Settings group

Gaseous

A loose and soft pattern, often used for clouds and smoke.

Fiery

Fractal patterns with bright, well-defined areas, often used for fires.

Electric

Long, well-defined tendril pattern that can be used to produce arcing electricity, when animated. By adjusting the quality of the pattern to 0, you can create the effect of water reflection.

Lock Effect

Locks the inferno effect to the lens flare. When the lens flare moves across the screen, the inferno effect moves with it. Use this option when you want the noise pattern to move with the flare for effects like torches.

Lock Noise

Locks the inferno noise patterns into the screen. When the lens flare is animated and moving across the screen, the noise pattern stays in one spot and the flare moves through it. This is often used for creating plasma trails and cloud patterns.

Motion

When you animate the inferno, motion specifies how fast the inferno patterns move in the direction set by the Direction spinner. For example, if you want to simulate a raging fire, you want the fractal patterns to move upward. This parameter can be animated.

Direction

Specifies the direction, in degrees, of the inferno effect motion. By default, 0 is aligned in the 12 o'clock position, and works clockwise. This parameter can be animated.

NoteThe Motion and Direction spinners control the motion of the fractal pattern in the X and Y directions. You can control the Z direction using the Speed option under Inferno Parameters.

Quality

Specifies the overall quality of the fractal noise patterns in the inferno effect. Higher values result in more iterations of the fractals, more detail in the effect, and slightly longer render times. This parameter can be animated.

Reseed

The number that the fractal routines use as a starting point. Set this spinner to any number to create different fractal effects. The Reseed button randomly selects a new number.

Parameters group

Size

Specifies the overall size of the fractal patterns. Smaller numbers produce small, grainy fractals. Higher numbers produce larger patterns. This option can be animated.

Speed

Sets the overall speed of the turbulence in the fractal patterns as they are animated. Higher numbers produce faster turbulence in the pattern. This parameter can be animated.

Base

Specifies the brightness of the colors in the inferno effect. Higher values result in brighter color ranges and brighter infernos. Lower values result in dark, softer effects. The Base spinner only affects Fiery and Electric inferno types This parameter can be animated.

Amplitude

With the Base spinner, controls the maximum brightness for each portion of the fractal inferno patterns. Higher values result in fractal patterns with brighter colors. Lower values result in the same patterns, with muted colors. This parameter can be animated.

Bias

Shifts the colors of the effect toward one end of the color range or the other. At a setting of 50, Bias has no effect. Above 50, the colors are brighter, and below 50, they are darker and softer. This parameter can be animated.

Edge

Controls the contrast between the light and dark areas of the fractal patterns. High values produce a high contrast and more well-defined fractal patterns. Low values result in less defined, subtler effects. This parameter can be animated.

Radial Density

Controls the density of the inferno effect in a radial fashion from the center of the effect to the edge. Wherever there is white in the gradient, you only see inferno noise. Where the gradient is black, you can see the underlying flare. If you set the right side of the gradient to black and the left side to white, and apply the Inferno to the Glow effect of a flare, the inferno effect appears toward the outer edges of the glow, while the center of the glow is still visible.