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Introduction to Particle Systems

Particle systems are computer simulations that use customizable rules to automatically generate and animate large numbers of elements to simulate smoke, dust, fire, leaves, sparks, or any other

animated system of shapes. As Fusion is a full-featured 3D compositing environment, particle systems can be created in 2D or 3D, which makes them incredibly flexible and capable of producing all kinds of visual effects or abstract animated content for use in motion graphics.


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A 3D particle system, also created entirely within Fusion


The three most fundamental nodes required for creating particle systems are found on the toolbar. As with the 3D nodes to the right, these are arranged, from left to right, in the order in which they must be connected to work, so even if you can’t remember how to hook up a simple particle system, all you need to do is click the three particle system nodes from left to right to create a functional particle system.


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The pEmitter, pMerge, and pRender particle system nodes available from the toolbar


However, these three nodes are only the tip of the iceberg. Opening the Particle category in the Effects Library reveals many, many particle nodes designed to work together to create increasingly complex particle interactions.

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