Skip to content

Beginner Tutorials

Learn particle fundamentals in twelve connected lessons, then build three separate Cloth, Soft Body and Strands projects.

Follow the course

Start with an installed, working add-on and a new Blender file. The course assumes you can add and select objects, use Edit Mode, and enter values in Blender's Properties editor. You do not need previous particle-simulation experience.

Lessons 1–9 build one fountain in Lists. Lesson 10 recreates it in Nodes; the two modes keep separate settings. Lessons 11–12 return to the Lists fountain saved in lesson 9. Save a separate .blend at each lesson. Optional exercises can be tried after saving; restore the stated settings before continuing.

Use these conventions throughout the course:

  • Open the 3D Viewport Sidebar with N, then choose Pro Particles. In Lists, select an entry to edit its controls. Add simulation effects in Effects and visible outputs in Post Effects.
  • Set the frame range in the Timeline and Frame Rate: 24 fps in Blender's Output Properties. Use the default scene Unit Scale 1; dimensions in these lessons are in meters.
  • Enter object Location and Dimensions in Sidebar > Item. After setting Dimensions, use Object Mode > Ctrl+A > Scale. Applying scale preserves the visible size and makes the object's scale (1, 1, 1).
  • Replay from frame 1 after changing simulation settings. Jumping directly to a later frame does not calculate the intervening motion. Stop playback before editing a setup.
  • Lists evaluates Effects from the bottom upward. Each lesson gives the evaluation order; place the first effect lowest in the visible stack.
Lesson Result
1. First System and Playback Create a visible particle stream, then learn when to replay from the scene start.
2. Rate, Duration and Lifetime Separate how often particles are born from how long each particle survives.
3. Build an Effect Stack Turn the straight stream into a fountain with Gravity, Curl Noise and Drag.
4. Add Ground Contact Assign a real collider and distinguish bounce, friction and particle contact size.
5. Birth Color and Lifetime Color Use Advanced Color in Change Color to show a particle aging through a ramp.
6. Points, Trails and Instances Present one simulation in different ways without changing its physical particles.
7. Separate Particle Groups Keep shared ground contact while giving two populations different motion and color.
8. Limit an Effect with a Mask Apply curls only inside a spatial region while keeping the group selection.
9. Map Particle Age to Strength Vary Curl strength with particle age.
10. Rebuild the Fountain in Nodes Rebuild the fountain in Nodes, connecting particles, colors, masks and fields.
11. One Conditional Action Delete only older Accent particles with one simple If branch.
12. Cache and Finish the Project Bake the final Point Cloud and inspect playback without the live solver.

Deformable fundamentals

Lessons 13–15 each start from a new Blender file. They reuse playback, effects and collision concepts, but introduce topology-based Emitter types and their direct Geometry output. Follow the Lists instructions first; each lesson also describes the corresponding Nodes connections.

Lesson Result
13. Drape and Pin Cloth Drop a cloth over a sphere, then hold two corners with a Pin Strength Map.
14. Drop a Soft Body Compare shape recovery while keeping volume stiffness and source geometry fixed.
15. Hang a Rope with Strands Pin a Curve's ends, add contact, and compare Rope with Cable.

Preview and rendering

The images use Cycles with simulated geometry, a camera and area lights. GPU Preview is sufficient while learning motion. Lesson 6 explains renderable Point Cloud and Trails output; lessons 13–15 use the deformable Emitters' Geometry display. Camera direction, lighting and materials can change appearance without changing motion.

The ground illustrations also use a larger studio floor for a continuous background. The 12 × 12 m Ground collider in lesson 4 is sufficient for the simulation; a separate display surface does not need to be assigned to Collision.

For the smooth fabric and solid surfaces in lessons 13–14, select the generated mesh output after playback and use Object > Shade Smooth before rendering. Shading changes the appearance without adding simulation detail.

After these fundamentals, use Case Studies and Simulation and Effects for liquid, sand, advanced deformable and Pyro workflows.

Begin with 1. First System and Playback. For a quick first setup, use First Particle System.