Liquid simulations have always been a persistent challenge for me at ZUP Studio. I approach things visually—3D design for me is about making balanced and well lit images and animations, not wrestling with endless technical settings. Blender’s built-in fluid sims? A slog—slow, clunky, and never quite right. I tried add-ons like FlipFluids and FluidLabs, which outpaced Blender’s defaults with smoother results, but they still left me chained to hours of setup and waiting for renders to cook. Then JangaFX’s LiquiGen alpha (version 0.3.2, late 2024) arrived as part of the Elemental Suite, and it’s flexing some serious muscle.
Take a classic soda can animation: water streams from behind, hugging the can’s curves before splashing down—a staple shot you see everywhere. In Blender, I’d spend an hour fiddling with the domain, another few hoping the bake wouldn’t crash, and still tweak endlessly for that flow. With LiquiGen, I had it running in minutes. Real-time feedback let me shape the water’s path on the fly—no more twiddling thumbs through render marathons. Viscosity isn’t directly adjustable yet, but with some clever adjustment tricks—tweaking drag forces and surface tension in the nodes—I nailed that thick, syrupy look, perfect for the viscous black paint dripping over an animal skull, as you can see in the header image.
Export to Blender
Exporting the mesh to Blender via Alembic was buttery smooth—no glitches or broken frames. I brought it into Blender for final rendering, giving me control over materials, lighting, and compositing while leveraging LiquiGen’s fast, accurate sims. Pro tip: work in a much larger scene than your object—my soda can sim clipped out in a tight space, but scaling up fixed it. Even better, LiquiGen lets you internally scale the mesh but output it at its original size, with the simulation adjusting seamlessly. The UI’s a standout too: modern, node-based, and intuitive, aligning perfectly with my visual-first approach.
System
I’m running LiquiGen on an RTX 4090, and the performance is great—simulations fly, and real-time feedback is a breeze. That said, I can’t vouch for smaller GPUs, but given the complexity of liquid sims, a solid graphics card is likely a must.
Community
Coming from Blender, I’m used to a massive community offering millions of YouTube tutorials on every topic imaginable. In comparison, JangaFX is a relatively new software developer and lacks that vast fanbase. Finding videos for every LiquiGen feature isn’t as straightforward yet. However, the software’s ease of use compensates for this—especially if you’ve tinkered with simulations before. The terms and effects feel familiar, mirroring those in other Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools, making the transition smooth for experienced users.
Pricing
I chose the "Rent to Own" option for the Elemental Suite, which bundles LiquiGen, EmberGen, and GeoGen for $29.99 per month (Indie & Hobby tier). After 18 consecutive payments, it grants a permanent license with updates included throughout the subscription. This approach suited my workflow at ZUP Studio, avoiding a big upfront cost. JangaFX also offers a permanent Elemental Suite license for $449.99 for the first year (then $224.99 annually for maintenance), or individual tools like LiquiGen at $299.99 initially (then $149.99 annually). For a visual artist like me juggling multiple projects, the monthly Suite plan offers flexibility and value.
Pros
✅ Real-time control
✅ Smooth exports
✅ Intuitive, modern UI
✅ Powerful Node-System
✅ Easy to learn
Cons
🔻No direct viscosity slider yet
🔻Only works well in big scale
🔻Small community/ Little ressources
Conclusion
For visual 3D artists tired of Blender’s fluid sim grind, LiquiGen alpha (0.3.2) via the Elemental Suite is an absolute powerhouse. It’s not just faster—it makes the process enjoyable. Pair it with a beefy GPU, and it’s a game-changer.
Now we can only hope that the team at JangaFX will expand the Elemental Suite and release "Fabrigen". Realtime Cloth Simulation. How amazing would that be?
More Reviews like my LiquiGen Alpha Review soon on zup.studio.
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