Explosion Suggestions

Hi, try looking at Alan_00_04.iel, you can down load it from the wondertouch web site, there is neet space explosions you can use and modify. There is plenty more that you can use also, but it depend on the look you are loking for, i hope this help.

If your out-flow exceeds your in-flow, then your up keep will be your down fall.

There would be some heat and possibly fire in the collision of two comets (fire only if the gasses that make up at least one of the comets includes oxygen), so you could probably put some flame elements in the explosion, but you're right; for the most part it would be less an explosion than an upheval of dust and gas. You could probably use some of the flame explosion emitters but modify their colors to more closely match the colors of your comet bodies. Or, you could modify your comet emitters to be an explosion. I remember reading a tutorial on the wondertouch site that talked about converting an emitter to an explosion type emitter.

Hope this is helpful!

As an artist i often say that "in art any thing goes" no one said that skies have to be blue, or that grass have to be green. I said that to say this-be creative! Dazzle your audience with an array of fire works created by your comets clashing, you have the power(particle illusion) before you, use it!

If your out-flow exceeds your in-flow, then your up keep will be your down fall.

No tutorial that I know of, but it should be a lot easier than actually doing all that tweaking!

Having multiple particle types in one emitter can be tricky, becasue every change you make to the overall emitter effects each particle type. Doing them seperately, you have complete control over each one on an individual level.

I am not 100 percent sure about what I am about to say. I am pretty sure this is tru, based on what I see, but not on anything I read... a downside of seperate emitters is that the particles from one emitter on top of another, will be in front of all particles of the emitter below. In emitters with multiple particle types they all kind of come out together so they look like they are part of one "event." This way they would be seperate.

However, if you are using intense particles, you probably won't notice too big a difference (or one at all) since their color and brightness do interact with eachother. It's just on the non-intense particles that thjis becomes obvious.

BTW - it may help your sanity if you put each emitter on a different layer - since you will find it easier to select and move them.

Aharon Rabinowitz
arabinowitz@yahoo.com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com

Libraries (iel's - Illusion Emitter Libraries) contain several emitters. Emitters are objects that emit particles. Particles are the things that shoot out of the emitter. You place an emitter on the stage, not a particle.

What you see when you hit play, are particles, not emitters.

One emitter may have multiple particle types - that is, one emitter can have particles of different shapes sizes and behaviors. And example would be one of the space explosion emitters. In one of the emitters in the library you have several particle types:

Sparks
Gas
A circle (like a spherical explosion)
Debris

Each particle type has it's own behavior. The devris fragments spin and grow slowly. The sparks shoot out fast....etc. Each particle type has it's own properties (weight, size, velocity - plus their over life properties, like size over life, and their variation properties, such as weight over life). However, all of the particle types are influenced by the emitter's properties (such as number, weight, velocity).

Let me know if that doesn't explain it.

Aharon Rabinowitz
arabinowitz@yahoo.com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com

>>>regarding particle types ... can you take one particle type from an emmitter, lets say wispy smoke, and add it to the emmiter you are currently working on

Not in version 2 - in version 3 you can do this, but only in the library manager or library properties area.

Keep in mind - it won't look or behave the same even if you were able to swap it. It would ingherit all of the properties of the emitter it was being placed in (if you recall, I explained that while particle types have their own propertie, they are under the influence of the emitter's properties). With a bit of work you may be able to get something close to the look you want, but in a lot of cases you just won't becasue of the nature of your emitter.


>>>>what if I wanted to take an emmitter ... take one of its particle type represented by the stars in the emitter properties display ... change its shape ... and make that just a emitter

What do you mean make it just an emitter?

To change a particles shape, you need to get into the emitter properties.

1) Right-Click on the emitter in the library window and choos properties.

2) In the properties view, select/click on the particle type (represented by the asterisk, as you said)

3) Click on the change shape tab - If you want to use a new shape already in the library skip step 5. If you want to use an existing shape skip step 4.

4) Load the new shape by using either of the (+) buttons - they have different purposes, but both will work - If I am only altering one particle type to have the new shape, then i click on the one all the way to the right (New shape but do not add to library). I do this becasue it keeps my library file size down - It isn't added to the iel, only the scene/project. If you are changeing several particle types to have that shape, then select the one in the middle - it will load it into your library, and it will be take up less RAM, but it will make your library file (iel) bigger overall because a new shape has been added to it. I am not 100% sure of this, but that's what I believe the difference is. Follow the instructions for importing your shape image.

5) Select the shape you want from the list of shapes in your library, and click the Make Active button.

6. You can see what your particles look like in the preview window. Click OK and get back into the main window.


>>>>The only way I got it to work was to take the new emitter I added and lower the visiblity of the particle types

I honestly am not sure what you mean byu this. Why did you have to lower their visibility?

Aharon Rabinowitz
arabinowitz@yahoo.com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com

OK...

First off - A particle type NEVER becomes an emitter. A particle typ comes out of an emitter.

What It think you mean here is: How do I get rid of the other particle types so that only one particle type (in this case, whispy smoke) is emitted. Yes?

Alright - get intot he emitter properties. In the hierarchy window, select the paerticle type you want to remove and click the Red "X" button below the hierarchy window. That will remove the unwanted particle types.

Is that what you are asking?

Aharon Rabinowitz
arabinowitz@yahoo.com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com

Don't forget, you can always add new particle types to an emitter. It's in the same place that the Remove PArticle Type Button is. There is a (+) button there which duuplicates whatever particle type you have selected. then you can alter it any way you want - change the shape, color, life, size...etc.

Aharon Rabinowitz
arabinowitz@yahoo.com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com

I *never* work on emitters in libraries -- I always add them to the stage first, then work on them. This has several advantages in my opinion:

• only one emitter in the hierarchy so it's less cluttered
  
• if I screw up I don't ruin my library
  
• I can use "add to library" at any time to save a copy of the emitter as I'm working on it
  

Alan.