Cell Fluids is a Blender addon based on Geometry & Simulation Nodes. It is designed to create fast and convincing fluid effects. Unlike heavy traditional fluid simulations, Cell Fluids uses a "2.5D" approach to produce believable water simulation in real time. In essence it’s just a clever use of mesh displacement that looks like flowing water.
While these “fake” fluids are not perfect for every situation, they work great in many cases such as large-scale water surfaces, background elements, or any water scene where speed and efficiency are the top priorities.
Key Features
- Easy Workflow: Simply define your fluid boundaries and interactors; the addon handles the complex math behind the scenes.
- Real-Time Performance: you get near-instant feedback in the viewport while tweaking your simulation settings.
- Interactions: Fluids react realistically to obstacles and moving objects within your scene.
- Customizable Look: Easily adjust fluidity, scale, and material properties to fit different bodies of water from a calm pond to a rushing river.
Technical Limitations
Because this is a 2.5D simulation (calculating height rather than true 3D volume), there are specific things it cannot do:
- No Overlapping Water: It cannot handle one wave breaking directly over another or complex splashing that detaches from the surface (like falling water hitting a pool with foam droplets).
- It isn't designed for pipes, 3D fountains, or filling complex 3D containers like a glass of water.
- Simulation Resolution: While fast, pushing the grid resolution too high can still impact performance, as it is limited by the density of the mesh.
The addon developer has also clearly stated the main limitations of the product as follows:
- It can’t simulate complex and multilayered fluids, as it is just a plane with displacement.
- Interior scenes like caves, tubes and others can be tricky and problematic.
- The simulation is not particle-based, don’t expect fully physically accurate simulations.
- Avoid sharp edge geometry for ground, it can stick out of the fluid in some cases.
- No viscosity support.
Why Choose Cell Fluids?
If you've ever been frustrated by the long bake times of or “real” water simulation like Blender's native Mantaflow system or the Flip Fluids addon, this addon may be the solution you’re looking for (depending on your scene 😉 ). It's the perfect middle ground between a simple water shader and full-scale simulations.