Creating a 3D Voxel Aurora Animation

This guide walks you through how to generate a looping 3D voxel animation of an aurora borealis using SpatialStudio. The script creates shimmering, flowing auroral curtains that wave and dance in a night sky, then saves the animation to a .splv file.

What this script does

Creates a 3D scene of size 128×128×128
Generates an aurora with:
- Multiple flowing curtains of light
- Dynamic color gradients (greens, blues, purples)
- Realistic wave-like motion
- Particle effects for stars
Animates for 10 seconds at 30 FPS
Outputs the file aurora.splv that you can play in your viewer

How it works (simplified)

Voxel volume Each frame is a 3D grid filled with RGBA values (SIZE × SIZE × SIZE × 4).
Aurora curtains Created using noise-based wave functions that define the curtain's shape and flow.
Color gradients Colors shift smoothly between preset aurora hues using sine interpolation.
Motion system Uses layered sine waves and Perlin noise to create natural flowing movement.
Star field Randomly placed white voxels that twinkle using brightness variation.
Animation loop A normalized time variable t cycles from 0 → 2π, ensuring seamless looping.

Try it yourself

Install requirements first:

pip install spatialstudio numpy tqdm noise

Then copy this script into aurora.py and run:

python aurora.py

Full Script

import numpy as np
from spatialstudio import splv
from noise import pnoise3
from tqdm import tqdm

# Scene setup
SIZE, FPS, SECONDS = 128, 30, 10
FRAMES = FPS * SECONDS
OUT_PATH = "../outputs/aurora.splv"

# Aurora settings
CURTAIN_COUNT = 3
NOISE_SCALE = 30.0
WAVE_HEIGHT = 40

def add_voxel(volume, x, y, z, color, alpha=255):
    if 0 <= x < SIZE and 0 <= y < SIZE and 0 <= z < SIZE:
        volume[x, y, z, :3] = color
        volume[x, y, z, 3] = alpha

def generate_aurora_curtain(volume, offset, t):
    colors = [
        (0, 255, 127),    # Green
        (0, 255, 255),    # Cyan
        (147, 0, 255),    # Purple
    ]
    
    for x in range(SIZE):
        # Wave motion
        wave = np.sin(x * 0.05 + t + offset) * WAVE_HEIGHT
        height = int(SIZE * 0.7 + wave)
        
        for z in range(SIZE):
            noise = pnoise3(x/NOISE_SCALE, t, z/NOISE_SCALE, octaves=4)
            curtain_height = int(height + noise * 20)
            
            for y in range(curtain_height - 20, curtain_height):
                fade = (y - (curtain_height - 20)) / 20.0
                color_idx = int(fade * len(colors))
                color = colors[min(color_idx, len(colors)-1)]
                alpha = int((1.0 - fade) * 200)
                add_voxel(volume, x, y, z, color, alpha)

def add_stars(volume, t):
    for _ in range(1000):
        x = np.random.randint(0, SIZE)
        y = np.random.randint(SIZE//2, SIZE)
        z = np.random.randint(0, SIZE)
        brightness = int(127 + 128 * np.sin(t * 2 + x * y * z))
        add_voxel(volume, x, y, z, (brightness, brightness, brightness))

def generate_scene(volume, t):
    # Add stars first
    add_stars(volume, t)
    
    # Generate aurora curtains
    for i in range(CURTAIN_COUNT):
        offset = (i / CURTAIN_COUNT) * 2 * np.pi
        generate_aurora_curtain(volume, offset, t)

enc = splv.Encoder(SIZE, SIZE, SIZE, framerate=FPS, outputPath=OUT_PATH, motionVectors="off")

for frame in tqdm(range(FRAMES), desc="Generating aurora"):
    volume = np.zeros((SIZE, SIZE, SIZE, 4), dtype=np.uint8)
    t = (frame / FRAMES) * 2*np.pi
    generate_scene(volume, t)
    enc.encode(splv.Frame(volume, lrAxis="x", udAxis="y", fbAxis="z"))

enc.finish()
print(f"Created {OUT_PATH}")

Next steps

Adjust CURTAIN_COUNT to change the number of aurora curtains
Modify the colors list to create different aurora color schemes
Experiment with NOISE_SCALE and WAVE_HEIGHT for different motion effects
Add more star layers at different depths for parallax
Try different noise functions for varied curtain patterns

Tips for best results

Keep the scene dark (low ambient light) to make the aurora stand out
Use semi-transparent voxels for more realistic light diffusion
Layer multiple noise functions for more complex motion
Adjust the star count and brightness for different atmospheric effects
Consider adding ground elements like mountains for scale reference

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🎈 Floating Balloons

Creating a 3D Voxel Aurora Animation

What this script does

How it works (simplified)