Windstorm - 3D Voxel Animation Learning Example

This guide walks you through how to generate a looping 3D voxel animation of a windstorm using SpatialStudio. The script creates swirling particles, debris, and dust clouds that move in chaotic wind patterns 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
Spawns 200+ particles including:
- Swirling dust clouds in various shades of brown and gray
- Flying debris pieces in different colors
- Scattered leaves and small objects
- Ground-level dust that gets swept up
Animates them in turbulent wind patterns for 10 seconds at 30 FPS
Outputs the file windstorm.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).
Particle system Multiple particle types are created with different sizes, colors, and movement behaviors.
Wind physics Particles follow spiral and turbulent motion patterns using sine and cosine functions with noise.
Layered movement Different particle layers move at varying speeds and directions to create depth and chaos.
Dust clouds Larger, semi-transparent voxel clusters simulate thick dust being blown around.
Animation loop A normalized time variable t cycles from 0 → 2π, ensuring the storm motion 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 windstorm.py and run:

python windstorm.py

Full Script

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

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

# Storm settings
PARTICLE_COUNT = 250
DUST_CLOUD_COUNT = 15
DEBRIS_COUNT = 50

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_noise(x, y, z, t):
    return np.sin(x*0.1 + t) * np.cos(y*0.1 + t*0.7) * np.sin(z*0.1 + t*0.5)

def generate_dust_particles(volume, t):
    dust_colors = [
        (139, 121, 94),   # Sandy brown
        (160, 140, 115),  # Light brown
        (101, 87, 67),    # Dark brown
        (128, 128, 128),  # Gray
        (105, 105, 105),  # Dim gray
    ]
    
    for i in range(PARTICLE_COUNT):
        # Create spiral wind pattern
        angle = (i / PARTICLE_COUNT) * 4*np.pi + t*2.0
        height_offset = (i % 40) - 20
        
        # Add turbulence with noise
        noise_factor = generate_noise(i*0.1, t*2, angle)
        radius = 30 + 15*np.sin(t*1.5 + i*0.1) + noise_factor*10
        
        x = CENTER_X + int(radius * np.cos(angle + noise_factor))
        y = CENTER_Y + height_offset + int(8*np.sin(t*3 + i*0.2))
        z = CENTER_Z + int(radius * np.sin(angle*0.8 + noise_factor))
        
        # Varying particle sizes
        size = 1 + int(2*np.sin(t + i*0.3))
        color = dust_colors[i % len(dust_colors)]
        alpha = 180 + int(50*np.sin(t*2 + i*0.5))
        
        for dx in range(-size, size+1):
            for dy in range(-size, size+1):
                for dz in range(-size, size+1):
                    if dx*dx + dy*dy + dz*dz <= size*size:
                        add_voxel(volume, x+dx, y+dy, z+dz, color, alpha)

def generate_dust_clouds(volume, t):
    cloud_colors = [
        (160, 140, 115),  # Light sandy
        (139, 121, 94),   # Medium sand
        (112, 98, 75),    # Dark sand
    ]
    
    for i in range(DUST_CLOUD_COUNT):
        # Slower, larger movements for clouds
        angle = (i / DUST_CLOUD_COUNT) * 2*np.pi + t*0.8
        radius = 25 + 20*np.sin(t*0.5 + i*0.4)
        
        x = CENTER_X + int(radius * np.cos(angle))
        y = CENTER_Y + int(15*np.sin(t*0.7 + i*0.6))
        z = CENTER_Z + int(radius * np.sin(angle*1.2))
        
        cloud_size = 6 + int(3*np.sin(t*0.3 + i*0.2))
        color = cloud_colors[i % len(cloud_colors)]
        
        # Create puffy cloud effect
        for dx in range(-cloud_size, cloud_size+1):
            for dy in range(-cloud_size//2, cloud_size//2+1):
                for dz in range(-cloud_size, cloud_size+1):
                    distance = np.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy*2 + dz*dz)
                    if distance <= cloud_size:
                        # Fade edges for cloud-like appearance
                        alpha = int(120 * (1.0 - distance/cloud_size))
                        if alpha > 20:
                            add_voxel(volume, x+dx, y+dy, z+dz, color, alpha)

def generate_debris(volume, t):
    debris_colors = [
        (34, 139, 34),    # Forest green (leaves)
        (154, 205, 50),   # Yellow green (leaves)
        (210, 180, 140),  # Tan (paper/wood)
        (139, 69, 19),    # Saddle brown (wood)
        (128, 128, 128),  # Gray (rocks)
        (255, 255, 0),    # Yellow (trash)
    ]
    
    for i in range(DEBRIS_COUNT):
        # Erratic, fast-moving debris
        base_angle = (i / DEBRIS_COUNT) * 6*np.pi
        spiral_t = t*4 + i*0.8
        
        # Create chaotic movement
        chaos_x = generate_noise(i*0.5, spiral_t, 0) * 20
        chaos_y = generate_noise(0, i*0.3, spiral_t) * 15
        chaos_z = generate_noise(spiral_t, 0, i*0.7) * 20
        
        x = CENTER_X + int(30*np.cos(base_angle + spiral_t)) + int(chaos_x)
        y = CENTER_Y + int(25*np.sin(spiral_t*1.3)) + int(chaos_y)
        z = CENTER_Z + int(30*np.sin(base_angle*0.7 + spiral_t)) + int(chaos_z)
        
        color = debris_colors[i % len(debris_colors)]
        
        # Small, sharp debris pieces
        debris_shape = i % 3
        if debris_shape == 0:  # Single voxel
            add_voxel(volume, x, y, z, color)
        elif debris_shape == 1:  # Small cluster
            for dx in [-1, 0, 1]:
                add_voxel(volume, x+dx, y, z, color)
        else:  # Cross shape
            add_voxel(volume, x, y, z, color)
            add_voxel(volume, x+1, y, z, color)
            add_voxel(volume, x, y+1, z, color)

def generate_ground_effects(volume, t):
    # Dust being kicked up from the ground
    ground_y = CENTER_Y - 40
    
    for i in range(30):
        angle = (i / 30) * 2*np.pi + t*3
        radius = 35 + 10*np.sin(t*2 + i*0.4)
        
        x = CENTER_X + int(radius * np.cos(angle))
        z = CENTER_Z + int(radius * np.sin(angle))
        
        # Rising dust effect
        for height in range(8):
            y = ground_y + height
            if height < 4:  # Dense at bottom
                alpha = 200 - height*30
                size = 2
            else:  # Sparse at top
                alpha = 120 - height*15
                size = 1
                
            color = (139, 121, 94)  # Sandy brown
            
            for dx in range(-size, size+1):
                for dz in range(-size, size+1):
                    if dx*dx + dz*dz <= size*size:
                        add_voxel(volume, x+dx, y, z+dz, color, alpha)

def generate_scene(volume, t):
    generate_dust_clouds(volume, t)
    generate_dust_particles(volume, t)
    generate_debris(volume, t)
    generate_ground_effects(volume, t)

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

for frame in tqdm(range(FRAMES), desc="Generating windstorm"):
    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

Increase PARTICLE_COUNT for a more intense storm.
Modify the debris_colors array to change what's flying around.
Add lightning effects by creating bright white flashes at random intervals.
Experiment with the generate_noise() function parameters for different turbulence patterns.
Create a calming effect by gradually reducing wind intensity over time.

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