Apple Motion 2 - Manual (Page 599)

Chapter 8 Working With Particles 599
Life: A slider that defines the duration of every particle, in seconds. This specifies how
long each particle lasts before vanishing from existence. This is similar to how sparks
disappear after flying away from a sparkler. Unless the Color Over Life or Opacity Over
Life parameters are used to fade each particle out over its life, particles immediately
vanish at the end of their lifetimes.
Life Range: A slider that defines an amount of variance in the life of generated
particles. A value of 0 results in no variance—all particles from the selected cell emerge
with the same lifetime. A value greater than 0 introduces a variance defined by the Life
parameter, plus or minus a random value falling within the Life Range. This parameter
is not available if the emitter contains more than one particle cell.
Speed: A slider that defines initial speed. This determines how quickly each particle
flies away from the emitter. This, in conjunction with the Life and Birth Rate parameters,
determines how many particles appear in the Canvas at any given frame. It is
equivalent to one of the functions of the graphical Emission control in the Dashboard.
Speed Range: A slider that defines an amount of variance in the speed of generated
particles. A value of 0 results in no variance—all particles from the selected cell emerge
with the same speed. A value greater than 0 introduces a variance defined by the
Speed parameter, plus or minus a predetermined random value falling within the
Speed Range. This parameter is not available if the emitter contains more than one
particle cell.
Angle: A dial that defines the angle of rotation, in degrees, at which new particles are
created. This parameter is not available if the emitter contains more than one particle
cell.
Angle Range: A dial that defines an amount of variance in the angle of generated
particles. This parameter is not available if the emitter contains more than one particle
cell.
Life set to 5 (frame 60) Life set to 2 (frame 60)
01112.book Page 599 Sunday, March 13, 2005 10:36 PM