Notch Notch Manual 0.9.23
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Image Emitter

Image Emitter

Emit particles from an image.

image

Method #

This node emits particles from an image or video, using the RGBA channels to control the image emission. Motion vectors can also be used to make particles track the motion of a video once emitted, through the connection of an Optical Flow node. The image or video may be set directly using the Image attribute, or taken from a node connected via the Video Node attribute.

The location of emitted particles depends on the way the image is supplied to the emitter. If an image is supplied via the Image attribute or linked from a Video node it will be emitted from a unit plane in the XY axis, combined with the transform from the emitter itself. If an Image Plane node is linked to the emitter’s Video Node input the transform from the Image Plane is used, so the particles will emit at the same location in 3D space as the pixels in the Image Plane, assuming the emitter’s own transform doesn’t offset it.

Requires an image to be supplied via the Image property or the Video Node input to function.

The transformation values of this node will be inherited by its children. Furthermore, Affectors, Shading, and Rendering nodes will only be effective to the particles emit by this emitter.

Parameters

These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.

ParameterDetails
Position XMove along the local x-axis.
Position YMove along the local y-axis.
Position ZMove along the local z-axis.
Rotation HeadingRotate around the local y-axis.
Rotation PitchRotate around the local x-axis.
Rotation BankRotate around the local z-axis.
Scale XScale along the local x-axis.
Scale YScale along the local y-axis.
Scale ZScale along the local z-axis.

Toggle which transform channels should be inherited from the parent node. By default, all transforms will be inherited.

ParameterDetails
Position XToggle inheritance of the X Position from the parent.
Position YToggle inheritance of the Y Position from the parent.
Position ZToggle inheritance of the Z Position from the parent.
Rotation HeadingToggle inheritance of the Rotation Heading from the parent.
Rotation PitchToggle inheritance of the Rotation Pitch from the parent.
Rotation BankToggle inheritance of the Rotation Bank from the parent.
Scale XToggle inheritance of the X Scale from the parent.
Scale YToggle inheritance of the Y Scale from the parent.
Scale ZToggle inheritance of the Z Scale from the parent.
World Position OnlyInherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit TimeToggle inheritance of time from the parent.

These properties control the core behaviours of the node.

ParameterDetails
ImageOverride the input image with an image selected from the drop down menu.
Flip ImageFlip the image input vertically.
Luminance Offset ScaleBias the particles in depth by the luminance of the source pixel.
Use ThicknessToggle whether to emit the particles on a 2d plane, or in three dimensions.
ThicknessChange the thickness of the three dimensional area the particles can spawn in. Only functions if ‘Use Thickness’ is on.
Pixel Cull/Thickness ModeChange how the depth of the particle generation is calculated.
  • Alpha Channel : lower alpha values will have greater depth.
  • Luminescence : darker parts of the image will have greater depth.
  • Luminance * Alpha Channel : luminance values are multiplied by alpha values and lower values after which are given greater depth.
Alpha ThresholdLimit where the particles will spawn based on their source alpha.
Image Colour AdaptionHow much the particle colours adapt to the image colours.
Particle Use Image AlphaToggle whether particles use the image alpha.
Limit Emissions Per PixelToggle whether the number of particles that can be emitted per pixel can be limited..
Max Emissions Per PixelThe maximum number of particles that can emit per pixels. Only functions if “Limit Emissions Per Pixel” is true.
Emission Area MinControl the minimum area that the particles will be emitted.
Emission Area MaxControl the maximum area that the particles will be emitted.

These properties control how the particles are emit from the node, and thier core life properties.

ParameterDetails
Emitter ActiveChange whether the emitter is on or off.
RandomnessHow much randomness is added in the particles movement.
LifeControl how low long each particle exists for.
Life RandomnessControl the randomness for the life of each particle.
Emission RateWhat percentage of the particles are emitted from the emitter per second.
Max Particle CountSet a maximum particle count for the emitter.
Respawn EnabledToggle whether a particle can respawn.

Tints the particles colours from the emitter. To enable, add an colour ramp input to this node.

ParameterDetails
Colour Selection ModeChoose how the input colour affects the particles.
  • Input Colour : The first colour input is the only colour output.
  • Selected Single Colour : Uses the colour selection parameter to decide which colour to use.
  • Emission Time : Colour is selected based on time at which the particle is emitted.
  • Random Colour : the colour is selected randomly at the particles creation.
Colour Selection ParametersA number used to select the colour output.

These properties control how other video data is handled for the particle emission.

ParameterDetails
Depth VideoModifies the z position of the particles, based on the input video.
Motion Vector VideoSelect a motion vector video to apply to the object.
Motion Vector EffectScales effect of motion vectors on the motion of the particles.
Motion Vector Scale XScale particle movement along the x axis.
Motion Vector Scale YScale particle movement along the y axis.
Motion Vector MaxMaximum movement allowed for the particle.
Motion Vector BiasControl whether there is a bias towards either axis from the motion vector video.
Avi FPSChange the frames per second the video is played at.
Motion Vector FPSControl the frames per second of the input motion video.
Time OffsetOffset the time the effect is running.

These properties control the material the particles use for emission.

ParameterDetails
ColourRGB colour of particles.
DiffuseControl how much the light is scattered from the surface of the object.
EmissivenessControl how much light is emitted by the particle.
Life Colour Affecter WeightControls how much the result of any Life Colour Shading nodes are blended with the particle’s colour.
Particle ScaleScale the size of the particle.
Dof AmountHow much depth of field effects the particles material.
DensityThe density, for use in some simulations.
TemperatureThe density, for use in some simulations.
Cooling RateThe cooling rate, for thermal dynamics simulations.
Density DecayControl the rate of decay in the density.
Fade In TimeWhat percentage through the particles life span the particle fades in.
Fade Out TimeWhat percentage through the particles life span the particle fades out.

Inputs

NameDescriptionTypical Input
Video Nodeimage or video to be used as a source to emit particles from.Video Loader
Motion Video NodeVideo used to calculate motion for the particles.Optical Flow
Colour Control NodesControl the colours of the particles on emission.Colour Ramp
Transform ModifiersApply the transforms of another node to this node.Null
Target NodeModifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input.Null
Local Transform OverrideApply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent.Null

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