TG Particles 2

TIPS

1. Sky Sphere Size

The larger the Sky Sphere (or whatever object you use to paint the stars on), then the higher the Star Noise you’ll want to use, and also the more Squares you might want to use. This will keep the stars sharp and well defined, as otherwise the noise will result in fuzzy blobs (potentially useful, if you want some stars to appear larger and out of focus, or to get the impression of galaxies rather than stars), or the squares will be too large.

 

2. Scanline or Raycast Rendering

This makes a large difference to the appearance of the stars. In Scanline mode, it is easy to see lots of precise stars, but Raycast mode can smooth this out, causing the stars to grow dim, removing the fainter stars, or even causing all the stars to disappear!

By using the Squares processing, you can ensure that the stars appear as large enough points of light so that they still show up under Raycast rendering.

3. Output Image Size

A smaller image will require larger stars if they are to show up in the final image (reducing the size of the output image carries the same problems as changing from Scanline to Raycast rendering). Using a lower Star Noise Scale or a lower Squares value will result in larger stars, ensuring that they still show up in the final render.

4. Variation In Star Colour

It is be possible to create variations in the star colour by layering the shader with another noise shader. It is best to use a colour shader which allows very high noise scale values, as otherwise broad areas of colour will be created (resulting in all nearby stars being the same colour - not a very convincing effect!).

5. Other Uses

The shader can be used for more than just creating starfields. It can produce interesting results because it blends two types of noise, with the Star Noise giving a grain or speckled appearance, and the Distribution Noise giving variation in the distribution of those speckles. A sample MLB is included to show some potential other uses of the shader.

TG StarField Intro

TG StarField Parameters

TG StarField Tips

TG StarField FAQ

TG StarField Samples

TG Pack Index