Blender Tutorial

Sun's Corona

How to create a corona using particles. Read Image Texture Map before continuing.

Add Spheres

Add the Sun as a regular UVsphere.

1. Press NUM1 to change the view.
2. Press NUM5 to change the view.
3. Press DEL to erase the 3d cube.
4. Press Enter to confirm.
5. Press Space for a menu.
6. Add » Mesh » UVsphere
7. Click OK for 32 Segments
8. Click OK for 32 Rings

Add the particle sphere as an IcoSphere.

The IcoSphere has a normal distribution of vertices, whereas a UVsphere has more at the poles. A normal distribution offers better control over the corona's particles.

1. Press Tab to exit Edit mode.
2. Press a to deselect the first sphere.
3. Press z to show wire frames.
4. Press Space for a menu.
5. Add » Mesh » IcoSphere
6. Click OK for 2 Subdivisions.
7. Press Tab to exit Edit mode.
8. Press n to display the Transform Properties panel:

   

   Transform Properties panel

9. Change ScaleX, ScaleY, and ScaleZ from 1.000 to 0.400.
10. Press Enter to apply the new scale.

Particles

1. Press F7 or click the object icon to show the Object buttons.
2. Click the physics icon to show the Physics buttons.
3. Click NEW.

   

   Ominously vacant Particles buttons panel

4. Click Static.
5. Fill in the blanks for the different Children (Generation, Num, and Prob change):

   

   

   Life in the Particles tab

6. Click Particle Motion.
7. Fill in the blanks:

   

   Particle Motion tab

   The values for the variables are as follows:

   Variable	Value
   Seed	3
   RLife	0.5
   Normal	0.010
   Random	0.065

At this point you should see the particles emitting from the IcoSphere.

Press F12 to render.

Corona Halo Glow

To make halo, we change the particles to halos.

1. Press F5 or click the shading icon to show the Material buttons.
2. Click Add New within the Links and Pipeline panel:

   

   Links and Pipeline panel

   A few panels should be shown, including:

   

   Material panels

3. Set the colour and alpha to:
   R 1.000
   G 0.313
   B 0.000
   A 0.020
4. Click Halo.
5. Click ZTransp to engage the alpha transparency, which fades the corona. You should see:

   

   Material panels

6. Press F12 to render.

   

   Render of a corona

With the basic settings in place, experiment!

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