Maya 3D Spark Effects

Mastering the basics is essential to using Maya 3D correctly, but provides only a glimpse of its true potential. Tackling advanced techniques, such as 3D images with spark effects, moves you further up what can be a steep learning curve and closer to a full realization of all this animation software has to offer. Before taking on a project that includes spark effects, however, make sure that you fully understand the concept of “nParticles,” as they are a core component in the overall effect.

Process

• Just as in “real life,” Maya 3D spark effects are the result of a dynamic particle collision. The process, which Maya 3D calls "event," starts with a source particle system that acts as a surface emitter for the sparks created. The collision portion of the event occurs as a separate, two-stage process that creates the structure of each spark object and adds random behavior attributes. Start with a base object such as a sun or molten slag object, and then create and animate spark effects using the Maya 3D Particle Collision Event Editor in the Outliner feature and Attribute Editor.

Type and Lifespan

• Spark effects, a type of soft body dynamic, have both a type and lifespan attributes. Of the eight available types, the most appropriate for creating sparks are Points, which display individually, and Streaks, which display with an elongated tail. While the type you choose has an effect on its lifespan, the general “immediateness” of a spark, in both its appearance and disappearance, requires setting lifespan attributes that focus on “random, short and quick.” Give each particle a lifespan mode of “random” and a lifespan of about 0.1 seconds, or just enough time to emerge from the base object, emit a random burst of sparks and then quickly disappear.

Behavior

• Internal behavioral constraints and external attribute settings determine how realistic spark effects will be. Two important constraints, both of which are “Exclude Collide Pairs” constraints, ensure that sparks fly in an outward direction by preventing them from colliding with other particles or with each other. Examples of spark attributes include Gravity, which determines the arc of each spark while in motion; Emitter attributes, which determine density by increasing or decreasing the rate or number of sparks per second; the radius of each spark; and “Streaks,” an attribute that controls the length of the tail.

Color and Opacity

• Sparks should vary in color as well as in their level of incandescence or brightness according to the speed at which they travel and where they are in relation to their lifespan. Use the Attribute Editor to set a color and incandescence scale that connects color input to speed, and creates a range of incandescence levels that correspond to age. Opacity, a transparency setting, relates only to speed. Attribute Editor settings for opacity create a scale that most often starts out almost opaque but increases in opacity as each spark begins to lose speed.