During Smoke simulation workflow, I am seeing a behavior where the openvdb files imported using add->volume->import openvdb when matched to the exact original scale is losing all the volumetric details when rendered compared to the original simulation render from which the vdb files were created.
I am trying to create an animation of moving smoke, so need to use openvdb import option as else the smoke domain stays fixed during animation after the domain is baked. Hence, I need to use import vdb so I can animate smoke and also interact with other objects.
I disabled adaptive domain as I observed severe scaling issues in the imported vdb file as the simulation was replayed after importing vdb sequence as the domain location and scale kept on changing. On disabling adapting domain this issue seemed to have gotten fixed.
I observed in the cache directory of bake, separate data and noise directories with separate vdb file sequences, so initially I only imported vdb from data, and when I saw the details were lost, I also imported noise vdb separately keeping exact same scale, and let both data and noise overlap. I did apply shader to match exact color of the smoke as well.
See attached the images. The first one is original render and the second one that looks flat is with imported vdb with both data and noise imported separately but rendered together in the same position and scale to match original simulation style.
I did try playing with the vdb settings like render options and others for interpolation and other settings, but nothing seem to be changing the details as the renders look completely flat.
Is this normal where so much details are lost compared to the original simulation render when vdb is imported and rendered again? Seems I am doing some thing wrong, but cant understand what exactly.
Original simulation render with the bottom sphere which is the source for smoke in place
Imported vdb render of the simulation where all details of volumetric fire are lost and looks super flat
Another question on the same line is, is it possible to create the volumetric feel for the imported vdb file around the sphere, the way it is seen in the original simulation render because in the imported vdb rendered the smoke is not wrapping around the sphere volume making them appear two different objects. So can this be improved to ensure the sphere and smoke wraps nicely in imported vdb as well.
Cycles renderer I am using with Blender 3.6.2 on Windows 10 with an old Lenovo laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M/PCIe/SSE2
Thank you
Mrunal
