3D Voxel Animation: Volcano

This guide walks you through how to generate a looping 3D voxel animation of a volcano using SpatialStudio. The script creates an active volcano with flowing lava, particle effects, and glowing embers inside a cubic 3D space, then saves the animation to a .splv file.

What this script does

Creates a 3D scene of size 128×128×128
Builds a volcanic mountain with:
- A rocky base structure
- Flowing lava streams
- Particle effects and embers
- Glowing crater with animated lava
Animates the volcanic activity for 10 seconds at 30 FPS
Outputs the file volcano.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).
Volcano structure The mountain is built using noise functions to create realistic rocky terrain with a crater at the top.
Lava flow Molten lava flows down the mountainside using gravity simulation and temperature gradients.
Particle system Glowing embers and ash particles are spawned from the crater and animated with physics.
Animation loop A normalized time variable t cycles from 0 → 2π, ensuring the eruption pattern loops smoothly.
Encoding Frames are passed into splv.Encoder, which writes them into the .splv video file.

Try it yourself

Install requirements first:

pip install spatialstudio numpy tqdm

Then copy this script into volcano.py and run:

python volcano.py

Full Script

import numpy as np
from spatialstudio import splv
from tqdm import tqdm
import random

# Scene setup
SIZE, FPS, SECONDS = 128, 30, 10
FRAMES = FPS * SECONDS
CENTER_X = CENTER_Y = CENTER_Z = SIZE // 2
OUT_PATH = "../outputs/volcano.splv"

# Volcano settings
VOLCANO_HEIGHT = 45
VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS = 35
CRATER_RADIUS = 12
PARTICLE_COUNT = 150

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

def noise(x, y, z, scale=0.1):
    return (np.sin(x * scale) * np.cos(y * scale) + np.sin(z * scale)) * 0.5

def generate_volcano_base(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    rock_color = (80, 60, 40)
    dark_rock = (60, 45, 30)
    
    for dx in range(-VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS, VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS + 1):
        for dz in range(-VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS, VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS + 1):
            distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dz*dz)
            if distance <= VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS:
                # Calculate height based on distance from center
                height_ratio = 1.0 - (distance / VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS)
                height = int(VOLCANO_HEIGHT * height_ratio * height_ratio)
                
                # Add noise for rocky texture
                height += int(noise(cx+dx, 0, cz+dz, 0.2) * 8)
                
                for dy in range(height):
                    y_pos = cy - VOLCANO_HEIGHT//2 + dy
                    # Vary rock color based on height and noise
                    color_var = noise(cx+dx, y_pos, cz+dz, 0.15)
                    if color_var > 0.2:
                        color = rock_color
                    else:
                        color = dark_rock
                    add_voxel(volume, cx+dx, y_pos, cz+dz, color)

def generate_crater(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    lava_color = (255, 80, 0)
    hot_lava = (255, 200, 0)
    
    crater_y = cy + VOLCANO_HEIGHT//2 - 5
    
    for dx in range(-CRATER_RADIUS, CRATER_RADIUS + 1):
        for dz in range(-CRATER_RADIUS, CRATER_RADIUS + 1):
            distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dz*dz)
            if distance <= CRATER_RADIUS:
                # Animated lava surface
                lava_height = int(3 * np.sin(t * 2.0 + distance * 0.3))
                
                for dy in range(-8, lava_height + 1):
                    y_pos = crater_y + dy
                    # Hotter lava near surface
                    if dy > lava_height - 2:
                        color = hot_lava
                    else:
                        color = lava_color
                    add_voxel(volume, cx+dx, y_pos, cz+dz, color)

def generate_lava_flow(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    lava_color = (200, 60, 0)
    cooling_lava = (120, 30, 0)
    
    # Multiple lava streams
    for stream in range(3):
        angle = (stream / 3.0) * 2*np.pi + t * 0.1
        stream_x = np.cos(angle)
        stream_z = np.sin(angle)
        
        for i in range(30):
            flow_x = cx + int(stream_x * (CRATER_RADIUS + i * 0.8))
            flow_z = cz + int(stream_z * (CRATER_RADIUS + i * 0.8))
            
