Particles > Particle Tool >

These are the descriptions of the items in the Particle Tool options window.

Particle Name

The name helps you identify the object in the Outliner. If you don’t enter a name, the particle object receives a default name such as particle1.

Solver

(For nParticles only.) Specifies which Maya Nucleus solver the nParticle object belongs to. Select a solver from the drop-down list (existing Maya Nucleus solvers are listed), or select Create New Solver to create a new Maya Nucleus solver for the new nParticle object.

Conserve

Influences the motion of particles whose velocity and acceleration attributes are controlled by dynamic effects. See General Control Attributes.

Number of Particles

Enter the number of particles you want to create per mouse click

Maximum Radius

If you choose a number greater than 1 for Number of Particles, you can distribute particles randomly in a spherical region where you click. To choose a spherical region, set Maximum Radius to a value greater than 0.

Sketch Particles

When this option is selected, drag the mouse to sketch a continuous stream of particles.

Sketch Interval

This sets the pixel spacing between particles. A value of 0 gives you nearly a solid line of pixels. The higher the value, the more space between the pixels.

Create Particle Grid

Creates a particle grid.

Particle Spacing

Only active when creating a particle grid. Sets the spacing (in units) between particles in the grid.

Placement

Choose with cursor, to set the volume with your cursor, or with text fields, to set the grid co-ordinates manually.

Minimum Corner

The x, y, z co-ordinates of the lower left corner of the 3D particle grid.

Maximum Corner

The x, y, z co-ordinates of the upper right corner of the 3D particle grid.