A Guide to Creating Volumetric Fog and Clouds with Blender’s Volume Scatter

What will you learn in this guide?

Volumetric shading lets light interact not only with object surfaces, but also with particles in an environment such as fog or smoke. It is therefore used to create fog, cloud, and smoke effects in a scene. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Blender’s Volume Scatter node as a volume shader, along with the general functions of its density, color, and anisotropy settings. We’ll also cover when to consider Volume Absorption and Principled Volume, as well as render engine limitations.

Rather than providing preset values for a specific scene, the steps here focus on understanding what each node does. Since the shape of the volume, the position of the lights, and the selected render engine all affect the result, settings should be evaluated on a scene-by-scene basis.

Requirements

You’ll need a scene in Blender where you can work with volume shaders, as well as a node-based material setup. The Blender Manual pages used as references are presented as “latest” documentation; the sources do not specify a particular version number. Check whether the same nodes and options are available in the Blender version you’re using. The sources do not specify any additional account requirements.

Volume Scatter can be a starting node for fog. If you want smoke to both scatter light and absorb some of it, you can also use Volume Absorption. For a more comprehensive volume material, consider Principled Volume, which combines scattering, absorption, and emission components.

Step by step: Setting up Volume Scatter

1. Define the area the volume will cover. First, decide whether the effect should spread throughout the entire scene or remain limited to a specific area. For a localized fog effect, you can use an object to define the volume. Applying a volume shader to the World fills all of space, so this method will not produce the same result as setting up a localized fog area.

2. Check the mesh boundaries. If you’re using a mesh as the volume boundary, the shell formed by its surfaces must be closed. The Blender Manual recommends that a volume mesh be manifold—that is, it should not contain T-junctions where an edge is connected to three or more faces, or open holes. The direction of the normals also matters: outward-facing surfaces help the renderer distinguish the inside of the volume from the outside. If these conditions aren’t met, the volume boundaries may not be interpreted as expected.

3. Connect the volume shader to the output. Connect the Volume Scatter node’s Volume output to the Volume input on the Material Output or World Output node, depending on where it’s used. Connecting the Volume output to a surface input will not route the volume shader to the correct channel. If the mesh only defines the volume boundary, the Blender Manual notes that the surface shader can be removed and replaced with a volume shader. For materials that have both a surface and an interior, such as glass, you can consider using a surface shader together with Volume Absorption.

4. Use Density as the primary control for the volume. Density affects the probability of light interacting with particles in the volume. As the value increases, the likelihood of light scattering or being absorbed also increases, potentially reducing the amount of light that passes straight through. In a density field defining smoke, values greater than zero represent areas with smoke, while a value of zero represents empty space. So if the result looks denser than expected, inspect not only the numerical setting but also how density is distributed within the volume.

5. Evaluate Color and Anisotropy separately. Color in Volume Scatter sets the scattering coefficients associated with the color channels. Anisotropy controls the directional bias of scattered light: at zero, light scatters equally in all directions; negative values favor backward scattering, while positive values favor forward scattering. For example, according to the manual, equal scattering in all directions can be suitable for smoke, while clouds may exhibit forward scattering. These are general descriptions of behavior, not presets that guarantee the same result in every scene.

6. Choose a scattering phase if needed. Henyey–Greenstein, Fournier–Forand, Draine, Rayleigh, and Mie phase options are documented for Volume Scatter. In the Blender Manual, Fournier–Forand, Draine, Rayleigh, and Mie are marked as Cycles-only. Rayleigh is associated with the scattering of particles smaller than the wavelength, while Mie is associated with larger particles, such as those in clouds and fog. Fournier–Forand is described for underwater environments, while Draine is described for interstellar dust. Check support in your render engine before selecting a phase.

7. Consider absorption and a more comprehensive volume node. While Volume Scatter distributes light in different directions, Volume Absorption reduces some of the light as it passes through the volume. The Blender Manual notes that these two components can be used together; absorption can also be considered for looks such as black smoke or colored glass. Principled Volume can be an alternative when you need to control scattering, absorption, and emission through a single node.

Common mistakes and things to watch for

If the volume isn’t visible, first check the node connection and mesh boundaries. Make sure the Volume Scatter output reaches the Volume input on the Material or World Output node. An open area in the mesh or inconsistent surface orientation can affect how the boundary is interpreted as inside or outside. These checks are a better starting point than trying to solve the problem by simply increasing density.

Another mistake is to treat Density as if it only controls the “amount of fog.” Since density also affects how light interacts with the volume, it should be considered alongside the distribution and lighting conditions in the scene. To see where the effect is occurring, evaluate the density field and the volume boundaries separately.

There’s also an important limitation when using a World volume: according to the Blender Manual, the World surface shader and sun lights have no effect when a volume shader is used for the World. This makes World volumes more useful in nighttime or other dark scenes. To model sunlight scattering in the atmosphere, or to keep fog limited to a specific area, a volume object surrounding the scene may be more suitable. The size of this object determines the extent of the volume that light will interact with.

Keep render engine limitations in mind, too. The Blender Manual states that the volume bounce count in Cycles is zero by default, resulting in single scattering. EEVEE does not support multiple volume scattering. If a cloud or smoke look requires multiple scattering bounces, consider the expected quality and render time together.

Next steps: Compare options for your scene

After the initial setup, change Density, Color, and Anisotropy one at a time in the same scene to observe the effect of each. Changing multiple settings at once can make it harder to determine which change caused the result. In your next test, try the same volume under different lighting setups, and compare a localized volume object with a World volume.

Explore Principled Volume when you need a more comprehensive material for smoke, fire, or clouds. According to the Blender Manual, properties such as density, color, and temperature can be used in volumes such as smoke and fire; custom shaders can access this data with the Attribute node. For a look requiring multiple scattering, consider render engine support and expected render time alongside your visual assessment.

Sources and license

This guide has been adapted into Turkish from the Blender Manual’s “Volume Scatter” and “Volumes” documentation. Both sources are published under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.