User Manual

Introduction to Particle Systems
Particle systems are computer simulations that use customizable rules to automatically generate
and animate large numbers of elements to simulate smoke, dust, fire, leaves, sparks, or any
other animated system of shapes. As Fusion is a full-featured 3D compositing environment,
particle systems can be created in 2D or 3D, which makes them incredibly flexible and capable
of producing all kinds of visual effects or abstract animated content for use in motion graphics.
A 3D particle system, also created entirely within Fusion.
The three most fundamental nodes required for creating particle systems are found on the
toolbar. As with the 3D nodes to the right, these are arranged, from left to right, in the order in
which they must be connected to work, so even if you can’t remember how to hook up a simple
particle system, all you need to do is click the three particle system nodes from left to right to
create a functional particle system.
The pEmitter, pMerge, and pRender particle
system nodes available from the toolbar.
However, these three nodes are only the tip of the iceberg. Opening the Particle category in
the Effects Library reveals many, many particle nodes designed to work together to create
increasingly complex particle interactions.
A sample of the nodes available in the
Particles bin of the Effects Library.
Chapter – 78 Particle Systems 1607