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Description

This is basically the particle system I used in this video . It isn't perfect and I plan to still play with it over time. If you make any modifications to it that you deem an improvement, let me know and I will update it (with credit of course). Also, didn't completely test do an "uninstall and reinstall via zip" to insure it all works, so yell at me if it doesn't.

Features of the particle are:

-It attaches to the hitbox of the model itself, meaning it will match the shape, as well as lock to movements, of the model.

-The base color is completely white, so color modifications are simpler

-All textures are included, so there is no previous download requirements.

-It is pretty.

I did run into an issue where, no matter what I did, the particle would not attach to the model. It does not seem to be a problem with the particle itself, but with the specific model it was trying to attach to. Therefore, do know that you may just be out of luck in getting this to work, though it does seem to be a rare occurrence.

Now, ON TO WALL OF TEXT!

DOWNLOAD

www.dropbox.com/s/q9vim9y1114d…

TO INSTALL
Drop all the files contained within into this folder:
Steam⁄steamapps⁄common⁄SourceFilmmaker⁄game⁄usermod

HOW TO APPLY A PARTICLE TO A MODEL
salsav91.deviantart.com/art/SF…

USING THE PARTICLE
There are 3 versions of the particle included that very depending on the size of the object:
magic_aura_small, magic_aura_medium, magic_aura_large

As larger objects have more surface area to cover, they will need a larger number of of particles, as well as increased size. While these 3 versions won't always be the best fit, it will help prevent those without knowledge of the Partile Editor Tool from needing to make heavy modifications (max particle count, emission rate, particle size, etc). In the preview GIF, all 3 sizes are used. Quill for small, book for medium, Pinkie Pie for large.

If the object you are trying to utilize is enormous, you may have difficulty in getting the particle to work without spamming tens of thousands of them, which would kill performance and drastically increase render times. Doing so is beyond what I will cover here, as it requires a few changes. If you want to play around and figure it out, have fun.

Particle counts:
magic_aura_small: ~250 particles
magic_aura_medium: ~500 particles
magic_aura_large: ~1,200 particles

CHANGING THE COLOR
The default color for the particle is full white. Color randomizers were added to the particle to save time in making these changes. Before getting started, I recommend you instance the particle. Skip below to the appropriate section on how to do that.

It is important to know as well that the particle has two parts: one for the smokey effect and one for the sparkles. Both will have to be modified individually.

To change the particle color:
1) Open the "magic_aura_[SIZE]" particle up in the Particle Editor (SIZE is dependent on what you choose).
2) In the bottom-left of the new screen, look for "Color Random". Left-click it.
3) In the box to the right that has all the numbers and confusing text, you will see at the top two white boxes. These are the two colors that the particle will choose its colors at random from (ranging from Color1 to Color2 and all in between)
4) Click the first colored box and choose your color. When done, click "Okay".
5) Repeat Step 4 for the second box.
6) This part of the particle is complete. Click "Accept" in the bottom-right.
7) Repeat Step 1-6 with the "magic_aura_[SIZE]_sparkles".

Here is my recommendation for the color ranges. In the first particle, which is the smoke, find the color you want, say a purple. For the Color1, drag the slider to the left a bit to lighten the color. For Color2, do the same, but make it just a hint darker. The random element of the color will still maintain the color you want, but give it a bit of variety

For the sparkle color, do the same, but make Color1 about the same as that of the smokey part, but make Color2 nearly white. This will help the sparkles stand out and give them that "sparkle" effect you probably want.

HOW TO INSTANCE A PARTICLE
Changing the color, or any other properties, to the original particle file can cause issues later when trying use elsewhere. Instancing saves an "instance" of the particle to your current work file and detaches itself from the original. This means any changes you make will not effect the original. This also means that any changes you make are stuck to that work file as well. If the only change is the color, there is no real worry in that regard.

To instance a particle:
1) Right-click the particle in the Animation Set Editor (ASE) and go down "Instance Particle System".
2) The particle is now instanced
3) To edit the particle, right-click it again and select "Edit Particle System Definition" and select what part of the particle you want to work with. This will open that part of the particle in the Particle Editor.

HAVE ISSUES?

If you have a problem, I can try to help, but do know that any questions that border on "This doesn't work. How fix?" will be ignored. I can't help if I don't understand the problem. Go into some detail please. ^^

-----

VERSION HISTORY

1.0 - It be.

