Particles To Point Geometry
Updated: 15 Feb 2025
Renders particles as raytraced spheres.
Particles To Point Geometry
Method #
This node renders a raytraced sphere for all particles. Although it is not geometry like a primitive, the sphere will correctly simulate lighting and material shading the same way as a 3D object, and a Material node can be added for greater control.
For a particle system that only needs small points or spheres, this node can be faster and higher quality. for a wide variety of shapes, use the Particle Cloner node.
Emissive Materials can be connected, but will not emit lighting. If needed, look at a Particle Cloner workflow instead.
Parameters
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
Parameter Details Particle Use Amount
Percentage of particles that can be used by the node.
Point Size
Edit the size of the particles once they are rendered.
Point Size Randomness
Control the randomness in size of the particles.
Luminance
Control the luminance of the rendered particles.
Luminance Randomness
Control how much randomness is in the luminance of the rendered particles.
These properties control how the geometry is rendered into the scene.
Parameter Details Visible
Control whether the node is visible or not to the scene.
Seen By Rays
Allow the mesh to be seen by the raytracer. When set to 0, the mesh will still render in camera but will be ignored by any raytracing nodes.
Preview the objects material in the viewport.
These properties control how the surface of the generated mesh reacts to light in the scene. See Materials for a breakdown of all these properties individually.
The properties control the time at which the node is active. See Timeline for editing time segments.
Parameter Details Duration
Control the duration of the node’s time segment.
- Composition Duration : Use the length of the composition for the node’s time segment duration.
- Custom : Set a custom duration for the node’s time segment.
Node Time
The custom start and end time for the node.
Duration (Timecode)
The length of the node’s time segment (in time).
Duration (Frames)
The length of the node’s time segment (in frames).
Time Segment Enabled
Set whether the node’s time segment is enabled or not in the Timeline.
Inputs
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Particle Use Amount | Percentage of particles that can be used by the node. |
| Point Size | Edit the size of the particles once they are rendered. |
| Point Size Randomness | Control the randomness in size of the particles. |
| Luminance | Control the luminance of the rendered particles. |
| Luminance Randomness | Control how much randomness is in the luminance of the rendered particles. |
These properties control how the geometry is rendered into the scene.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Visible | Control whether the node is visible or not to the scene. |
| Seen By Rays | Allow the mesh to be seen by the raytracer. When set to 0, the mesh will still render in camera but will be ignored by any raytracing nodes. |
Preview the objects material in the viewport.
These properties control how the surface of the generated mesh reacts to light in the scene. See Materials for a breakdown of all these properties individually.
The properties control the time at which the node is active. See Timeline for editing time segments.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration |
Control the duration of the node’s time segment.
|
| Node Time | The custom start and end time for the node. |
| Duration (Timecode) | The length of the node’s time segment (in time). |
| Duration (Frames) | The length of the node’s time segment (in frames). |
| Time Segment Enabled | Set whether the node’s time segment is enabled or not in the Timeline. |
| Name | Description | Typical Input |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Add a material to override the internal default material. | Material |
| Rendered Emitters | Specify which emitters are rendered using this renderer. By default, all emitters connected to the same particle root as the renderer are rendered. | Primitive Emitter |
| Transform Modifiers | Apply the transforms of another node to this node. | Null |
| Target Node | Modifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input. | Null |
| Local Transform Override | Apply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent. | Null |