Geometry & 3D node
3D Particles
Draws a Particle System INSIDE the 3D Scene — the unified world. Cable the system's Particles output in, and its particles depth-sort against the meshes, take the scene's lights (Lit) and its shadows (Shadowed): dust in a light shaft goes dark where the shaft is blocked. With Cast Shadows on, the particles themselves darken the world — a cloud throws its shadow on the floor, at the price of redrawing the shadow maps every frame. The simulation stays in the Particle System — emitters, fields and colliders work unchanged; this child only places the result in the world. Size Scale trims the particles for the scene's spatial scale.
Inputs
| Port | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
| EnableOff removes the particles from the scene; the emitter keeps its state. | bool | true |
| ParticlesCable a Particle System's Particles output here. The simulation stays in the system — emitters, fields and colliders unchanged — this child only draws the result inside the scene's world, where meshes can occlude it. | structure | — |
| LitThe scene's lights tint the particles — the dust-mote model: each particle takes the light that reaches its position. Off keeps the system's own colors untouched. | bool | true |
| ShadowedThe scene's shadow maps fall on the particles — dust in a light shaft goes dark where the shaft is blocked. One shadow lookup per particle per casting light. | bool | true |
| Cast ShadowsThe particles themselves darken the world: a cloud throws its shadow on the floor, dust blocks a light shaft. Costs a redraw of the shadow maps every frame while the system lives — worth it exactly when the cloud is the show. | bool | false |
| Size ScaleMultiplies every particle's size — the quick fit between the particle system's scale and the scene's. | float | 1 |
| SoftnessSoft particles: world units over which a mote fades where it meets a surface — 0 is the classic hard cut, 0.1 melts dust into the floor it lands on. Costs one pass split while on. | float | 0 |
| PuffThe shape of each particle: 0 the crisp mote disc, 1 a soft gaussian puff — smoke, steam and dust clouds read as cloud instead of coins. In between blends the two. | float | 0 |
How It Works
3D Particles draws a Particle System inside the 3D Scene — the unified world. Cable the system's Particles output in, and the particles are drawn in the scene's own pass: they depth-sort against the meshes, take the scene's lights (Lit) and its shadows (Shadowed), so dust in a light shaft goes dark where the shaft is blocked.
With Cast Shadows on, the particles themselves darken the world — a cloud throws its shadow on the floor — at the price of redrawing the shadow maps every frame.
The simulation stays in the Particle System: emitters, fields and colliders all work unchanged. This child only places the result in the world. Size Scale trims the particles for the scene's spatial scale, and Softness fades a particle where it meets a surface, so dust lands on the floor instead of slicing it.
Particle Type also gains Mesh: cable any Geometry chain as the particle's body and a Material as its surface, and every mote becomes a real instanced mesh with full lighting and per-pixel shadows.
Use Cases
- Dust in a light shaft — The canonical demonstration: lit, shadowed, occluded motes.
- Snow and rain in a scene — Particles that land behind and in front of the geometry correctly.
- Instanced objects — Particle Type: Mesh turns a flock into a swarm of real bodies.
- Sparks and embers — Emissive particles that light-sort against the world.
- Data in space — A point cloud driven by a Signal, drawn with the scene's own lighting.
Tips
- Cast Shadows is expensive — it redraws the shadow maps every frame. Turn it on only when the cloud's shadow is part of the picture.
- Softness is what stops a particle from visibly intersecting the floor; a little goes a long way.
- Size Scale exists because a particle system tuned for 2D is usually far too large in a scene.
- The Particle System node stays outside the scene; only this child goes in.
- Pair with 3D Paths on the same Particles cable to draw both the motes and their trails.
Open 3D Particles in the interactive catalog →
3D Particles is one of 381 nodes in Grafit Pro.
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