Learn this clever hack to create CG smoke and fog effects on an iPad

Glen Southern Nomad Sculpt tutorial
(Image credit: Glen Southern)

Liquids, fur, hair, steam, smoke, fog, fire, magical effects and so much more are all daily requirements in most 3D packages, but are almost always created with a particle system of some type. Desktop software such as Houdini, Blender and Cinema 4D have this type of tool built-in, and there are hundreds of plugins such as X-Particles that specialise in just one aspect of this topic. (Read our guide to the best 3D modelling software for more details.)

Sadly the options on mobile devices are limited for creating and animating this type of particle simulation. However, you can create the visual effect of smoke and fog in other ways, and in this little tutorial I’ll take a look at how to do it in Nomad Sculpt. Bear in mind there’s no animation capability in Nomad Sculpt, so this is mostly useful for imagery in illustration and concept art. (Our guide to the best iPads for drawing is a good place to start our tablet journey, also catch up on ZBrush for iPad.)

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Glen Southern

Glen runs SouthernGFX, a small Cheshire-based studio specialising in character and creature design, which creates assets for TV and film. Clients include SKY, Wacom and Oculus Medium and the studio has an impressive project list that features 3D models for Game of Thrones' house sigils. He's been using and training ZBrush for over 15 years and is a Wacom Ambassador for the UK and Ireland. 

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