Over the last week, I have been testing with a relatively new plugin for Maya which is basically an OpenGL volumetric cloud shader, named Elementacular. This is currently only available in Windows, and I've been working with in in Maya 2016. It only renders in Viewport 2.0, so using it in the latest version of Maya allows me to export higher bit-depth EXRs. There are a number of limitations with this tool, such as non object-to-object shadowing, some frustum culling bugs, and what appears to be a maximum resolution based on your monitor display settings, but these bugs have been logged and should be fixed soon. The goal of using a tool like this is to allow you to create shaped clouds and (in my case) a sky full of cloud cover, without having to simulate a CFD solution such as FumeFX, Fluids, or something similar. I'll report back on how this all turns out once I've completed work on the job I'm using it for, so stay tuned for an update!
