Apple Motion 2 Tutorials - Manual (Page 200)

200 Tutorial 4 Working With Particles
To center the circle in the Canvas:
1 Move the Adjust Item tool until it is either inside or outside the circle.
2 Drag to reposition the circle in the center of the Canvas.
Important: If the emitter shape is highlighted, dragging the tool resizes the shape. If it
is not highlighted, dragging the tool repositions the shape.
Changing a few other Cell Controls puts the finishing touches on this emitter.
Fine-Tuning the Emitter
The default values listed in the Cell Controls group of the Emitter tab are designed for
uniformity rather than variety. Change these values to generate more variety.
To adjust the life of the particles:
1 In the Cell Controls, set the Life parameter to 2.
The number of particles generated is the same. However, their lives are shorter.
Because of this, the particles now cycle through their color gradient faster.
2 Set Life Range to 1.
Changing the Life Range adds a small amount of variance to the particles, so they
change colors at different rates. Next, move the particles faster.
To adjust the speed of the particles:
1 In the Cell Controls, set the Speed parameter to 200.
The faster-moving particles now travel a greater distance over the course of their short
lifespan.
Change the Speed Range so that the particles do not all move at the same speed.