Despite what they might sound like, 3ds Max, Particle Flow, Frost and Krakatoa, FumeFX, and Vray are not European electro DJs, but rather computer graphics softwares with modeling capabilities. Matthias Müller has put these tools to great use for his latest project, The Space We Live In. The video depicts clustered objects in space, be they galaxies or clouds of miscellaneous debris.Müller applied his expertise in visual effects to design a cosmic scene almost as epic as the interlude in The Tree Of Life. While that film made it a point to use all analog imagery to depict the cosmos, Müller’s method demonstrates that the same organic visualizations can be created using CG without sacrificing the illusion of realness.He used 3ds Max, a reference software used in the gaming world to create dynamic images, and he generated particle effects using Particle Flow Tools. The result is as close as we’ll currently get to seeing nebulas and distant star clusters up close. The feat here is the creation of digital and immaterial works which still obey the real world’s laws of physics inside their virtual space. Rather than dealing with abstract lines of code to achieve a visual result, CG artists can now act as sculptors shaping an impalpable matter.Screenshot of FumeFX in conjunction with Frost