Apple Motion 2 - Manual (Page 569)

Chapter 8 Working With Particles 569
Using Particle Systems
Despite their sophistication, particle systems are easy to set up and simple to use. This
section describes how to use pre-made particle systems from the particle library.
Afterward, it explains how to create a simple particle system of your own.
Using the Particle Library
The easiest way to add a particle system to your project is to use one from the particle
library. The particle library is located in the Particle Emitters category of the Library, and
is a collection of pre-made particle effects that you can add to your project. There are
many types of particle effects to choose from. If you find one that is close to what you
need, you can easily customize its parameters after you add it to your project. Particle
systems are added to a project exactly like any other object.
Particle Systems and Layer Sizes
Particle systems often create particles that grow or move off the Canvas before they
die. This can make the size of a layer much larger than that of the Canvas. Although
the particles are not visible once they move off the Canvas, they are still present in
the project and are processed. If you apply a filter to a layer containing growing
particles, or use that layer as a source object, it is recommended that you turn on the
Fixed Resolution checkbox in the Layer tab of the Inspector (available only when a
layer is the selected object). The Fixed Resolution parameter allows you to set the
specific width and height of a layer, cropping anything beyond those values. For more
information, see “
Fixing the Size of a Layer ” on page 204.
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