The ocean scene I used to make this YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjHptVRs3O8
I have also packed the mp3 sound effect files containing 9 different thunder cracks, plus the background wind effect mp3 file.
A very valid criticism, and one I had already given some serious thought. Unfortunately, I didn't think about mist.
My thinking was along the lines simulating rain, but, during test renders, I had calculated that it would take the best part of a day to render 1 minute of roiling ocean and lightning. Adding some kind of rain simulation to the mix would increase the time exponentially. So, ....
Thanks for the tip, and I will remember it. Glad you liked the rest of the animation.
Irvine
Remember sir, you can render seperately and composite. Most pipelines do this :D
For a project i'm working on, is there such a thing as a lightning simulator? or did you do that entirely?
Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I made a single lightning bolt myself from small sections of cylinder. Then, just rotated and scaled it to create differences between the different instances. To my knowledge there are several video tutorials that offer technically superior ways of creating lightning, but, considering a flash of lighting is only on screen for milliseconds, my quick and dirty method works fine.
If i may give a few suggestions, some mist or blurring the background would do this pice alot of justice, the water looks pretty good but looks very sharp against the background. Personally, it looks alot like the clouds are just an animatied texture on a flat plane, if thats the case, the mist might really help. But great work !