Tutorial: Page (1) of 2 - 05/11/05

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NewTek released the latest update to LightWave this week that included a small update to the HyperVoxels engine that allows you to vary the shading of particles relative to the particle age.

What makes this new option a great addition is your particle shading will now more naturally follow the life of the particle.  Let?s take a look at this in action.

Step 1:  In Layout, create a Particle Emitter and name it Particle Age.

Step 2:  Under the FX_Emitter Panel, in the Particle Tab, leave the Life Time setting at 60 frame, and change the +/- amount to 30.  This will cause some of the particles to only live one second, while other particles could last three seconds.  In other words, the lifespan of any one particle is between 30 and 90 frames.

Step 3:  Change the Y-axis velocity to 8 under the Motion Tab.  This will cause the particles to move upward.  To get the particles to spread out change the Explosion amount to 5.

Step 4:  Finally under the Etc. Tab, change the Y-axis Gravity to -9, which is close enough for this exercise.

You should end up with a nice volcanic looking explosion.

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