Step-by-step creating liquid metal
one find reference imagery
The first thing to do is an internet search to find reference images for liquid metal – try searching for mercury metal, paint splashes and spilled liquid. Try to get a selection of natural, interesting shapes and sizes. Bring these images into Cinema 4D or Illustrator and create a library of splash outlines ready for you to extrude in 3D.
two Let the Sculpting begin
In C4D, you want to extrude each group of outlines and add a cap onto the front of each mesh. You then subdivide and start sculpting within C4D or Zbrush. Use the Inflate and Smooth brushes to create the most organic shapes. Experiment with how thick or thin you want your pools of metal to be – keep looking at your reference images to check it’s looking real.
three tweak the positions
Once all melted metal meshes have been sculpted, place them onto the surface you want them sitting on. If any edges aren’t sitting the way you want, select the vertices and use the Soft Selection tool to pull the edges onto the floor or to tweak the outlines of the spills. This method gives you a lot of control whilst still maintaining your smooth sculpted mesh.
four finishing touches
Once you’re happy with your models, introduce your metal material and start playing around with HDRS and various light setups to really show off the smooth curved edges of your melted metal pools and any thickness you’ve added. You want your metal to look as natural as possible, so the more hints of sculpted detail and noise within the reflectance the better!