Using Particle Presets

3D Compositing with Action > Action: The Particle System >

A number of particle presets are included in Action, such as a fog effect to add to your scene. These presets can also help you learn how the particle system works. The presets are divided into a number of categories and are easily added to your scene from the Action node bar.

Note the following when using particle presets:

The presets are optimized for the HD format. If you are working in a different resolution, a preset attempts to scale to the resolution, but may render slightly differently.
Depending on the preset loaded, some Action Setup menu Rendering settings may need to be changed, such as shading, geometry resolution, colour clamping, and z-buffer settings. These changes occur automatically after you confirm.
Some presets have .psd textures associated with them, and are added to the Media list and Desktop when the preset is loaded into Action. You should save these textures from the Desktop into an appropriate library.

To add a particle preset:

Do one of the following:
- Drag the Particle Preset node from the node bar and place it in the schematic.
- Drag the Particle Preset node from the node bar and place it where you want it in Result view.
- Double-click the Particle Preset node. You do not need to be in Schematic view to add a node in this manner.
The Particle Preset menu and file browser appear, pointing to the default location of the presets: usr/discreet/<product home>/particle_presets.
Navigate through the subfolders to find the particle preset you want to load.
TipSwitch to Proxies view to see a visual representation of the presets.
Once you select a preset, you may be asked to confirm certain Setup menu changes. The particle preset is then appended to your Action scene.
NoteIf you choose not to confirm the changes, the preset still loads, but you may not see the intended results.

For a listing and description of all available particle presets, see Particle Presets Catalogue.

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