pEmitter Node

pEmitter generates particles in the system: on every frame, N new particles are emitted from a defined region, with parameterized initial properties. These particles then live for a set duration (Lifespan), go through the forces in the flow and disappear.

Important: pEmitter does not produce a visible image. It generates a "particle set" (abstract data) that must be rendered by a pRender at the end of the chain to be displayed.

• Effects Library: Tools > Particles > pEmitter
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > Particles > pEmitter

Typical structure of a particle chain:

pEmitter (emission) → pForce 1 (applied force) → pForce 2 → ... → pRender
                                                                           ↓
                                                                    2D or 3D output

Between pEmitter and pRender, you can stack as many pForces (pTurbulence, pBounce, pFriction, pDirectionalForce, pVortex, etc.) as you need to sculpt the particles' behavior.

• Style Bitmap Input - a 2D image (256×256 recommended) used as the texture for each particle (e.g. a star, a snowflake, a custom sprite).
• Region Inputs - a bitmap or 3D mesh that defines the emission area (instead of primitive shapes such as Cube or Sphere).

Simple snow:
pEmitter (Number 50, Lifespan 200, Velocity Y -0.05, Region = plane at the top)
       → pTurbulence (light)
       → pRender → Merge → MediaOut

Explosion sparks:
pEmitter (Number 300 over 1 frame, radial Velocity, Lifespan 60)
       → pFriction (slows down)
       → pRender

Fire (sprite texture):
Fast Noise → pEmitter Style Bitmap input (flame texture)
pEmitter (sprite, cube Region, Velocity Y +0.03)
       → pTurbulence
       → pRender (Blend Mode Add)

Number / Number Variance

Number of particles emitted per frame and its random variance. Number = 10 → about 10 particles per frame.

Lifespan / Lifespan Variance

Particle lifetime in frames. Lifespan 60 = particles live for 60 frames (~2.5s at 24fps). Variance gives individual particles different lifespans.

Velocity

Initial speed and direction of the particles. X/Y/Z in 3D.

Velocity Variance

Randomizes the initial speed. Essential for organic effects - without variance, every particle leaves in exactly the same direction.

Rotation / Spin

Initial orientation and automatic rotation of the particles (for sprites).

Random Seed

Seed of the random generator. Lock it for a result you can reproduce across sessions.

Position Variance

Softens the edges of the emission region (particles can leave the region slightly).

Temporal Distribution

Enables sub-frame particle birth (between two whole frames) for a smoother result on fast motion.

Inherit Velocity

Particles inherit the emitter's velocity when it moves.

Controls the visual look of the particles:

• Style: Point, Bright Point, Line, Bitmap, Brush, Blob - the visual type of particle.
• Color / Color Variance: color and randomization.
• Size / Size Variance: size and randomization.
• Fade In / Fade Out: progressive fade at the start and end of the lifespan.
• Size to Velocity / Size over Life: size that varies with speed or lifetime.

Defines the particle emission area:

• All: anywhere in 3D space.
• Bitmap: based on a connected 2D image.
• Mesh: surface of a connected 3D mesh.
• Cube / Sphere / Line / Rectangle: primitive shapes.
• Position: a single point (every particle spawns at the same spot).

Assigns the emitted particles to a numbered set (1-32). Downstream forces (pForces) can target only certain sets - this lets you have several particle types in the same comp with different behaviors.

Example: 2 pEmitters, one on Set 1 (smoke), one on Set 2 (sparks). pTurbulence on Set 1 only = turbulent smoke but stable sparks.

• Snow / rain / confetti - continuous emission with a negative Y Velocity, a plane Region at the top of the screen, and a Lifespan long enough to cross the frame.
• Explosion / fireworks - a one-off emission (high Number over 1 frame), radial Velocity with strong Variance, short Lifespan.
• Fire / smoke - a pEmitter with a flame sprite style, positive Y Velocity, Size over Life (grows, then disappears), with pTurbulence.
• Sparks - Bright Point Style particles, strong Velocity, short Lifespan, with pFriction (slows down quickly).
• Dust / motes - low Number, very long Lifespan, low Velocity, with subtle pTurbulence = atmosphere.
• Magic trails (glow) - Bitmap Style with a star or glow sprite, animated Position = a trail that follows a path.
• Emission from a 3D mesh - Region = Mesh with a connected 3D object = particles emitted from that object's surface.

• Always a pRender at the end of the chain - without it, nothing is visible.
• Variance = life - never leave Variance at 0 on Velocity and Lifespan. Without variance, particles look mechanical. 10-30% variance is a good starting point.
• A reasonable Number - 50-200 per frame for most effects. 1000+ gets very heavy to render.
• Lock the Random Seed - for a result you can reproduce across sessions/machines, lock the seed. Otherwise it varies randomly between renders.
• Style Bitmap 256×256 recommended - the best size for performance. Larger = slow rendering, smaller = pixelation.
• Sets for organization - use Sets as soon as you have 2+ particle types. It lets you manage forces modularly.
• Temporal Distribution for fast motion - enables sub-frame emission for much smoother renders on fast animations.
• For ultra-complex fluid simulations (water, realistic smoke), prefer dedicated software (Houdini, Maya nParticles). pEmitter is excellent for stylized VFX and motion graphics.