The Rotation operator lets you set and animate particle orientation during an event, with optional random variation. You can apply orientation in any of five different matrices: two random and three explicit. For some options you can set a degree of random variation or divergence from the specified orientation.
To cause particles to spin, use the Spin operator.
The user interface appears in the parameters panel, on the right side of the Particle View dialog.
Use the X/Y/Z settings to specify the orientation for all particles.
By default, using the Speed operator Along Icon Arrow option, particles are aimed straight down when born.
Use the X/Y/Z settings to specify the orientation for all particles.
For example, if you add a Find Target test to the end of the default Event 01, move the target sideways, and set Rotation to Speed Space Follow, the particles start out pointing straight down, as oriented by the Speed operator, and then gradually reorient themselves to point in the direction they're traveling: toward the target.
Use the X/Y/Z settings to specify the orientation for all particles. The Divergence setting is unavailable when using Speed Space Follow.
Use the X/Y/Z settings to set the axis to which divergence will be applied. Default=1,0,0. Range=–1.0 to 1.0.
To specify one of the world axes, set the corresponding parameter to any nonzero value, and the others to 0. A negative value flips the axis. The numeric values come into play when you want to use an axis that's not aligned with the X, Y, or Z axis. In that case, you specify multiple nonzero values whose effect is relative to one another. For example, if you want the axis to be oriented halfway between the positive X and Y axes, you would set X and Y to the same positive amount. The actual value doesn't matter. Similarly, to set the axis to 30 degrees (1/3 of the angle) from the X axis to the Y axis, you'd set the Y value to twice that of the X value. For example, X=0.2 and Y=0.4, or X=0.5 and Y=1.0.