How to Create Fog in Blender Using Volume Scatter

Creating atmospheric fog in Blender enhances scene realism and depth, which is easily achieved using the Volume Scatter shader node. This guide covers setting up a volume domain object, connecting the Volume Scatter node to your material settings, adjusting key properties like density and anisotropy, and configuring light sources to produce believable volumetric effects in both Cycles and Eevee render engines.

Step 1: Create a Volume Domain

To contain the fog, you need a 3D volume domain in your scene.

  1. Press Shift + A and select Mesh > Cube.
  2. Scale the cube (S) so that it completely covers the area where you want the fog to appear.

Step 2: Assign a Volume Material

  1. Select the cube and open the Shader Editor workspace.
  2. Click New to create a new material.
  3. Select the default Principled BSDF node and press Delete to remove it.

Step 3: Add the Volume Scatter Node

  1. Press Shift + A in the Shader Editor and go to Shader > Volume Scatter.
  2. Drag the Volume output socket of the Volume Scatter node into the Volume input socket of the Material Output node. (Note: Do not plug anything into the Surface input.)

Step 4: Adjust Volume Scatter Settings

By default, the fog will appear completely solid black or grey. You must lower the density to make it transparent.

  • Density: Set this to a low value, typically between 0.01 and 0.1, depending on the scale of your scene.
  • Color: Keep it close to white for standard white fog, or adjust the color tint for custom moods (such as pale blue for night scenes).
  • Anisotropy: Controls how light scatters through the fog:
    • 0.0: Scatters light evenly in all directions.
    • 0.1 to 0.9: Scatters light forward, creating distinct "god rays" or light shafts coming from light sources facing the camera.

Step 5: Configure Lighting and Render Settings

Volumetric fog requires active light sources to be visible.

  1. Add a Spot Light or Sun Light (Shift + A > Light) and point it into the fog box. Increase the light strength if necessary.
  2. If using Eevee:
    • Go to the Render Properties tab.
    • Enable Volumetrics.
    • Turn on Volumetric Shadows for realistic light beams.
    • Lower the Tile Size (e.g., to 2px or 4px) for sharper fog details.
  3. If using Cycles: Volumetrics work automatically, though rendering may take longer. Lower the Max Samples in the render tab if preview performance is slow.