Curve Particle Emitter

The Curve Particle Emitter is a powerful and flexible Geometry Nodes setup for Blender, allowing users to emit particles dynamically along a curve. Ideal for creating organic motion, trails, and animated effects, this tool offers extensive controls over particle distribution, movement, noise, and shading.

Key Features:

• Emit particles along any curve in a non-destructive workflow.
• Fine-tune particle count, distribution, and animation speed.
• Custom noise effects for organic movement.
• Support for instancing custom objects as emitted particles.
• Age-based gradient shading via the Age_factor attribute.
• Real-time responsiveness with Geometry Nodes for procedural workflows.

UI Parameters:

Particle Settings:

• Count – Controls the number of particles emitted along the curve.
• Curve Coverage – Determines how much of the curve is utilized for particle emission (1.0 = full coverage).
• Particle Radius – Adjusts the size of the emitted particles.
• Base Curve (Checkbox) – Enables or disables rendering of the original curve.
• Material – Assigns a material to the emitted particles for custom shading and rendering.

Movement Settings:

• Speed – Defines the movement speed of particles along the curve.
• Min Age – Minimum lifespan (in frames) of particles.
• Max Age – Maximum lifespan (in frames) of particles.
• Rotation – Allows rotation of emitted particles (X, Y, Z axes).

Noise Settings:

• Noise Effect – Adds randomization to particle movement for more natural motion.
• Noise Scale – Controls the scale of the noise pattern.
• Noise Speed – Adjusts how fast the noise changes over time.

Custom Shape Settings:

• Enable (Checkbox) – Enables the use of a custom mesh as the particle instance.
• Pick Instance – Select an object to be emitted instead of default particles.
• Min Scale / Max Scale – Controls the size variation of emitted objects.
• Random Rotation – Adds rotation randomness to particles for a more natural look.

Gradient Shading:

• Age_factor – An attribute that maps particle age to a gradient, enabling shading effects based on lifespan.

Use Cases:

• Creating energy rings, magical effects, and sci-fi animations.
• Simulating fireflies, embers, or sparks in motion.
• Generating abstract motion graphics along a defined path.
• Producing organic particle trails that respond dynamically.

This tool is perfect for artists and motion designers looking for a versatile, procedural particle emitter inside Blender’s Geometry Nodes system.

To append a Geometry Nodes tree in Blender, go to File > Append, select the Blender file containing the node setup, navigate to the NodeTree folder, choose the desired Geometry Nodes tree, and click Append. Then, select your object, add a Geometry Nodes modifier in the Modifiers tab, and assign the appended node tree from the dropdown menu.