Avatar: The Way of Water brought Pandora’s oceans to life with stunning water effects, while Avatar: Fire and Ash takes things to fiery new heights with ash and fire CGI that feels just as real. Both films use cutting-edge work from Wētā FX to make these elements look natural and immersive[1].
In The Way of Water, much of the story happens underwater. Wētā FX built entire oceans, reefs, and sea creatures in CGI. They paid close attention to how water moves, with bubbles rising, currents flowing, and light bending through the depths. Actors performed in real water tanks, and new tech captured their motions perfectly. This let the Na’vi swim and interact with the sea in ways that felt alive. Large action scenes mixed water splashes, creature battles, and destruction, all rendered with complex lighting so everything stayed visible and believable[1]. You can see a detailed breakdown of this in Wētā FX’s video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANmawvbOpCY and more on their site https://www.wetafx.co.nz/.
Fire and Ash shifts to a harsh, volcanic part of Pandora where the Ash People live. These Na’vi are covered in ash, with piercings and a scary look different from the ocean clans. The air is thick with drifting ash particles that react to every movement, making the biome feel choked and alive. Viscous lava flows slowly, and fire effects show up in explosions, flamethrowers, and destruction. Artists directed the fire’s path as it moved over rocks and characters, adding gesture and motion to guide the eye. Performance capture started it all, with actors in suits recording real emotions and moves before adding the CGI fire and ash. Side-by-side videos show how raw captures turn into final shots, keeping 100% of the human feel[2][3][4]. Check out the behind-the-scenes at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfeDWgEBif8.
Water effects in Way of Water focus on fluidity and clarity, simulating waves, splashes, and underwater light for a dreamy, alive ocean world. Ash and fire in Fire and Ash go for grit and danger, with particles that cling and flames that roar unpredictably. Both push VFX limits: water needed new tools for submersion capture and rendering, while ash demands millions of particles per frame that move realistically. Fire adds heat distortion and glows that interact with Na’vi skin and environments. James Cameron’s native 3D setup and Fusion Camera System make these effects pop in theaters, with no generative AI—just real actor work enhanced by CGI[1][2][5].
The Ash People’s leader, Varang, embodies this world. Her fire dance and spiral weapon tie into the ash-covered, volcano-scarred society that worships fire over Eywa. Makeup, ash layers, and piercings make them look tough under the blue Na’vi skin[3]. Scenes with fire directing through flux or flamethrowers show how VFX artists shaped chaos into story moments[3].
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANmawvbOpCY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfeDWgEBif8
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9wamb6
https://rjcodestudio.com/avatar-3-cgi/
https://seattlerefined.com/lifestyle/review-avatar-fire-and-ash-james-cameron-pandora-way-of-water-trilogy-zoe-saldana-filmmaking-sully-navi-sam-worthington-movies-holidays
https://www.wetafx.co.nz/
