*Sorry, my post is not an answer. Posted more like state of buggy Particle System and Texture > Voxel Data in Blender 2.79b. Blender 2.83 doesnt have this texture type. 2.83 comes with a new **object type - Volume**, but that doesnt solve nothing in this case, but future is always bright :)* --- My goal was to ... - use voxel data generate particle cloud from texture (01) or vertex weight (02) - particles represent by metaballs - animation export as Alembic or Wavefront, that converts metaballs (smoke) into Mesh Sequence --- test 01 - Meshed from Texture --- Blender 2.79 contains Texture type **Voxel Data** that use this kind of data as 3D texture. [Blender Manual describes][1] this quite straight forward. And it works for *8-bit RAW* and *Image Sequence* file format (like CT scan or MRI). [![enter image description here][2]][2] That means - it is possible (with some headaches*) to generate mesh by particle system represented as metaball objects, like this ... [![enter image description here][3]][3] Troubles comes with voxel file format **Smoke** (that should be able to reuse data of existing Smoke Domain on another object) and **Blender Voxel** (that should use externally saved simulation bake) ... [![enter image description here][4]][4] ... I could see material in Preview of Material and Texture Properties, but nothing was rendered. Usage of these baked smoke simulations (externally) is buggy for years. Smoke doesn't appear in domain at all / or is shifted / or just a few frames of sim is visible. Not always, and that it makes more difficult to hunt issue. (One for all [bug report here][5] - as many of them were closed/archived.) Anyway ... for your needs, when I assigned particle system directly to domain and Domain was set as Texture for particle density I was able to generate a particle cloud and to mesh one frame of smoke, but not entire animation. Probably for the reason mentioned above - bug. I'm not sure how that one frame is selected, but probably current frame setup when assigned? Cant confirm. --- For those interested - in case smoke sim is done ... - add Metaball object - select Smoke Domain - add Particle system - Emission>Start1 End1 / Source>Volume / Distribution>Grid / Velocity>zero / Texture>New (Cycles engine only) - go to Particle Texture Properties - Type>Voxel Data / Voxel Data>Smoke / Influence>Density [![enter image description here][6]][6] - set render particles as Object>Mbals - export (Mball) as Wavefront(.obj) or Alembic (.abc) that converts metaballs into Mesh Sequence animation [![enter image description here][7]][7] [![enter image description here][8]][8] [<img src="https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/embedImage.png?bid=J0mvwS4x" />](https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/b/J0mvwS4x/) --- *... another pain as hell is particle system refreshing https://developer.blender.org/T52160 . Even you have visible particle cloud, opening file again hides particles. To make them visible again switch Blender Internal in RenderView mode, change particle resolution to something, particle appear, switch back to Cycles if needed.* --- test02 - Mesh from Dynamic Paint Weight --- Dynamic Paint in [video of Miikah][9] can use a smoke sim as a "brush" to paint, so I wanted Weight paint into a dense grid by voxel data. Vertex Weight becomes Particle size solver. But ... I don't even thing this was implemented. (I could only approved dynamic paint vertex-weight can generate animated particle cloud, but not driven by smoke.) --- Resume - faked Fluid Particles seems to be a way to go ... :( --- Edits for your second blend --- (this part I will delete later) **Particle System Properties** - Influence > enabled Density (and Size) - Filed Weights > Gravity = 0 - Render > Size is very small try 0.4 - looks better use Random for Grid **Texture (Particles) Properties** - Color > enable Ramp and move White to left to increase smoke density **Mball Properties** - keep in mind all metaballs in a scene use resolution from first existing meta object in a scene (doesn't matter what other meta objects are set). That means - lowres for Preview and small particle size value make them invisible for its low res grid. **Time range** - you have set Smoke cache frame range 1-90 even scene is set 1-150 - also life time of particle system for metaballs is only 50 should be 150 Screens – Grid Res 200 / Particle Size 0.1 / Mball Preview 0.2 Smoke Default Preview [![enter image description here][10]][10] Smoke Viewports Display Color Ramp [![enter image description here][11]][11] Mball Particles [![enter image description here][12]][12] Hight Grid Resolution / Smaller Particle Size / Smaller Metaballs resolution = More detailed final mesh Bake Smoke sim first. If particles are not visible check italic paragraph under my first blend file. [<img src="https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/embedImage.png?bid=o1107O10" />](https://blend-exchange.giantcowfilms.com/b/o1107O10/) [1]: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/2.79/render/blender_render/textures/types/volume/voxel_data.html [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/F4wOJ.png [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/rUZLF.png [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/m6AKQ.png [5]: https://developer.blender.org/T40820 [6]: https://i.sstatic.net/eeMzU.png [7]: https://i.sstatic.net/fRUcf.png [8]: https://i.sstatic.net/5D4Oc.png [9]: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DjL1KluUE-gU&psig=AOvVaw0S5MJBZOGJq6HRPsEg-pqq&ust=1592254996289000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCPCEwJ6aguoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD [10]: https://i.sstatic.net/fcESx.jpg [11]: https://i.sstatic.net/rz5Hc.jpg [12]: https://i.sstatic.net/znVAA.jpg [13]: https://i.sstatic.net/sl1pw.jpg [14]: https://i.sstatic.net/anIzE.jpg