Particle Systems

Manually keyframing ten falling snowflakes is possible. Keyframing ten thousand falling snowflakes is impossible. For simulating massive crowds of autonomous objects (snow, rain, sparks, dust motes, swarms of bees), Oraphim provides a dedicated Particle System.

The Particle engine in Oraphim operates in a true 3D environment and relies on a specific sequence of nodes to function.

The Core Particle Nodes

Every particle system requires at least three nodes in a very specific order:

1. pEmitter: Generates the particles. It defines where they spawn, how many spawn per frame, their velocity, their lifespan, and what they look like (their style).
2. pRender: Particles are just mathematical points in 3D space. The pRender node converts that 3D mathematical data back into 2D visible pixels so they can be merged over your background.
3. Merge: You must pipe the output of the pRender node into a standard Merge node to place the particles over your footage.

Building a Basic Snow System

1. Open the Compositor on an empty sequence or a clip.
2. Press Shift + Spacebar and add a pEmitter node.
3. Connect the output of pEmitter1 to a new pRender node.
4. Connect the output of pRender1 to a Merge node (with your background footage in the Yellow input).
5. If you play your timeline, you will see generic white dots spawning in the center of the screen.

Configuring the Emitter

Select the pEmitter node and open the Inspector to customize the system:

• Controls Tab > Number: Increase this to spawn more particles per frame.
• Controls Tab > Lifespan: How many frames a particle exists before disappearing.
• Region Tab > Region: Change this from "Sphere" to "Rectangle", and expand the Width and Height to cover the entire top edge of your screen. Now the snow will spawn across the whole sky.
• Style Tab > Style: Change this from "Point" to "Blob" or "Bitmap". If you select "Bitmap", a new input arrow will appear on the pEmitter node, allowing you to pipe in a custom image (like a picture of a snowflake or a leaf) that the system will multiply.

Adding Physical Forces

Particles are boring if they just travel in a straight line. You can add "Forces" between the pEmitter and the pRender to simulate physics.

• Add a pDirectionalForce node between them and set the force to pull down (-Y) to simulate gravity.
• Add a pTurbulence node to make the falling snow swirl and dance chaotically in the wind.
• Add a pBounce node, set the region to a flat plane at the bottom of the screen, and the snowflakes will physically bounce off the floor.

Use Particles in a production project

1. Open Composition workspace and select the intended text, shape, layer, animation property, or procedural system.
2. Establish the correct input state first—timing, media link, layer/node enable state, project settings, or source selection as relevant.
3. Apply or adjust Particles with one clear goal. Change the smallest set of controls needed to reach that goal so the result remains understandable and reversible.
4. Review the complete affected range in context. Scrub difficult frames and also play at normal speed when motion or audio is involved.
5. Save a named milestone before moving into another major operation, especially after graph changes, tracking, AI processing, relinking, simulation, or delivery setup.

Practical guidance

Particle systems are sensitive to emission rate, lifetime, velocity, forces, and render density. Tune motion at low cost first, then raise visual density for the final shot.

A useful test is a short 5–10 second section containing both an easy case and a difficult case for this feature. Tune against the difficult moment without breaking the easy one. If two approaches are plausible, duplicate/version the project state and compare them rather than stacking both together blindly.

Verify the result

• Preview the full animation and compare the rendered output with the interactive viewer.
• Toggle/bypass the operation where possible and make sure the change you intended is actually responsible for the result.
• Check selection, visibility/mute/solo state, node connections, track locks, range, and source identity when the result appears missing.
• Save and reopen before treating a complex setup as reusable.
• If this feature changes final pixels or audio, render a short review and inspect the file outside Oraphim.

Related guides

• Animation and Keyframes
• Dissolve
• Fire
• Motion Graphics Overview