This is a splash generator I created for an animation project where the client needed a raindrop transition. The app can generate a single raindrop splash, which can then be propagated across the scatter tab to create a larger transition effect. Multiple raindrop variations can also be layered together, allowing for more natural and varied results.
The app includes a 3D preview mode that can use either the single-drop or scatter output as a displacement source. Black-and-white values are used to deform a 3D grid, making it possible to inspect the splash as surface detail. It also supports texture projection through vertex color and per-pixel rendering, along with limited Alembic export so the generated result can be brought into Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Blender, or other DCC applications.
A major part of this app is the custom GUI system I built for it, which I call Arnold Console. It is a simplified interface framework made up of practical components like dropdown menus, spinners, text fields, gridded layouts, and a blitter-style viewport. I built it so I could create my own tools without having to work around the structure of a larger GUI framework. The tradeoff, of course, is that I have to build many of those interface pieces myself. It is a bit of a catch-22, but it gives me far more control over how the tool looks, behaves, and evolves.
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