Experiment 2: Using patch deformation and noise to animate water

For my second experiment I explored the option of using patch deformation with the combination with noise. Firstly I created a quad patch and gave it a five length segments. I then added a noise modifier to the object. The noise modifier allowed me to deform the patch into a bumpy environment. There are many parameters to mess around with to get the look you are trying to get. I mainly put my values in the x and z for the strength. To get the best look I would recommend turning the fractals on and adjusting the iterations and scale as it adds to the effect.

After the patch is made we want to use it to deform a plane object. Create a plane object and give it length segments of 50. Then apply the patch deform modifier. There are two types of patch deform modifiers in the roll out, the world space one and the object space one. For this we want the object space.Then we want to select the patch we just made.

 Now when we adjust the U percent the plane will move across the patch like water. For my plane I increased the U stretch to increase the size of the plane. Now with that in place it can be animated. To animate it I just moved it to the back of the patch and adjusted the U percent value to pass the end at frame 100.

From the animation we can see that the motion is very fluid and looks good as a wave.