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.
NoteThe following sections
also apply to emitters created for nParticle objects.
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
- Make sure nothing is selected.
- Select
Particles > Create Emitter.
This creates a point
emitter at the origin.
To emit particles from points
on a surface
- Select the NURBS or polygonal surface.
- Select
Particles > Emit from Object > to display
the options window.
- In the options window, select Surface from
the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
- 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
- Select the curve.
- Select
Particles > Emit from Object > to display
the options window.
- Select Curve from
the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
- In the options window, click Create.
To emit from all CVs or vertices of
a selected object
- Select the object.
- Select
Particles > Emit from Object > to display
the options window.
- Select Omni or Directional from
the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
- In the options window, click Create.
To emit particles from
selected vertices, CVs, or edit points
- Select the object.
- Click (the Select
by Component Type icon).
- Select the components you want to emit
particles. See Basics for details.
- Select
Particles > Emit from Object > to display
the options window.
- Select Omni or Directional from
the Emitter Type pop-up menu.
- 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: Alphabetical.
To emit particles into a volume shape
- Select
Particles > Create Emitter > .
- Under Basic
Emitter Attributes, set the Emitter Type to Volume.
- Under Volume Emitter Attributes,
click Volume Shape and select a shape
from the menu.
- Set the Volume Emitter attributes as desired.
See
Volume Emitter Attributes for
information on the volume emitter attributes.
- Click Create.
The implicit shape of
the volume emitter is displayed on the screen. You can move, rotate,
scale, or shear the emitter.
NoteYou can’t deform
the volume or use an arbitrary volume.
To
hide the shape of the volume emitter
- Select the emitter and select
Display > Hide > Hide
Selection.
To
hide the emitter icon that represents the emitter
- 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.
- Select
Display
> Hide > Hide Selection.
- To display the icon again, select Display
> Show > Show Last Hidden.
To delete an emitter
- Select the emitter.
- 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.
NoteEmission
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.