3D Compositing with Action > Action: The Particle System > Customizing the Particle Stream >
Applying Textures to Particles

You can apply textures to particles using the same method as applying textures to 3D objects and text. You can also set its texture mapping using the Texture menu.

To apply a texture to a particle stream of spheres:

1. Create a particle generator.
2. From the Render Type box, select Spheres as the particle type. To view the 3D object or text as you make changes to your particle stream, change the Interactive Type box to Spheres as well. See Setting Particle Rendering Properties.
3. In the schematic, select the Particle Generator.
4. From the Node bin, double-click the a texture map node.

   A texture is added using the currently selected media and is parented by the particle generator.

5. Apply the appropriate media to the texture object and set texture menu settings. See Action: Textures.

   For example, the following shows the schematic and the result of a particle stream using spheres and a reflection map, making each particle resemble a glass ball.