Create emitters

The following procedures describe how to create emitters with default settings. For details on other settings, see Set emitter attributes by typing entries. In the following procedures, you must play the animation as the final step to see the particles emit.

You cannot add an emitter to an object if the emitter already has some other technique controlling its translate attributes. Furthermore, after you add an emitter to an object, you cannot control the emitter’s translate attributes with another technique, for example, an expression.

If you select only some of an object’s CVs, vertices, or particles, the emitter applies only to those selected.

To emit from a position

1. Make sure nothing is selected.
2. Select Particles > Create Emitter.

   This creates a point emitter at the origin.

To emit particles from points on a surface

1. Select the NURBS or polygonal surface.
2. Select Particles > Emit from Object > to display the options window.
3. In the options window, select Surface from the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
4. In the options window, click Create.

   For details on emitting from entire surfaces evenly, see Spread emission more evenly from NURBS surfaces.

To emit particles from points on a curve

1. Select the curve.
2. Select Particles > Emit from Object > to display the options window.
3. Select Curve from the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
4. In the options window, click Create.

To emit from all CVs or vertices of a selected object

1. Select the object.
2. Select Particles > Emit from Object > to display the options window.
3. Select Omni or Directional from the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
4. In the options window, click Create.

To emit particles from selected vertices, CVs, or edit points

1. Select the object.
2. Click (the Select by Component Type icon).
3. Select the components you want to emit particles. See Basics for details.
4. Select Particles > Emit from Object > to display the options window.
5. Select Omni or Directional from the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
6. In the options window, click Create.

   Adding an emitter to components creates a set of components named for the emitter. You can change the components that emit by editing the set membership (see the Basics guide). Note that you cannot emit from components of an object in a referenced scene.

   
   TipThe MEL emit command lets you add particles to selected positions of an existing particle object without creating an emitter. You can set the values of any per particle attributes for the created particles. This lets you create effects similar to emission but with greater control.

   For example, you can make emitted particles use the attribute values of the emitting particles. You can also use the emit command in an expression to make particles emit at the point where particles die.

   For detailed examples of the emit command, see the online MEL Command Reference.

To emit particles into a volume shape

1. Select Particles > Create Emitter > .
2. Under Basic Emitter Attributes, set the Emitter Type to Volume.
3. Under Volume Emitter Attributes, click Volume Shape and select a shape from the menu.
   
4. Set the Volume Emitter attributes as desired. See Volume Emitter Attributes for information on the volume emitter attributes.
5. Click Create.

   The implicit shape of the volume emitter is displayed on the screen. You can move, rotate, scale, or shear the emitter.

   Note

   You can’t deform the volume or use an arbitrary volume.

To hide the shape of the volume emitter

1. Select the emitter and select Display > Hide > Hide Selection.

To hide the emitter icon that represents the emitter

1. In the workspace, select the emitter icon.

   Sometimes it’s easier to select the emitter in the Outliner. If you are emitting from an object rather than position, the emitter is indented under the object’s name in the Outliner.

2. Select Display > Hide > Hide Selection.
3. To display the icon again, select Display > Show > Show Last Hidden.

To delete an emitter

1. Select the emitter.
2. Press (Windows and Linux) or (Mac OS X).

   When you delete an emitter, the emitted particle object is not automatically deleted. If this particle object isn’t connected to other items in the scene, you can delete it also. Use the Outliner to delete it.

   Note

   Emission begins only at the frame specified by the emitted particle object’s Start Frame attribute (by default, frame 1). For example, to emit particles at frame number -5, you must set the Start Frame of the emitted particle object to -5.