Camera/Screen Orientation for Particles (EEVEE, Cycles)
Hello! I've been trying to make render time efficient effects in EEVEE, and to my dismay, it seems like traditional video game style billboard particles are not supported in any way. Evidently, this was possible during the 2.8 beta using a locked track to the camera on the source object, as demonstrated in the following tutorial video: youtube.com/watch
Unfortunately, trying to use this method now results in the particles all copying the rotation of the source particle instead of pointing at the camera. This is also my only realistic option, as it's an effect that pops up multiple times in a one-minute animation, and my computer is nowhere near strong enough to render smoke in a reasonable amount of time. I understand that for now I can approximate the angle of the particles to match the camera, but a more reliable solution would be nice for the future. Especially with random (screen-oriented) rotation and random object selection from a group, as is already possible otherwise.
5 Comments
I just tried it out and its working exactly like in the video for me. I would say though the steps are a little finicky, make sure to follow the tutorial in the exact manner.
If it still doesn't work out for you then try downloading the latest experimental builds or ask again here.
* @akshayxw69 * Yes and no. It's been awhile since I've tried this video myself, but if I remember right it only works on hair particles.
Being able to use this on regular emitted particles would be fantastic and I really hope this is a feature they add at some point.
* @Zach Hixson * Oh, you didn't mention that you weren't using hair particles, choosing and posting that video that specifically implemented only hair was a poor decision on your part.
But I think you should keep messing around with all the buttons and knobs, maybe you'll find a way.
* @akshayxw69 * I'm not the original poster, but I was agreeing with the original poster that having an option under the particle rotation settings to always face camera would be nice.
* @Zach Hixson * Ahh, didn't even notice, sorry about that.
Yeah, I would say Blender needs a lot of work in that regard. I've been watching tons of C4D vids recently and I'm just in awe at how wonderfully easy and artist friendly the workflow is.
You can do a lot in Blender but the way you go about doing those things is just mind numbing. Simple things like adding Vignette or film grain in compositing that are the norm still require you to go through several unnecessary steps and I'm not even bothered by those. Its a whole lot of mixed bag of stuff that I have my qualms with.