Nimbus-Photorealistic Skies
DaveWorksOnBlender
Does it work in EEVEE?
Nimbus is Cycles only. True volumetric scattering is what makes the clouds photoreal. EEVEE shows the placeholder previews.
How heavy are renders?
A 1080p full-sky frame takes minutes on an 8 GB card. The LOD system spends detail only where the camera looks.
Can I animate it?
Yes. Wind moves the clouds over the timeline, and every sun and atmosphere setting can be keyframed for timelapses.
Where do the cloud shapes come from?
Real fluid simulations. Every shape was grown by running smoke physics until it formed genuine convective structure, then saved as OpenVDB. That is why they do not have the smooth procedural look. The library ships with the addon, so you never have to simulate anything.
Do I have to bake or wait for anything?
No. Install, press Build Sky, render. Baking is optional and only exists if you want shape variations nobody else has: change the seed, press Bake, and it runs in the background.
Do I need HDRIs or textures?
No. No HDRIs, no textures, no internet. The sky and sun come from an atmosphere model, the clouds from the included shape library.
Can I use the clouds outside Blender?
Yes. Export Cloud VDB writes the shapes as OpenVDB files for Houdini, Unreal, or anything else that reads volumes.
Can I match a real location and time of day?
Yes. Turn on Use Location & Time, enter latitude/longitude and a date/time, and the sun is placed exactly where it would be in reality. The stars and Milky Way rotate correctly to match.
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$1
Control volumetric clouds for free with the Nimbus workflow.
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$34.99
Physical sky, unlimited clouds, stars, and full layer controls.
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| Published | 3 months ago |
| Blender Version | 4.2 - 5.2 |
| Extension Type | N/A |
| Render Engine Used | Cycles |
| License | GPL |
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