Animated ripples in a puddle of water is easy if all you need is a simulation.
Example:

plane {y,0
 texture {pigment {rgbf<.9,.9,.9,.9>}
  normal {onion normal_map {
    [0 ripples 1 phase -1*clock scale 0.1 ] //adjust frequency and scale
    [.5 ripples 0 ] //adjust .5 up or down for area, leave zero there
   } scale 5 } //adjust this scale for size
  finish {diffuse .1 specular 1 roughness .25 reflection .2}
 }
}

Tune the scale of this as needed, it repeats like all textures so frame it in 
properly and should be okay.
Most important is to put number_of_waves=1 into global_settings or the ripples 
will be turbulent (mixed ripples).
For more realism (rain drops) use Chris Colefax's spray.inc:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/1434/
Though you may have to learn it first if you haven't used it before.

Message <36087E38.5A2285C5@uiuc.edu>, Todd Burch  typed...
>
>Could anyone out there give me an idea as to how to animate water?
>         I was also wondering if anyone knew how to simulate the ripples or
>disturbances in an animation in which a drop of water falls into a
>puddle.
>        Thanks. Any help would be much appreciated.
>        -Todd Burch
>
>===============================================
>Todd Burch
>tbu### [at] uiucedu
>www.uiuc.edu/~tburch
>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>-----------------------------------------------
>"He who forgets will be destined to remember"
>        -Edward Vedder, Pearl Jam
>===============================================

-- 
 omniVERSE: beyond the universe
  http://members.aol.com/inversez/POVring.html
=Bob

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