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The Ring in the River

Was anyone going to tell me you can just PUT textures on LIGHTS in Blender? Or was I just supposed to Google that myself after watching an unrelated video about CG caustics and wondering if something like that could be done?

TURNS OUT IT SURE CAN.

So yeah! I played around with it for a bit, got a good underwater-y effect, and just kept adding to it until something like this came out. Then I thought "sandy river bed" was kind of boring, so I threw in my One Ring model for the heck of it, and it became another piece of LOTR fanart.

Blender, Cycles (2023)

Blender, Cycles (2023)

Zoomed out flat render with no lighting or effects.

Zoomed out flat render with no lighting or effects.

Full Cycles render, no volume. What a difference, huh?

Full Cycles render, no volume. What a difference, huh?

First attempt. Tweaked the water effect, adjusted the sand texture, scattered more rocks and made some of them different colors. Also added a sky texture for the reflection.

First attempt. Tweaked the water effect, adjusted the sand texture, scattered more rocks and made some of them different colors. Also added a sky texture for the reflection.