Time-Reversed Art Directable Smoke Simulation

Abstract

Physics-based fluid simulation often produces unpredictable behavior that is difficult for artists to control. We present a new method for art directing smoke animation using time-reversed simulation. Given a final fluid configuration, our method steps backward in time generating a sequence that, when played forward, is visually similar to traditional forward simulations. This allows artists to create simulations with fast turnaround times that match an exact art-directed shape at any timestep of the simulation. We address a number of challenges associated with time-reversal including the problem of decreasing entropy.