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Cache your nParticle simulation

Lesson 3: Creating a liquid simulation with nParticles

Open the third scene for the lesson

 

Learning Resources > Tutorials > Getting Started with Maya > nParticles > Lesson 3: Creating a liquid simulation with nParticles > 

Adding Motion Streak

You can set the Motion Streak attribute to optimize the motion of the nParticles during the pouring sequence of the animation. Motion Streak is useful for creating a motion blur type of effect, and for shaping the flow of liquids.

To set Motion Streak

1. Go to frame 119, then dolly and tumble the scene so that you have a close-up view of the water nParticles pouring into the glass.
2. Show the Water_Mesh object by selecting it in the Outliner and selecting Display > Show > Show Selection.

   At this frame, notice that the droplet mesh pouring into the glass looks too spherical. It does not resemble the continuous flowing behavior of water poured into a glass.

   

   To make the mesh a continuous flowing object, you can adjust the Motion Streak attribute.

3. In the Attribute Editor, click the nParticle_WaterShape tab.
4. In the Output Mesh section, set Motion Streak to 0.50.

   Maya updates the output mesh with the new setting. To further improve the quality of the mesh, you can perform a polygon smooth operation.

   

5. Select the mesh then, from the Polygons menu set, select Mesh > Smooth.

   The mesh is noticeably smoother and looks more like a liquid. In the next section, you will assign material shaders to the pitcher, glass, and water meshes. You will then render single frames of the simulation using mental ray for Maya.