The
type of field and its attributes specify the kind of effect it has.
You can set the field attributes before you create the field, or
you can create a default field and set the attributes after creation.
To set field attributes before creating
the field
- From the Dynamics or nDynamics menu
set, select Fields > fieldname > to display
the options window for the field.
- Set the attributes.
To enter a value that
exceeds a default slider range, type the value in the text box.
- Click the Create to
create the field.
To edit field attributes after creating
the field
- Select the field you want to edit.
TipYou can select the
particle object connected to the field and the Attribute
Editor displays a tab for the field.
- Do one of the following:
- Use the Attribute Editor or Channel
Box to set the attributes. The attributes are described
in the field descriptions in this chapter.
- Use the workspace manipulators to edit
commonly used field attributes (see
Set field attributes with workspace manipulators).
TipYou
can animate field effects by setting the field attribute values
with keys or expressions. To turn off the effect of a field at some
frame, you can key the value of its Magnitude attribute
to 0. Make sure the key Tangents are Stepped if
you want the Magnitude to change abruptly
to 0 rather than with a gradual interpolation.
Set Volume
Control Attributes and Volume Speed Attributes
In
the Attribute Editor and the Create
Emitter option window, attributes not applicable to a
volume shape are dimmed. However, the Channel Box does
not support dimming. We recommend you use the Attribute
Editor instead of the Channel Box to
edit volume field attributes until you become familiar with the
attributes that apply to each volume shape. Some Volume Control Attributes,
including,
Volume Trapping,
Axial Magnitude,
and
Curve Radius attributes
are only available in the Attribute Editor.
To set Volume Field Attributes and Volume
Speed Attributes
- Select the field and display the Attribute
Editor.
TipYou can select the
particle object connected to the field and the Attribute
Editor displays a tab for the field.
- Enter values for the volume shape attributes.
See
Volume Control Attributes and
Volume Speed Attributes.
Tips on using volume fields
- The action of a vortex field is still
controlled by its Axis attribute, even for a Torus field.
If you want a circular motion around the section axis of the torus,
use the Volume Axis field (see
Work with volume axis fields).
- You cannot deform or tweak the field
volume. You are restricted to the volume types we provide—you
can’t use general volumes.
- The field Max Distance attribute
still applies with volumes.
- There are no manipulators for the field
attributes.
- You can trap objects inside volume fields
using volume trapping attributes. See
Volume Trapping.
- You can use the Axial
Magnitude to set field Magnitude along
the axis of a volume shape field or volume axis curve. See
Axial Magnitude.
- When working with volume axis curves,
you can use the Curve Radius ramp to scale
curve Section Radius along the curve’s
axis. See
Curve Radius.