Particles > Instancer (Replacement)

Particles > Instancer (Replacement) >

The options that follow are available when you select Particles > Instancer (Replacement) > . If you want to modify the options after you use the particle instancer, select the instanced particle object and display the Attribute Editor. Most of the options are in the Instancer Attributes section of the particle shape node tab. A few options are in the instancer node, available by clicking the instancer node tab in the Attribute Editor after you select the particle object. You can also select the instancer node in the Outliner.

NoteYou can apply the particle instancer two or more times to the same particle object. When you select the particle object and display the Instancer Attributes section of the Attribute Editor, you’ll see an Instancer Nodes menu that lets you choose the instancer node associated with the settings you want to modify.

Particle Instancer Name: Optional name of the instancer node. A default name is created if you leave this entry empty.
Rotation Units: If you set the Rotation settings for you particles, this option specifies whether the value is interpreted as degrees or radians. See particleShape node.
Rotation Order: If you set the Rotation settings for your particles, this option sets the precedence order of rotation, for instance, XYZ, XZY, or ZXY. See particleShape node.

Level of Detail

Sets whether the source geometry appears at the particle locations or whether a bounding box or boxes appear instead. Bounding boxes speed up scene play.

Geometry: The source geometry appears at the particle locations.
Bounding Box: Displays a single box for all the objects in the instanced hierarchy.
Bounding Boxes: Displays individual boxes for each object in the instanced hierarchy.

Cycle

Select from the following options:

None: Instance a single object.
Sequential: Cycle through the objects in the Instanced Objects list.

If you select None and the Instanced Objects list has more than one object listed, only the first object listed will be used as the instanced object.

NoteIf you select Sequential, Maya cycles through the objects in the Instanced Objects list in the order shown. You can select a different starting object for each particle with the CycleStartObject (see particleShape node), but the order of the cycling remains the same. For instance, one particle might cycle through objects 0-1-2-3, while another cycles through 2-3-0-1. No particle can cycle through 3-2-1-0.

To use an order different than the Instanced Objects list, select None, create a custom attribute, select the custom attribute as input to the Object Index option (see particleShape node), then write a creation and runtime expression to set the custom attribute appropriately as the scene plays.

Cycle Step Unit: If you’re using an object sequence, select whether frames or seconds are used for the Cycle Step Size value.
Cycle Step Size: If you’re using an object sequence, enter the particle age interval at which the next object in the sequence appears. For example, a Cycle Step Size of 2 (seconds) displays the next object in the sequence at the frame where a particle’s age exceeds 2, 4, 6, and so on. See the Age attribute in particleShape node for details on how to alter the age of particles.

If you use an object sequence, you’ll typically use unanimated objects displayed in sequence. You can use animated objects effectively if you set the Cycle Step large enough to portray their animation.