6.18.6.1. Particle Textures

HitFilm’s texture system provides a hugely powerful method for assigning textures to the Gunfire and Particle simulator effects.

The texture properties can be found in the Appearance property groups.

Texture sources

There are three possible texture sources:

• None – this will use a default circle shape.
• Layer – any layer can be assigned as the texture source, including embedded composite shots and 3D models.
• Built-in – a selection of default textures are provided for quick access.

Using layers as textures

After selecting to use a layer as the texture source you will need to specify the source layer.

*Large resolution and animated textures may have an impact on performance.

There are three Frame options when using a source layer:

• Single – uses a single frame of the source layer as the texture. The frame can be specified using the Frame number property
• Random – randomly selects a frame for each particle. The random selection can be changed using the Seed property.
• Animated – enables the use of sequential frames from the source layer as the texture. The start frame and the number of frames to use can be set. The loop option will cause the texture to return to the start frame after the specified number of frames have been used.

*Keyframing the start frame property will cause each particle to have a different start frame.

Working with multiple textures

If you want to use several individual textures on the same particle system, each texture should be placed into an embedded composite shot.

Inside the embedded composite shot, each texture layer should be offset by one frame, so that each frame displays a new texture. With the Frame option set to Random, all of the textures inside the composite shot will be used at random.

*An embedded composite shot containing textures can be set to invisible on the timeline and still be used. In this case it is best to place the embedded composite shot on the lowest layer on the timeline.