Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
The first idea was to use procedural volumetrics for the sun to avoid a hard surface look. Ultimately however, I found myself spending a lot of time on trying out different approaches to get as close as possible to real photos and videos of the sun corona. I can say now that the sun is probably the most complicated thing to recreate I have seen so far. The shapes the filaments are forming and the trails of matter flowing along magnetic field lines are very hard to get right. I used these videos as references:
Fiery loops: youtu.be/HFT7ATLQQx8?t=92
Solar flares / filaments: youtu.be/6tmbeLTHC_0?t=428
I have tried to replicate most effects, some with particle physics, others with procedural shaders, I have written a script to generate the trails from particle paths, and I even discovered a way how to create realistic magnetic field lines in a volume shader - see the community tab for an image:
youtube.com/channel/UCozprHAh-CPdkla4E4MtOIA/community?lb=UgzrDmhTDAai-3tCLap4AaABCQ
I'm not entirely satisfied with the result as it still appears to be artificial but the math required to get it right is just mind-blowing. I hope you like it anyway. :)
Visuals by Kai Kostack
Music: I Can't Remmber I Can't Recall - The 129ers
Animated and rendered in Blender
kostackstudio.de
The first idea was to use procedural volumetrics for the sun to avoid a hard surface look. Ultimately however, I found myself spending a lot of time on trying out different approaches to get as close as possible to real photos and videos of the sun corona. I can say now that the sun is probably the most complicated thing to recreate I have seen so far. The shapes the filaments are forming and the trails of matter flowing along magnetic field lines are very hard to get right. I used these videos as references:
Fiery loops: youtu.be/HFT7ATLQQx8?t=92
Solar flares / filaments: youtu.be/6tmbeLTHC_0?t=428
I have tried to replicate most effects, some with particle physics, others with procedural shaders, I have written a script to generate the trails from particle paths, and I even discovered a way how to create realistic magnetic field lines in a volume shader - see the community tab for an image:
youtube.com/channel/UCozprHAh-CPdkla4E4MtOIA/community?lb=UgzrDmhTDAai-3tCLap4AaABCQ
I'm not entirely satisfied with the result as it still appears to be artificial but the math required to get it right is just mind-blowing. I hope you like it anyway. :)
Visuals by Kai Kostack
Music: I Can't Remmber I Can't Recall - The 129ers
Animated and rendered in Blender
kostackstudio.de
