Map view (bottom left), and resulting image (bottom right). Result is used as Water Surface source for Caustics effect example.

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Wireframe view (left), Height Map view (center), and resulting image (right). Result is used as Input Phase for Colorama effect example.

To understand how this effect works, consider the following information about the physics of waves: A wave consists of a peak and a trough. The amplitude of a wave is the height, or distance, between the peak and trough. The wavelength is the distance from one peak to the next. Frequency is the number of waves per second passing a fixed point.

View controls

View controls specify the method used to preview the Wave World effect. Choose one of the following views:

Height Map: Displays the highest points as bright pixels and the lowest points as dark pixels. Use this view when creating a displacement map.
Wireframe Preview: Provides a visual depiction of how the wave is being created. The grayscale output represents a height map: White represents the highest possible wave, and black represents the lowest. The two rectangular outlines represent these two extremes: The cyan rectangle represents pure white, and the violet rectangle represents pure black. The green grid represents the ground layer; it is flat by default but can be distorted by using a grayscale image. The white grid represents the surface of the water.

Wireframe controls

Wireframe controls fine-tune the appearance of the wireframe model. These controls don’t affect the grayscale output.

Horizontal Rotation: Rotates the wireframe preview around the horizontal axis (right and left). As you adjust this control, the distortion of the wireframe model keeps the entire wireframe model in full view.
Vertical Rotation: Rotates the wireframe preview around the vertical axis (up and down).
Vertical Scale: Distorts the wireframe preview vertically so that you can see heights more easily. It doesn’t affect the grayscale output.

Height Map controls

Height Map controls specify the appearance of the height map.

Note: While adjusting Brightness and Contrast, keep the wave surface layer between the cyan and violet rectangles. If a peak pokes through the cyan rectangle, it clips at pure white. If a trough pokes through the bottom of the violet rectangle, it clips at pure black. If you want to create a displacement map, try to avoid clipping because it shows up as flat peaks and valleys, which look unnatural.

Brightness: Adjusts the overall height of the water surface. Adjusting it brightens or darkens the overall grayscale output. If you use Wave World for displacement, this control moves the surface of the water up or down.
Contrast: Changes the difference between the grays of the peaks and troughs, making the difference more or less extreme. Lower values even out the grays, and higher values create a wider range from black to white (until clipping occurs).
Gamma Adjustment: Controls the slope of the waves in relation to the Brightness. Results are visible only in Height Map view. Higher values result in rounder peaks and narrower valleys, while lower values result in smoother valleys and pointier peaks.
Render Dry Areas As: Specifies how the water surface is rendered when a dry area exists. Dry areas are created when a portion of the ground layer rises above the surface of the water. You can manipulate the dry area by using the Steepness control.
This control is useful for compositing a Wave World effect into a scene. For example, you can use a precomposed Wave World scene with transparency as a displacement map for the Caustics effect, and as a track matte for the effect layer.
Transparency: Controls the clarity of the water by adjusting how opaque the alpha channel is in shallower areas. For example, you can easily see to the bottom of a pool filled with fresh water, but you can see only an inch or two into a pool filled with coffee. This control is most useful when compositing a Wave World effect into another scene. For example, you can use a Wave World composition as a source layer for Caustics, and also as a track matte for the effect layer.

Simulation controls

The Simulation controls specify the resolution of the water surface and ground grids.

Grid Resolution: Specifies the number of horizontal and vertical divisions that make up the wave surface and ground grids. Higher values greatly increase the precision of the simulation but require more memory and increase rendering time.
Grid Res Downsamples: Reduces the internal simulation resolution when the output resolution decreases, increasing the rendering speed. However, the result may cause the output to look significantly different.
Wave Speed: Specifies how fast waves travel away from their starting point.
Damping: Specifies how quickly a wave’s energy is absorbed by the liquid it travels through. The higher the value, the quicker the wave energy is absorbed, and the shorter the distance the wave travels.
Wave Speed, Damping: Specify the apparent viscosity of the liquid, and the apparent size of the body of liquid. For example, waves in water move faster and farther than waves in honey; waves in a sink move much faster and fade out much more quickly than waves in a lake.
Note: Wave World is optimized for small- to medium-sized bodies of water—anything from a teacup to a small lake. Large bodies of water, like an ocean, include swells or wide, stable waves with no apparent slowdown. Even at the lowest settings, Wave World cannot generate swells because the waves fade out relatively quickly.
Reflect Edges: Specifies how waves bounce off the edges of the layer and back into the scene.
Pre-roll (seconds): Specifies when the waves start moving. By default, the effect starts with a still surface without waves or ripples. Use this control to start the waves moving before the layer begins. The settings at the first frame of the effect are applied to the layer during the pre-roll.

Ground controls

The Ground controls specify the appearance of the ground layer.

Ground: Specifies the layer that appears at the bottom of the water. If you use an animated layer for the ground, Wave World samples only the first frame. Wave World determines the intersection of the water’s surface with the edge of the ground, computes the waves bouncing off the shore, and properly adjusts the speed of the waves depending on the depth. The ground surface is determined by the layer’s brightness: White represents higher elevation, and black represents lower elevation.
Steepness: Adjusts the steepness of the ground by expanding and contracting the height of the displaced wireframe. The mesh is locked at the black level, so it always grows up from the bottom. In other words, you cannot adjust the bottom of a canyon to be deeper; instead, you can adjust the rim to be higher. To make the canyon deeper, combine a higher Steepness setting with a lower Height setting.
Height: Controls the distance between the water surface and the ground’s deepest possible point. Use this control to make the body of water deeper or shallower. When you change the depth of the water, the waves behave accordingly: They move faster in deep water and slower in shallow water. (Adjusting the Height control when using the wireframe preview may appear to lower the ground level, but the wireframe camera always moves with the water level.)
Wave Strength: Controls how big the resulting waves are when the ground height or steepness is animated. A value of 0 results in no waves.
Note: You can create a pulsing wave effect by animating the ground’s steepness so that the ground pokes through the water, producing waves. Then use the Wave Strength control to intensify the effect.

Producer 1 and Producer 2 controls

The Producer controls specify the point at which the waves begin.

Type: Specifies the type of producer. Ring creates a wave as if a stone were dropped into a pond; waves radiate outward in circles (or ellipses, depending on the size settings of the effect point). Line creates waves that emanate from the producer’s position in a line instead of an ellipse. This setting is useful for creating waves that look as though they were generated from much farther away. The waves are produced perpendicular to the edges of the line. The length of the line is based on the Height/Length setting.
Position: Specifies the location of the center of the wave producer.
Height/Length: Specifies the (vertical) height of a Ring producer and adjusts the length of a Line producer.
Width: Specifies the (horizontal) width of the producer area.
Angle: Specifies the angle of the wave producer area for the Line and Ring types. This control sets the orientation of the line and thus controls the initial direction of the waves, which emanate from either side of the line, perpendicular to its length.
Amplitude: Controls the height of the produced wave. Higher values create more dramatic waves but may result in clipping, which you can repair by using the Brightness and Contrast controls.
Frequency: Controls how many waves are produced per second. A value of 1 has the effect of waves surfacing once every second.
Phase: Specifies where in the wave phase the wave actually begins. For example, with the default setting of 0°, the first disturbance in the liquid is a convex wave (projecting upward from the surface of the water). With Phase set to 180°, the first disturbance in the liquid is a concave wave.

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