Maya

click Here for the animation in 320x240; missilesilo320x240.zip

This Tutrial will Teach you how to create a Missile Trail using Maya, u will expirience The volumetric Cloud Shader, it's surface shading options, and other qualities of the volumetric cloud shader, I Think that thou I use maya 3.0 it's wont affect maya 2.x users.

Start by creating a Emitter, Select Particle > Create Emitter. Change the Emitter's rate to 250, Speed to 15, Emitter Type to Directional,Spread to 0.15, Speed random to 4. -This will give the Emitter a Missile Trail movement, but more is to be done.

Next Create a directional light with intensity of 0.63 so the shaders that you about to make will be iluminated properly as in my scene, when you adding any other aditional light, disconnect him using relationship editors> light linking> object centric... select particle1, and ctrl click on the new light you added, this will prevent from the particles to render in inproper way.

Next Playback the animation, and stop after a few frames, Then right click on the particles > Particle... On the Attributes Editor Change the following: Lifespan Attributes: change the Lifespan Mode to Constant, and the lifespan to 2.

Add Dynamic Attributes: Color > Add Per Particle Attribute, Opacity also Add Per Particle Attribute General> Particle Tab> incandescencePP, then finally on General> Particle Tab> radiusPP.

Per Particle (Array) Attributes: Right Click on the radiusPP> Creation Expression... use This line: particleShape1.radiusPP=1.4 and press Create.

Right Click on the radiusPP> Runtime Expression... use This line: particleShape1.radiusPP = particleShape1.radiusPP +0.1 and press Create. -Those Two Things with the radius was done so at the end of the trail the particle radius will be bigger to support the Spread option that we set to the emitter.

Render Attributes: Particle Render Type> Cloud(s/w), note - no need to change the Radius we already done that in the RadiusPP Expression. Right Click on incandescenceppPP> Create Ramp, Right Click again To edit The Ramp, do as this pic:



Right Click on rgbPP> Create Ramp, Right Click again To edit The Ramp, do as this pic:



Right Click on OpacityPP> Create Ramp, Right Click again To edit The Ramp, do as this pic:



in the higher color of this ramp use 3d cloud texture, and change color1 to H=42.45, S=0, V=0.364, color2 to white, Depth to 8.000,8.000 , Ripples to 2,2,2, Edge Thresh to 1.2, Center Thresh to -0.8, and Trans Range to 0.826.

Next go to the HyperShade(Window>HyperShade), Right Click on the ParticleCloud1>Attribute Editor... Map the Color Channel> Utilities> Particle Utilities> Particle Age Mapper. Go back, and Map the Transparency Channel> Utilities> Particle Utilities> Particle Age Mapper. Go back, and Map the incandescence Channel> Utilities> Particle Utilities> Particle Age Mapper. N- This 3 Things Apply the Ramps that you crated in the last step. Go back, and Map the Blob Map> 3D textures> Carter, change the shaker to 0.6,the Channel one to H = 42.45, S = 0.00 and V = 0.273, Channel 2 and 3 change to white, chage the frequency to 2.232. -The Crater will give the could shader Some edge opacity effect, You Can Render Now And Watch That it isn't complete without the Surface Shading. Go Back, In the Surface Shading Properties:Change The Diffuse Coeff to 2.5, Surface Color To H = 42.45, S = 0, V = 0.339 and

You are now ready to add lights, animate, I recommend with paths, and render, Click MissileComplete.mb missile.zip To d/l the complete scene, I hope you find this Tutorial Helpful, If u have any comments Email me at Tomer3de@hotmail.com.
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