I built the solver and its custom shader network as one procedural system. Hundreds of nodes combine color advection, velocity and diffusion, a custom dune solver, divergence control, and shading. Material appearance is developed alongside the simulation, so changes to the flow and changes to the look remain connected.

The structure visible on screen reflects the structure inside the rules. Keeping it intact is the challenge: advection tends to spread an image into an even field. This solver holds its forms for thousands of frames in the band between blowing out to white and fading to black. It behaves like a dissipative structure, sustained by the flow passing through it.

This is the underlying system used for OFFF BARCELONA and a VolvoxLabs branding piece. The OFFF project documents the finished façade projection; this study documents the simulation and shader design behind it.