How do I animate the opacity of particles ?

DominiqueBray · Post by **DominiqueBray** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:35 pm

Hi

I have a trouble trying to animate the opacity of particles.

Since my particles die after 200 frames, I selected my picture layer and add two keys : opacity = 100 at frame 0 and opacity = 0 at frame 200. So they should disappear little by little along their way. But it has no effect ! Particles still full opacity from the start to the end...

Where is my mistake ?
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synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:49 pm

Try doing that to your particle layer instead of your picture layer.

DominiqueBray · Post by **DominiqueBray** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:50 am

If I do so, the opacity of all the particles change at same time... They all are 100% opacity at frame 0 then all disappear little by little...

I want each particle to be 100% opacity when it births, then disappear little by little.
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heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:56 am

Are you rendering? If not is "Transparency" checked in the display settings?

What you did works fine for me. You have to have transparency checked in display settings to see it in the working window. Or you can render.

-vern

DominiqueBray · Post by **DominiqueBray** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:37 am

Looks like it works with vectorial particles but not with picture particles.

Now my pictures keep invisible...

Here is the file.
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heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:45 am

Yes it does work.

You can't trust the preview! If something isn't showing up or looks wrong in the working preview you must render it first before jumping to the conclusion that it doesn't work.

Image layer transparency is not shown in the preview. You have to render to see image transparency. If you had mentioned your particles were image layers I would have mentioned that... should have anyway. I apologize.

In conclusion... RENDER RENDER RENDER. That should be your final test when something doesn't look right. Preview is just that a "preview".

And I agree that image transparency should show in preview... it is very annoying.

-vern

DominiqueBray · Post by **DominiqueBray** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:50 am

I am talking about renders, not previews. I know previews are just previews.
Did you checked the file I uploaded ?
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heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:29 am

I don't see any opacity set for the image particle layer. Without that there won't be any animated opacity.

Animating opacity of an image layer inside a particle group layer works. I tested this before my last post. I don't have much experience with particles but the opacity of an image layer has nothing to do with any problems with the file you posted. To be honest I need to study it more to figure out exactly what you are trying to do.

-vern

DominiqueBray · Post by **DominiqueBray** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:45 am

I don't see any opacity set for the image particle layer.

At frame 200 on the "point1.png" picture layer.

Animating opacity of an image layer inside a particle group layer works.

I'm happy to read it. So I need to find out why I can't come about to do it.

I tested this before my last post.

Can you give me a file please ?

To be honest I need to study it more to figure out exactly what you are trying to do.

Sorry, I should be more explicit. My aim with these going away particles is that : the more far they are, the less opacity they have. So, as they get far and far from their birth to their death, and their life is 300 frames long, I animated the opacity of the picture this way : one "opacity 100" key at frame 0 and one "opacity 0" key at frame 200. This way, each particle should be born with a 100 opacity, then gets its opacity going down little by little as it's going away in space.
See ?
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heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:30 am

You have "randomize playback" checked in the particle settings. Turn that off and they seem to "fade" properly. I noticed that on later frames particles that were suppose to big and less opaque were more transparent than particles further away. I think the randomize thingy was causing this.

I made that change and did a test render on one frame and it looked like what you are after.

Another thing, you could eliminate the use of an image layer and create that "glow" effect using the soft edge shape effect. Basically have two shapes, a soft edge slightly transparent shape with a full opacity shape on top with no soft edge. The render times were much shorter using a vector layer... still pretty long with that many particles.

Another thing to keep in mind, the particles way off in the distance are barely larger than a few pixels... they get blurred out of existence by the transparency and anti-aliasing. Just a thought.

-vern

DominiqueBray · Post by **DominiqueBray** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:22 pm

Thank you, it works well now.

Another thing, you could eliminate the use of an image layer and create that "glow" effect using the soft edge shape effect. Basically have two shapes, a soft edge slightly transparent shape with a full opacity shape on top with no soft edge. The render times were much shorter using a vector layer... still pretty long with that many particles.

Thanks for the tips, I'll try.
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