2009

Position Object Operator
Particle View on page 2811 > Click Position Object in an event or add a Position
Object operator to the particle system and then select it.
By default, particles are born, or emitted, from the Particle Flow icon. The
Position Object operator lets you emit particles from any other object or objects
in the scene instead. This topic uses the term emitter to refer to an object or
objects used to emit particles with this operator. For example, use it to create
a meteor's fiery trail.
Use the Position Object settings to control the initial placement of particles
on the emitter. You can set the emitter to emit particles from its surface,
volume, edges, vertices, or pivot, or from a sub-object selection. You can also
control particle emission with a material applied to the object.
Alternatively, you can use the
Position Icon operator on page 2850 to emit
particles from the Particle Flow icon.
NOTE Typically, you would use Position Object in a birth event, so the particles
appear initially at the emitter object(s). If you use it in a non-birth event, the
particles jump to the designated emitter(s) upon entering the event. This could
be useful for a teleportation effect.
TIP The default speed operator, Speed on page 2871, typically uses the Particle Flow
icon to control the direction of the particle flow, so if the emitter object(s) and
the icon aren't coincident and aligned, you might get unexpected results. For
better control over the direction of particle movement when using Position Object,
use the
Speed By Surface operator on page 2886 instead and designate as Surface
Geometry the same object(s) as with Position Object.
Procedures
To use Position Object:
1 Create a Particle Flow system and one or more mesh objects to use as
emitters. Animate the emitter objects and set particle system parameters
as necessary.
2 In Particle View, add a Position Object operator to the birth event,
replacing the Position Icon operator if one exists. Click the operator to
display its parameters.
Particle Flow | 2853