So yeah, weird, but my first video tutorial is not about character animation... it's about how to paint volumetrics... It's something I haven't played much with before, but since I just discovered the fun and simplicity of painting simple fluids, I though this would be a perfect thing to share. Basically, the idea is that a low rez fluid can render very fast, while also being able to look good through shading. You don't need to fight awkward simulations in order to integrate volumetrics in your scene. You can just paint them :) Very artist friendly :) And then you can use volumes like simple pieces of geometry, animate them procedurally, or interact with them dynamically. The thing is, the scene is easy to set up and very lightweight. And they render superfast, in Maya, especially with mental ray (yes, with shadows). You can create god rays, fog, clouds, whatnot... by basically modeling simple volume shapes and then mixing them. The tutorial doesn't go in much detail, just shows a way of painting volumes. Not sure if it's the best way, but it's better than using the actual paint/edit volumes artisan tool implemented in Maya. In fact, I'm using the artisan to edit details, my method (probably not mine per se, but I thought about it, didn't learn it :P so there ya go) and the artisan tool are not exclusive. Another way that would allow more control though would be to model actual geometry and then turn it into fluid. That's not as sexy as painting the fluids though :P
Click here for the you tube page, to see HD video full screen, the weebly integration of youtube is dubious and doesn't allow linking or full screen unfortunately. Video playback at 3 times the speed. Enjoy! :D