Magic Trail B shelf tool

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Overview
Important nodes
Learning from this example

Overview ¶

This shelf tool sets up a particle simulation that emits fairy dust particles along a spiral-shaped path. It serves as a useful example of how to create, layer, and render multiple particle effects within a single setup.

Important nodes ¶

spiral1

Controls the path the particles will travel along.

carve1

Controls how fast particle is emitting along the path.

pathdeform1

Deforms the generated source points from its left input into the spiral path that is connected to its right input.

popnet1 and popnet2

These nodes simulate two distinctive layers of particles.

lopnet1

This network is used to the render all the layers in the particle effect.

copnet1

This network is used to composite all the layers in the particle effect.

camera1

A SOP-level camera that is used for the rendering of the particle effect.

Learning from this example ¶

To...	Do this
Reposition the spiral	Use the `transform1` node to adjust the position of the spiral in 3D space.
Change the travel time on the spiral	Shift the animation keys on the First U parameter of the `carve1` node to control how long it takes the star to travel through the spiral.
Increase the amount of simulated particles	The Number of Points parameter on `pointgenerate1` and `pointgenerate2` controls the number of source points used by the particle simulation. Increasing this value generates more source points, but it will also increase simulation time.
Change particle simulation	Dive inside the `popnet1` and `popnet2` nodes and adjust the `popwind` and `popaxisforce` nodes to change the turbulent motion of the particles.
Change the color of the particles	Use the ramp parameters on `attribadjustcolor1` and `attribadjustcolor2` to modify the particle colors.

Magic Trail B shelf tool

Overview ¶

Important nodes ¶

Learning from this example ¶

Shelf tools

Using the shelf ¶

Technical ¶