            # Calculate height on volcano slope
            distance_from_center = np.sqrt((flow_x - cx)**2 + (flow_z - cz)**2)
            if distance_from_center <= VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS:
                height_ratio = 1.0 - (distance_from_center / VOLCANO_BASE_RADIUS)
                base_height = int(VOLCANO_HEIGHT * height_ratio * height_ratio)
                flow_y = cy - VOLCANO_HEIGHT//2 + base_height + 1
                
                # Animated lava flow
                wave = np.sin(t * 3.0 - i * 0.2) * 0.5 + 0.5
                if wave > 0.3:  # Flowing lava
                    # Cooling effect with distance
                    if i < 15:
                        color = lava_color
                    else:
                        color = cooling_lava
                    
                    add_voxel(volume, flow_x, flow_y, flow_z, color)
                    # Add width to lava stream
                    if i < 20:
                        add_voxel(volume, flow_x+1, flow_y, flow_z, color)
                        add_voxel(volume, flow_x, flow_y, flow_z+1, color)

def generate_particles(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    ember_color = (255, 150, 0)
    ash_color = (100, 80, 60)
    
    random.seed(42)  # Consistent particle positions
    
    for i in range(PARTICLE_COUNT):
        # Particle lifecycle
        particle_time = (t * 2.0 + i * 0.1) % (2*np.pi)
        life_ratio = particle_time / (2*np.pi)
        
        if life_ratio < 0.8:  # Particle is active
            # Initial position near crater
            start_angle = (i / PARTICLE_COUNT) * 2*np.pi
            start_radius = random.uniform(2, CRATER_RADIUS)
            start_x = cx + int(start_radius * np.cos(start_angle))
            start_z = cz + int(start_radius * np.sin(start_angle))
            start_y = cy + VOLCANO_HEIGHT//2
            
            # Particle motion
            vel_x = random.uniform(-0.3, 0.3)
            vel_z = random.uniform(-0.3, 0.3)
            vel_y = 15 * (1 - life_ratio) - 5  # Gravity effect
            
            pos_x = start_x + int(vel_x * life_ratio * 30)
            pos_y = start_y + int(vel_y * life_ratio * 2)
            pos_z = start_z + int(vel_z * life_ratio * 30)
            
            # Choose particle type
            if i % 4 == 0:  # Ember
                color = ember_color
            else:  # Ash
                color = ash_color
            
            add_voxel(volume, pos_x, pos_y, pos_z, color)

def generate_glow_effects(volume, cx, cy, cz, t):
    glow_color = (255, 100, 50)
    
    crater_y = cy + VOLCANO_HEIGHT//2
    glow_intensity = 0.8 + 0.2 * np.sin(t * 4.0)
    
    # Glow around crater rim
    for dx in range(-CRATER_RADIUS-3, CRATER_RADIUS+4):
        for dz in range(-CRATER_RADIUS-3, CRATER_RADIUS+4):
            distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dz*dz)
            if CRATER_RADIUS <= distance <= CRATER_RADIUS + 3:
                if random.random() < glow_intensity * 0.3:
                    add_voxel(volume, cx+dx, crater_y+2, cz+dz, glow_color)

def generate_scene(volume, t):
    generate_volcano_base(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    generate_crater(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    generate_lava_flow(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    generate_particles(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)
    generate_glow_effects(volume, CENTER_X, CENTER_Y, CENTER_Z, t)

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

for frame in tqdm(range(FRAMES), desc="Generating volcano"):
    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 VOLCANO_HEIGHT to make it taller or shorter.
Increase PARTICLE_COUNT for more dramatic eruption effects.
Modify lava_color values to experiment with different lava temperatures.
Add smoke effects by creating gray particles that rise higher.
Create multiple smaller volcanoes by calling generate_scene() with different centers.

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