When Virtual Water Evaporates: Solutions for Simulations in Blender
Working with fluids in Blender can be as unpredictable as the open sea: one minute everything flows perfectly and the next your simulation has disappeared like water through your fingers 🌊💨. But don't drown in a glass of water, these tips will keep you afloat.
Problem #1: "My water disappeared when I saved"
The solution is in the bake (and we're not talking about cakes):
- Mandatory Bake before saving (Physics > Fluid > Bake)
- Verify that the cache was saved correctly
- Set absolute paths for the cache
- Avoid system temporary folders
Essential Settings Many Forget
So your digital ocean doesn't turn into a desert:
- Domain with appropriate size and resolution
- Properly configured emitter objects (Type: Flow)
- Colliders marked as Effector
- Water material assigned and visible
"A fluid simulation without a bake is like a pool without water: no matter how beautiful the structure is, you'll never be able to swim in it." - Simulation Expert
Foolproof Workflow
Follow this checklist for nightmare-free aquatic nights:
- Complete bake before saving
- Test in rendered mode
- Check cache paths (preferably local)
- Save incremental versions
When Nothing Works: Plan B
For extreme emergencies:
- Export cache as .bobj file
- Try Mantaflow instead of Fluid
- Use particle system as alternative
- Restart Blender (the classic "did you turn it off and on again?")
Remember: if after all this your water is still more invisible than a weatherman in a drought, you can always say it's "artistic vapor"... though with these methods you're most likely to finally achieve those stable and predictable water simulations your project deserves. 💧✨