This tutorial will get you started with a simple particle system in thinkingParticles. In order to use this powerful plug-in, you must understand the process by which you create particles in the first place, and how to organize your system into logical groups.
Start up 3ds Max with a new scene.
Go to the Command panel -> Create -> Particle Systems -> Thinking and place a thinkingParticles icon in the Front view.
Press play inside 3ds Max and you will see that no particles are created automatically.
This may seem a bit unsettling, but this is because thinkingParticles
is a rule-based particle system and it only does what you tell it to.
Other particle systems give you basic defaults that generate a plain set
of particles, but for high level particle animation you commonly have
to replace or change all of the settings to get something acceptable.
With thinkingParticles you only get what you want, and this makes rule-based
particle animation simple and very powerful.
With the thinkingParticles Icon selected go to the Modify panel and click Properties in the thinkingParticles Rollout.
You can also use the hot keys of Alt+Shift+P to open and Alt+Shift+C to close the thinkingParticles User Interface.
This brings up the thinkingParticles User Interface. This is where most
of your work will be done with thinkingParticles.
In the Particle Group Tree View (the upper left quadrant of the dialog) click the Create button under Master System.
This will add a new "group" to put your particles in. Groups
can be thought of as containers for different numbers of particles. Now
the naming is pretty plain, so let's change it so that it is more recognizable.
Name the group First Particles by clicking on the name Group twice slowly. This is similar to renaming a file in Windows.
Now that you have a group to contain the particles you'll create, you need
to create a DynamicSet to dictate what the particles
do (in this case, how they are to be born).
In the DynamicSet Tree View (the lower left quadrant of the dialog), click the Create button under Master Dynamic
Next, rename the new DynamicSet Generate as you did previously with the First Particles group.
With the creation of a DynamicSet, you are ready to begin building your
particle system. The first thing to do is to cause particles to be born.
Highlight the Generate DynamicSet and go to right-hand side of the dialog where you will see a new set of Create rollouts.
thinkingParticles Properties View with a group and dynamic set created
Select the Operators Icon within the Create rollout, and then choose Generator from the dropdown list.
The Generator operators are the ones that are responsible for the creation
(or "generation") of particles within thinkingParticles.
Select the Position Born node to highlight it, then left-click in the schematic portion of the middle Wire Setup View to add this node to your DynamicSet to the scene .
Take notice that when you create the Position Born operator you get
a rollout on the right to adjust some parameters for the operator (highlighted
in Blue) and that the operator is added to the DynamicSet on the left
side (highlighted in Red). The order in which operators are stacked inside
the DynamicSet is very important, so be mindful of this when adding operators
to your particle system.
In the Position Born rollout on the right that appears select First Particles as your Group from the drop down menu.
What you have done by changing this field in the Position Born operator
is told thinkingParticles that upon birth, all of the particles are to
be members of the First Particles group. This is not only a good housekeeping
function, it will also keep your project organized for anyone else who
needs to use it as it encapsulates the particles into a named group. Remember
that with thinkingParticles, you will have many Groups and DynamicSets.
It is important to keep them straight and named properly for what you
are doing.
Minimize the thinkingParticles interface and play back the animation to see the particles emitting in the view port.
Save your file as QuickStart01.max.
While not the most eye-popping start, this tutorial has introduced you
to some of the most basic concepts within thinkingParticles: creating
Groups and DynamicSets, and assigning particles to specific groups.
In the next tutorial you'll learn how to add new attributes to this basic
system so that you can not only see the particles in the view port, but
also render it out.