Description

This is basically the particle system I used in this video . It isn't perfect and I plan to still play with it over time. If you make any modifications to it that you deem an improvement, let me know and I will update it (with credit of course). Also, didn't completely test do an "uninstall and reinstall via zip" to insure it all works, so yell at me if it doesn't.

Features of the particle are:

-It attaches to the hitbox of the model itself, meaning it will match the shape, as well as lock to movements, of the model.

-The base color is completely white, so color modifications are simpler

-All textures are included, so there is no previous download requirements.

-It is pretty.

I did run into an issue where, no matter what I did, the particle would not attach to the model. It does not seem to be a problem with the particle itself, but with the specific model it was trying to attach to. Therefore, do know that you may just be out of luck in getting this to work, though it does seem to be a rare occurrence.

Now, ON TO WALL OF TEXT!

DOWNLOAD

www.dropbox.com/s/q9vim9y1114d…

TO INSTALL
Drop all the files contained within into this folder:
Steam⁄steamapps⁄common⁄SourceFilmmaker⁄game⁄usermod

HOW TO APPLY A PARTICLE TO A MODEL
salsav91.deviantart.com/art/SF…

USING THE PARTICLE
There are 3 versions of the particle included that very depending on the size of the object:
magic_aura_small, magic_aura_medium, magic_aura_large

As larger objects have more surface area to cover, they will need a larger number of of particles, as well as increased size. While these 3 versions won't always be the best fit, it will help prevent those without knowledge of the Partile Editor Tool from needing to make heavy modifications (max particle count, emission rate, particle size, etc). In the preview GIF, all 3 sizes are used. Quill for small, book for medium, Pinkie Pie for large.

If the object you are trying to utilize is enormous, you may have difficulty in getting the particle to work without spamming tens of thousands of them, which would kill performance and drastically increase render times. Doing so is beyond what I will cover here, as it requires a few changes. If you want to play around and figure it out, have fun.

Particle counts:
magic_aura_small: ~250 particles
magic_aura_medium: ~500 particles
magic_aura_large: ~1,200 particles

CHANGING THE COLOR
The default color for the particle is full white. Color randomizers were added to the particle to save time in making these changes. Before getting started, I recommend you instance the particle. Skip below to the appropriate section on how to do that.

It is important to know as well that the particle has two parts: one for the smokey effect and one for the sparkles. Both will have to be modified individually.

To change the particle color:
1) Open the "magic_aura_[SIZE]" particle up in the Particle Editor (SIZE is dependent on what you choose).
2) In the bottom-left of the new screen, look for "Color Random". Left-click it.
3) In the box to the right that has all the numbers and confusing text, you will see at the top two white boxes. These are the two colors that the particle will choose its colors at random from (ranging from Color1 to Color2 and all in between)
4) Click the first colored box and choose your color. When done, click "Okay".
5) Repeat Step 4 for the second box.
6) This part of the particle is complete. Click "Accept" in the bottom-right.
7) Repeat Step 1-6 with the "magic_aura_[SIZE]_sparkles".

Here is my recommendation for the color ranges. In the first particle, which is the smoke, find the color you want, say a purple. For the Color1, drag the slider to the left a bit to lighten the color. For Color2, do the same, but make it just a hint darker. The random element of the color will still maintain the color you want, but give it a bit of variety

For the sparkle color, do the same, but make Color1 about the same as that of the smokey part, but make Color2 nearly white. This will help the sparkles stand out and give them that "sparkle" effect you probably want.

HOW TO INSTANCE A PARTICLE
Changing the color, or any other properties, to the original particle file can cause issues later when trying use elsewhere. Instancing saves an "instance" of the particle to your current work file and detaches itself from the original. This means any changes you make will not effect the original. This also means that any changes you make are stuck to that work file as well. If the only change is the color, there is no real worry in that regard.

To instance a particle:
1) Right-click the particle in the Animation Set Editor (ASE) and go down "Instance Particle System".
2) The particle is now instanced
3) To edit the particle, right-click it again and select "Edit Particle System Definition" and select what part of the particle you want to work with. This will open that part of the particle in the Particle Editor.

HAVE ISSUES?

If you have a problem, I can try to help, but do know that any questions that border on "This doesn't work. How fix?" will be ignored. I can't help if I don't understand the problem. Go into some detail please. ^^

-----

VERSION HISTORY

1.0 - It be.