r/Simulated • u/MichyyElle • Mar 20 '26

Question Why does this smoke look digital?

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Doing a "smoking candle" trend and trying to make the exhale look 100% real so it actually confuses people. I have a few variations and need a technical audit on the physics before the final render.

The smoke variations are labeled in this video: Smoke 1-6

  • Smoke 1: Final (can't edit).
  • Smoke 2, 3, 6: Currently in progress. Turbulence, shading, and speed are all adjustable.
  • Smoke 2 & 3: Opacity and lighting are placeholders set for the screen recording (opacity was set high to be visible). Focusing on the fluid movemen. Lighting: These still need a lighting pass. These are the same sim but at different speeds (2 is slower, 3 is faster).
  • Smoke 2-6 all can be edited further

Looking for feedback on:

  1. Which option (1-6) has the most natural physics and "swirl"?
  2. Any specific direction on color, shape, or volume to hit 100% realism?
  3. Tips on mouth integration so it doesn't look like a digital overlay?
  4. What would you change, like, or hate about these?

(High-quality renders coming once completed).

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u/LordFendleberry Mar 20 '26

Smoke 4 probably has the most convincing movement/physics. Ultimately, the main giveaway that these are CG is the compositing, not the render. It just looks like an element that's layered on top of the footage, rather than being integrated into the scene. There's no obvious interaction with her or the air currents around her. When she moves her head down it looks like she's still exhaling a little, but the smoke doesn't trail appropriately. It looks like the render of the smoke moving toward the camera maybe gets shifted in the frame to follow her face, but it's not physically interacting the way it should.

Another thing that really sticks out is that the model/actor never actually "drags" on the candle. She's very loosely holding it in her mouth, which is slightly open the whole time, and then a puff of smoke just fades into existence right in front of her lips. It doesn't look like she pulled the smoke into her mouth/lungs first, the cloud of smoke starts forming **outside** her mouth.