by True-VFX·VFX
Images © True-VFX. Used for product review; image policy.
True-VDB stands out in the superhive library as a volume sim collection built specifically for Blender, pairing animated VDBs with out-of-the-box shaders and a multi-pack importer.
True-VDB is a volume simulation library made for Blender. It ships a growing collection of over 50 VDB sequences that have been simulated, animated, baked out and given materials, covering explosions, fire, weather and magic effects. The base version includes 10 of these assets, and the free version does not include them. Every VDB is animated, and some are looped to run seamlessly.
Adding a VDB is a matter of browsing the library and clicking ADD, which appends it into the scene animated and ready to go. The shaders come tuned out of the box, with a few tweakable values and the option to swap between materials for artistic control. A multi-pack import lets you select all the files you want and import them together, with a progress bar.
True-VDB runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux, and has been built to be fully modular and customisable. A demo video is available, and documentation is provided.
True-Vdb is best for blender artists who want ready-made, animated volume assets, covering fire, explosions, weather and magic effects, to drop into a scene rather than simulating from scratch.
True-Vdb is completely free to download and use.
True-VDB includes looped VDBs alongside its animated assets, and the developer calls them as seamless as they can be, since looping a simulation isn't straightforward. For the best results, the developer advises working at 24, 25 or 30 fps. The remaining assets in the library are animated but not necessarily looped, so seamless playback applies to the loop assets in particular. Timing and frame rate matter most here.
True-VDB's packs are designed to be used through the addon, not on their own. You can use the VDBs outside it, but the content isn't built for that, and the developer says it may not work as intended and can't offer support in that case. To use the packs the way they're meant to work, the developer recommends downloading the free version of True-VDB and importing through it.
True-VDB lists a 64-bit quad core CPU, 8 GB of RAM and a GPU with 2 GB VRAM and OpenGL 4.3 as its minimum, with a 64-bit eight core CPU, 32 GB of RAM and a GPU with 8 GB VRAM or more on the recommended side. It runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux, specifically Windows 10 or later, MacOSX and Ubuntu 19 or later for the recommended setup. These figures are given as a guideline.
True-VDB's developer can't quote specific render times, since too many factors affect them. Rendering on a CPU is slower than on a GPU, and mobile variants like laptops are slower again. A modern GPU gives the fastest results, and the more compute cores you have, whether CUDA, OPTIX or Stream Processors, the faster your renders will be. In short, hardware rather than the addon alone drives render performance.
True-VDB assets can be used in renders for any purpose, according to the developer, which covers education, personal and commercial work. The addon itself is listed as free here; for current licensing details and the terms that apply, check the developer's page. Keep in mind the 10 base-version assets aren't part of the free version, so what you have available depends on which version you're using.
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