pGradientForce Node

The particles are affected by a force generated by the gradients in the alpha values of the input image. Particles will accelerate along the gradient, moving from white to black (high values to low values).

pGradientForce Node Inputs

The pGradient Force node accepts two inputs: the default orange input from a particle node and one from a bitmap image with an alpha channel gradient. A magenta or teal bitmap or mesh input appears on the node when you set the Region menu in the Region tab to either Bitmap or Mesh.

• Input: The orange input takes the output of other particle nodes.
• Input: The green input takes the 2D image that contains the alpha channel gradient.
• Region: The magenta or teal region input takes a 2D image or a 3D mesh depending on whether you set the Region menu to Bitmap or Mesh. The color of the input is determined by whichever is selected first in the menu. The 3D mesh or a selectable channel from the bitmap defines the area where the gradient force occurs.

pGradientForce Node Setup

The pGradient Force node is placed in between the pEmitter and pRender nodes. A Fast Noise node is used to create the alpha gradient used to modify the velocity of the particles.

pGradientForce Node Controls

Randomize
The Random Seed slider and Randomize button are presented whenever a Fusion node relies on a random result. Two nodes with the same seed values will produce the same random results. Click the Randomize button to randomly select a new seed value, or adjust the slider to manually select a new seed value.

Strength
Gradient Force has only one specific control, which affects the strength of the force and acceleration applied to the particles. Negative values on this control will cause the Gradient Force to be applied from black to white (low values to high values).

pGradientForce Node Conditions, Style, Region, and Settings Tabs

The Conditions, Style, Region, and Settings tabs are common to all Particle nodes, so their descriptions can be found HERE.

About the Author

Justin Robinson is a Certified DaVinci Resolve, Fusion & Fairlight instructor who is known for simplifying concepts and techniques for anyone looking to learn any aspect of the video post-production workflow. Justin is the founder of JayAreTV, a training and premade asset website offering affordable and accessible video post-production education. You can follow Justin on Twitter at @JayAreTV YouTube at JayAreTV or Facebook at MrJayAreTV