Engraved Logo Animation With Laser And Fire Sparks

In this tutorial, I will enhance Engraved Logo Animation tutorial with some laser beam dan fire sparks. I will use Particle Flow to create fire sparks, and then apply Video Post to create glowing laser effects. If you don't familiar with Particle Flow, an advanced particle system in 3ds max, I suggest that you read Getting Started With Particle Flow tutorial first.

This is what you are going to create:

1. First, you need the finished file from Engraved Logo Animation tutorial. You can download here (ZIP). Load file "engravedlogo_anim_finish.max".

In Front viewport create a cylinder. This is your laser. Use Radius=1.5, Height=400 and Height Segments=1. Position this cylinder at the beginning of animation (lower right of logo).

2. We are going to move cylinder to match the logo animation. Make sure cylinder is selected. Go to Motion tab. In Assign Controller rollout, highlight Position row, then click small button above. In opened dialog box, select Path Constraint. This feature will enable you to make cylinder moving along a path.

In Path Parameters rollout, click Add Path button, and press H in keyboard and choose Line01.

Turn on Auto Key. Then enter % Along Path value until cylinder motion is match with logo animation. You will create a lot of keyframes here. For example, create keyframes every 10-20 frames. If there's keyframes in frame 0 or 300, delete them, because you don't need this keyframes.

When finished, turn off Auto Key.

3. I want to make the laser only appear from frame 20 to 280. Select cylinder. Turn on Auto Key. Move slider to frame 0. Right click cylinder and choose Properties. In opened window, decrease Visibility=0.

Then right click cylinder and choose Curve Editor. In Track View-Curve Editor window, find Visibility in left pane. In right pane, you'll see a keyframe and a graph.

Use Add Keys button to click at graph three times. You'll have total 4 keyframes, next change keyframe position and value using bottom input box. Create a graph like image below.

In Part 1 tutorial, you have created laser using simple cylinder and animate this laser along a path. Next, you will create fire sparks using Particle Flow. If you don't know about Particle Flow, there's a beginner tutorial: Getting Started With Particle Flow

1. In Command Panel, choose Create>Geometry. Choose Particle Sysetms from drop down list. Click PF Source button, Click and drag in Front viewport to create a PF Flow icon. Use Logo size=2.5, Icon Type=Circle, Diameter=6, and use Quantity Multiplier in Viewport and Render=100%. Position this PF Flow icon exactly at the tip of cylinder.

Next, activate Select and Link tool. Link PF Flow icon to cylinder (select and drag from icon to cylinder). Now, PF icon is always attached to the cylinder.

2. Next step, modifying particle properties to create fire sparks. Open Particle View window (press 6). Highlight Birth 01 operator, use Emit Start=20, Emit Stop=280, and Amount=500. This means 500 particles will be emitted from frame 20 to 280.

Select Speed 01 operator. Use Speed=100 with variation=50%. Activate Reverse and set Divergence=60. Scrub slider or play the animation to watch the particle emits.

3. Next, select Shape Facing operator from Depot (bottom of Particle View window), hold and drag to replace the Shape 01 operator inside Event 01.

Use Size=10 with Variation=50%, W/H Ratio=20. This W/H ratio will create tiny long rectangle. shape for each particle.

To enable you view the particle in viewport, select Display 01 operator, and change display type=Geometry.

4. All fire sparks should fall to the ground. Let's add some Gravity. Create>Space Warps. Choose Forces from drop down list. Click Gravity button. Click and drag to create Gravity in Top viewport. Use Strength=0.1

5. To make the gravity into effect. Open Particle View window. Add Force operator from Depot into Event 01.In Force 01 parameters, Click Add button and click Gravity icon in viewport

Next, rotation. Select Rotation 01 operator, and use Orientation Matrix=Speed Space Follow.

Scrub slider or play animation, you'll have nice laser and fire sparks effect

by Didik Wijaya

In Part 1 tutorial, you have created laser. Then in Part 2 tutorial you created fire sparks effects using Particle Flow. The final touch: adding light, material and glowing effects to laser and fire sparks effects.

1. When laser hit the surface, fire sparks emits and the surrounding areas should a little bit lit up. So, create an omni light. Position this light closer to the surface (logo). You can use any color you want. Here I use combination of red and yelow color.

Using Select And Link tool, link this light to cylinder.

Next, we need to make light only lit from frame 20 to 280. Select light. Turn on Auto Key. Move slider to frame 0. Decrease Multiplier=0. Then right click light and choose Curve Editor. In Track View-Curve Editor window, find Multiplier in left pane. In right pane, you'll see a keyframe and a graph.

Use Add Keys button to click at graph three times. You'll have total 4 keyframes, next change keyframe position and value using bottom input box. Create a graph like image below.

2. Let's add material to the scene. Open Material Editor. Create two similar material with different color. One for laser (red) and the other for fire sparks (yellow).

Here's the material settings, 2 Sided, Self Illumination is active and change the color in Self-Illumination. And the most important thing, set Material Effects ID=1. Rename the material.

Apply laser material to cylinder at the scene (click and drag laser material to cylinder).

3. To apply fire sparks material to particle, open Particle View window. Add Material Static operator from Depot into Event 01. In Material Static parameters, click button under Assign Material. In openend window, select Browse From: Mtl Editor, choose "spark" material.

4. Next is adding glowing edges, From top menu choose Rendering>Video Post. In Video Post window, click Add Scene Event button. Choose Camera viewport.

The, click Add Filter Event button. Select Lens Effect Glow from drop down list. Click OK.

Finally, click Image Output Event button. Click Files button. Save your video later to any name you want dan format you want.

5. In Video Post window, double click Lens Effect Glow to setup some properties. To enable you viewing the scene, move slider to any frame, click Preview button, VP Queue and then Update button.

In Properties tab, uncheck Object ID and check Material Effects ID=1. From now on, all materials with Eddects ID=1 will have glowing effects.

Click Preferences tab. Use Size=2, and Intensity=50%.

6. Finally, render the scene. In Video Post, click Execute button (running man icon). Choose frame range and ressolution.

Download finished 3ds max lesson file

source from: escalight