# Realistic water: an Awwwards mention for a pool full of caustics

> The glass-walled pool simulation with refraction and projected caustics won an Awwwards Honorable Mention on June 25, 2025.

Canonical page: https://andersonmancini.dev/blog/realistic-water-awwwards-mention

Published: 2026-10-06 · 1 min read · Tags: awwwards, water, milestone, react-three-fiber, shaders

On **June 25, 2025**, the 3D realistic water experiment received an **Awwwards Honorable Mention**.

## What it is

An interactive water simulator with React Three Fiber and WebGL: a glass-walled pool where every ripple, reflection and caustic pattern is rendered live. The surface uses vertex-shader distortions for motion and refraction, while projected caustics crawl across the mosaic tiles below. Underwater shading, depth absorption and surface roughness respond as you move, and when you step out of the water, droplets cling to the camera.

## Why I like this recognition

Water is a problem where small, honest details do the work: the droplets on the lens, the way color absorbs with depth. Being recognized for it confirmed that a technical experiment with no client, no brief and no product can still be worth a jury's time.

The technical story is in [the launch post](https://andersonmancini.dev/blog/realistic-water-simulation.md), and the project is on its [project page](https://andersonmancini.dev/projects/realistic-water.md). The full list is in the [Awwwards timeline](https://andersonmancini.dev/blog/awwwards-honorable-mentions-timeline.md).

## Related projects

- [Realistic Water](https://andersonmancini.dev/projects/realistic-water.md) — WebGL pool simulation with caustics