This R&D focuses on particle-based grain and sand simulation.

The main goal was to use custom forces, constraints, and activation conditions to make a particle system behave more like granular material such as sand or grains, rather than like a standard free-moving particle simulation.

I used World Machine to generate the landscape, then identified and filled the active simulation areas with particles.

From there, the setup uses custom simulation controls to influence how the particles settle, slide, accumulate, and react to the terrain.

The main focus was on building a more art-directable granular simulation workflow, where the behaviour of the sand could be controlled procedurally while still maintaining believable interaction with the landscape.