Creating a simple custom particle system – Apple Motion 2 User Manual
Page 571
Chapter 8
Working With Particles
571
4
When you find a particle preset you want to use, do one of the following:
•
Click Apply to add the selected particle system to your project at the center of the
Canvas. It is added to the current layer.
Note: If Create Objects At is set to “Start of project” in the Project pane of Motion
Preferences, the particle system is added at the first frame.
•
Drag the particle system into the Canvas at the position you want it to appear.
•
Drag the particle system into a layer in the Layers tab or Timeline Layer list. It appears
at the center of the Canvas.
•
Drag the particle system to the track area of the Timeline. When you reach the frame
where you want the new objects to start, release the mouse button.
The new particle system object appears in your project, composited against any other
objects that you’ve already added.
Once you have added a particle system from the Library, it acts exactly as it appeared
in the Preview area. If necessary, you can edit a particle system’s Emitter parameters in
the Dashboard to tailor it to your own use.
Note: You can only modify a particle system after it’s been added to a project.
The Dashboard displays a selected particle system’s most essential parameters,
including the size and number of particles that are created, how long they remain
onscreen, how fast they move, and the direction and area in which they travel. Select
an individual cell in the Layers tab or Timeline to edit its parameters in the Dashboard.
For more detailed information on using the particle Dashboard, see “
” on page 575. For more comprehensive information on
customizing all of a particle system’s parameters, see “
Creating a Simple Custom Particle System
While Motion comes with a wide variety of particle system presets, many times you’ll
want to create something completely new. Creating a particle system begins by
selecting an object in your project to use as a source object for a cell within a new
particle emitter.
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