Creating Particle Children

This page describes how to create a fountain effect using particles and child particles.

Here, we will use particles to express a fountain that spews water droplets into the air, and child particles to express the ripples caused by the landing droplets.

Creating the Water Droplets

Here, we will create a particle set to express water droplets being spewed into the air.

Creating the particle set

On the CreativeStudio menu, select Create > Effect to display ParticleCtrCreationPanel in separate window.

Create a new particle set. Enter any name.

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The particle name "fountain_drop" is used in this tutorial.

The particle set is created by CreativeStudio when you press Apply and close or Apply.

Note: You can also create a particle set by entering a particle name and pressing Enter.

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You can confirm the particle you have already created by pressing Playback button on the Cree panel.

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Emitter Settings

Here, we will set an emitter using the particle emitter Properties panel.

Select fountain_dropEmitter displayed in the Contents panel to open the particle emitter Properties panel.

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Here, change Emission volume settings to the values given below.

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Applying a Texture to the Particle

On the CreativeStudio menu, select File Open Intermediate file and load the water droplet texture intermediate file located in the following folder:

NW4C_ROOT%/SampleData/Effect/Intermediate/ManualResource/Fountain_Particle/Fountain_Drop.ctex

Fountain_Drop is added to the Contents panel when the intermediate file is loaded.

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Texture details can be confirmed on the texture Properties panel by selecting Fountain_Drop on the Contents panel.

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Material Settings

Apply the Fountain_Drop.ctex texture to the particle using the material Properties panel.

Select fountain_dropMaterial to open the material Properties panel.

Note: If there is more than one material, select Material to edit

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For details on the material Properties panel, click here.

Changing Textures

(1) Select the Texture tab on the material Properties panel.

(2) Change the image used for Texture0 given in the Texture List on the Texture tab to Fountain_Drop.

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(3) Select Fountain_Drop to set the Fountain_Drop texture for the particle.

After making the above settings, the Preview screen appears as follows when you press the play button on the timeline panel of CreativeStudio.

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Particle model settings

At this point, set the lifespan and animation for emitted particles on the particle set Properties panel.

Select fountain_dropParticle displayed in the Contents panel to display the particle set Properties panel.

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Lifespan setting

Set the lifespan of particles emitted from the emitter (the number of frames they will be displayed) using the Lifespan parameter on the particle set Properties panel.

Change the lifespan values to those given below.

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By making the above setting, particles emitted from the emitter will be displayed for 60 frames.

Animation Settings

Create water drop motion by changing the direction and speed of particles being emitted.

Spread Out from Y Axis

(1) From the pull-down menu for the Speed setting on the particle set Properties panel, select Spread out from Y-axis and press Add.

(2) The setting for Spread out from Y-axis will be displayed. Change the settings as follows.

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The above settings will cause particles to be emitted from the center and spread outward from the Y-axis at a speed of 0.3.

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Specified Direction

From the pull-down menu for the Speed setting on the particle set Properties panel, select Specified direction and press Add.

Settings for a specified direction will be displayed. Change the settings as follows.

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The above settings will cause particles to be emitted at a speed of 0.79 in the specified direction (Y-axis direction 1).


Hint: You can freely change the speed at which particles are emitted and the direction in which they are emitted by changing the settings for X, Y, and Z and for Speed.
Here, particles are emitted upwards because a positive setting is used for Y.

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Gravity

(1) Select Gravity (accelerate in the specified direction) from the pull-down menu in the Speed section and press the Add button.

(2) Gravity settings will be displayed. Change the settings as follows.

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The above settings will cause gravity, represented by a speed of 0.025 in the negative Y direction, to be applied to particles.
The water droplets will now be drawn to follow a parabolic arc because gravity in the negative Y direction is being applied to the particles being emitted upward in the positive Y direction.

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Hint: The greater the gravitational speed applied, the greater the gravitational force. Gravity can also be applied in different directions by changing the direction setting.

Setting Child Particles

Now, let's set child particles for fountain_dropParticle.

Creating a particle set for child particles

If you select fountain_dropModel, displayed on the Contents panel, the particle model Properties panel will open.

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Press icon button for adding particle sets to a model, located at the top of the particle model Properties panel to add a particle set.

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Icon Features and Content
Child Creation Image 17 Adds a particle set under the model.
Child Creation Image 18 Adds a particle emitter under the model.

Particle1 and MaterialCtr1 will be created under fountain_dropModel. Change the name of Particle1 to "ripple."

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Configuring the newly added particle set as a child particle

Select fountain_dropParticle to open the particle set Properties panel.

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(1) Press Add in the Child particles section of the particle set Properties panel.

(2) Setting parameters used for child particles will be displayed. Select ripple from the pulldown menu for Particle set to emit to.

This sets the particle set you want to use as a child as the particle set to emit to.

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Hint: With the above settings, the timing is set to When parent particle expires. This causes ripple to play the instant fountain_dropParticle hits the ground. Emission timing can be freely set. Try various settings and see what happens.

You can confirm on the Preview panel that the above settings cause the particles set as children to emit when fountain_dropParticle expires.

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Editing Child Particles

Here, we will edit the particle set configured as a child to create a ripple effect.

Applying a Texture to the Particle

On the CreativeStudio menu, select File → Open → Intermediate file to load the ripple texture intermediate file located in the following folder:

NW4C_ROOT%/SampleData/Effect/Intermediate/ManualResource/Fountain_Particle/Fountain_Ripple.ctex

The following texture image is used. I'D is used for the texture format.

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Material Settings

The loaded Fountain_Ripple.ctex file is applied to the particle set MaterialCtr1 using the material Properties panel.

The steps for changing the texture are the same as described for the water droplet texture.

Particle model settings

Select ripple displayed in the Contents panel to display the particle set Properties panel.

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Lifespan setting

Change the lifespan values to those given below.

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Particle shape settings

Change the particle shape to Polygon plane (XY) and unselect Render in the order generated.

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Rotation settings

Change the standard values for rotation to those given below.

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Here, set the standard X value to -90 so the ripples are parallel to the X-axis.

Note: The angle of the ripple can be varied in many ways by changing the standard value for the X-axis.

Setting an animation for ripple

Here, we will create an animation that makes ripples spread out and disappear.

Setting an alpha animation by overwriting previous values with the four-key method

Now, we will set an animation for the vertex alpha of the particle.

(1) Select Overwrite previous value using four-key method from the alpha animation pull-down menu.

(2) Setting parameters for Overwrite previous value using four-key method will appear. Change the settings as follows.

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Note: The four-key method is a low-overhead animation technique configured using information from just four animation key locations.
For details on overwriting previous values using the four-key method, click here.

Scale settings

(1) Select Add to previous value from the scale animation pull-down menu.

(2) Setting parameters for Add to previous value will be displayed. Change the settings as follows.

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When the above settings are made, ripple, set as a child particle to represent a ripple effect, will be displayed after fountain_dropParticle, representing the water droplet effect, disappears.

These settings use alpha and scale animations to make ripples appear to spread out and disappear.

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