RealParticles Module Documentation

RealParticles is a realButtons module for Blender that provides particle creation tools and particle-system workflow helpers inside the 3D Viewport.

Location in Blender:

• View3D > realButtons > Particles

Primary purpose:

• Create particle effects quickly.
• Work from selected scene objects, emitters, curves, or meshes.
• Build effects directly in the viewport.
• Prototype physical, reactive, sticky, and guided particle behaviors.

Main Tools

1. Particle Pile
   • Emits disk particles over time.
   • Uses custom collision behavior.
   • Designed for piling, stacking, and accumulating particle objects.
   • Useful for:
     • Falling debris
     • Coins, stones, disks, or small objects
     • Settling particle simulations
     • Visual pile-up effects
2. Reactor Particles
   • Emits particles from source emitters.
   • Spawns additional particles when impacts occur.
   • Designed for chain-reaction particle effects.
   • Useful for:
     • Sparks
     • Impact bursts
     • Secondary debris
     • Reactive motion tests
3. Sticky Particles
   • Spawns particles from the active emitter mesh.
   • Particles attach or behave like scaffold-style surface particles.
   • Designed for effects where particles cling to a form.
   • Useful for:
     • Growth effects
     • Surface buildup
     • Clusters attached to mesh surfaces
     • Stylized particle structures
4. Cluster Particles
   • Creates breakable debug-point particle clusters from a mesh volume.
   • Designed for grouped particle structures.
   • Useful for:
     • Testing clustered particle behavior
     • Breakable forms
     • Volume-based particle placement
     • Experimental procedural structures
5. Follow Curve
   • Emits particles that follow selected curves.
   • Responds to curve guidance and scene forces.
   • Designed for directional particle motion.
   • Useful for:
     • Trails
     • Flowing particles
     • Guided effects
     • Motion paths
6. Voronoi Collapse
   • Scatters Voronoi fracture seeds.
   • Generates pieces that can collapse using physics.
   • Designed for destruction-style particle and fracture effects.
   • Useful for:
     • Crumbling objects
     • Collapse simulations
     • Fracture previews
     • Physics-driven breakage

Typical Workflow

1. Select a source object
   • Choose the mesh, curve, or emitter object that will drive the effect.
   • The selected object acts as the starting point for particle creation.
2. Choose a RealParticles tool
   • Pick the behavior that matches the effect:
     • Pile for accumulation
     • Reactor for impact spawning
     • Sticky for surface attachment
     • Cluster for grouped particles
     • Follow Curve for guided motion
     • Voronoi Collapse for fracture-based collapse
3. Adjust settings
   • Tune particle count, emission behavior, collision behavior, or object references depending on the selected tool.
   • Work directly in the viewport so changes are visible while adjusting.
4. Preview the result
   • Play or step through the scene to inspect the particle behavior.
   • Refine the source object, particle settings, or physics setup.
5. Bake or finalize

• Once the behavior is correct, bake or commit the result if the workflow requires stable simulation output.

Best Use Cases

• Motion graphics particles
• Destruction previews
• Falling object effects
• Reactive impact particles
• Surface-based particle growth
• Curve-guided particle trails
• Procedural scene dressing
• Fast visual effects prototyping inside Blender

Module Strengths

• Viewport-first workflow
• Focused particle tools
• Works from common Blender object types
• Good for fast iteration
• Designed for artists using realButtons panels
• Keeps particle setup close to the active scene context