How Do I Make Audio-Reactive Particle Ribbons?
In BeamTracer, add EMIT, choose FROM → CENTER, WHEN → ALWAYS and SHAPE → RIBBONS, then switch LIFETIME → AUTHOR LIFETIME on. Adjust how each particle appears, moves and fades. Assign Bass to LIFETIME CURL to change its turn with the music, then render the center-emitted effect as MP4 or WebM.
Hi, I'm Trina with BeamTracer.com. A long ribbon makes a particle's direction easy to see. Once the strips are moving, try changing the curl or slowing the end of their travel. Keep the rate low at first so individual strips have room to show their shape.
EMIT RIBBONS with RATE 20, LIFE 3.00 s, SPEED 0.18 and RIBBON LENGTH 1.00 s. LIFETIME CURL is assigned to Bass. All examples are silent.
How do I start particle ribbons without a camera?
Choose CENTER as the emitter's origin and ALWAYS as its trigger. EMIT can then run over a visualizer without hand or face tracking. Choosing RIBBONS supplies a starting set of particle settings; make your adjustments after choosing the shape.
- Open a visualizer such as Spectrum Analyzer and start Play audio.
- Expand EFFECTS, open ADD AN EFFECT → PARTICLES and select EMIT.
- Choose FROM → CENTER, WHEN → ALWAYS and SHAPE → RIBBONS.
- Set RATE to 20, LIFE to 3.00 s and SPEED to 0.18 for a sparse starting field.
- Open LIFETIME and set AUTHOR LIFETIME → ON.
- Adjust BIRTH RAMP, END TRAVEL, LIFETIME CURL and DISAPPEAR START while watching the strips.
- Choose Assign modulation beside LIFETIME CURL, then select Bass.
- Open RENDER, choose MP4 · H.264 or WEBM · VP9, then RENDER VIDEO and SAVE VIDEO.
For the plain background used here, choose the Visual Source visualizer, load TRINA · HANDS and set that visualizer's COLOR → BACKGROUND OPACITY to 0. Keep the FX Rack's separate VISUAL SOURCE pass off. The input picture is hidden while the ribbons remain visible. You can keep your own visualizer visible instead when you want to combine the effects.
How do I make the ribbons longer without making particles live longer?
Increase RIBBON LENGTH to extend the strip behind each particle. LIFE controls how long the particle exists, while Ribbon Length controls its reach in seconds of current motion. SIZE and GROW control width. These settings let you compare short marks and long strips at the same particle lifetime.
RIBBON LENGTH 0.08 s, followed by 0.80 s. Both use LIFE 3.00 s, SPEED 0.18, SIZE 0.50 and the same music interval.
A strip along current motion
Ribbons extend behind the particle's current direction and cannot reach farther back than its age. They are not a recording of every position the particle has visited. THREADS is a separate EMIT shape for motion-following strands.
If long strips fill the picture too quickly, lower RATE or SPEED before reducing Life. Fewer, slower strips are easier to follow individually.
How do I turn the particles in opposite directions?
Move LIFETIME CURL below or above zero. Negative and positive values turn particles in opposite directions through the middle of their lives. At zero, the extra lifetime turn is removed; the particles still follow their other motion settings.
LIFETIME CURL changes 0.65 → −1.50 → 0 → 1.50. Other lifetime settings stay fixed. Allow a few seconds for particles from the preceding setting to leave the field.
To make that turn follow a track, use Assign modulation → Bass on LIFETIME CURL. The route's live fill shows the value reaching the control. Clear the route when you want to compare manual values, as in this walkthrough.
How do I slow particles down as they get older?
Set END TRAVEL below 1 to slow the later part of the motion, or above 1 to speed it up. SPEED remains the starting motion setting. Try changing End Travel while holding Speed and Life steady so you can see the difference in the older ribbons.
END TRAVEL changes 0.40 → 0 → 3.00, with SPEED 0.18 and LIFE 3.00 s. Faster ribbons can leave the frame before their lifetime ends.
How do I soften the beginning and end of each particle?
Raise BIRTH RAMP to bring new particles in gradually. Lower DISAPPEAR START to begin their fade earlier. Both controls use a fraction of the particle's life, so the same setting spans more seconds when you increase LIFE.
First BIRTH RAMP 0 and DISAPPEAR START 0.98, then BIRTH RAMP 0.45 and DISAPPEAR START 0.50. The second pair spends more of each particle's life fading in and out.
Particles have some lifetime variation. For a particle that lasts three seconds, the fractions mean:
| Setting | Timing for that particle |
|---|---|
| BIRTH RAMP 0 | The particle is visible immediately. |
| BIRTH RAMP 0.30 | The appearance ramp occupies the first 0.90 seconds. |
| DISAPPEAR START 0.50 | The fade begins halfway through, at 1.50 seconds. |
| DISAPPEAR START 0.90 | The fade begins at 2.70 seconds, leaving the last 0.30 seconds. |
How do I combine ribbons with a music visualizer?
Keep a visualizer such as SPECTRUM ANALYZER visible underneath EMIT. The bars follow the track while the ribbons keep their own emission and lifetime settings. A low RATE leaves room for the underlying picture; MIX controls how strongly EMIT appears over it.
The same sparse ribbon recipe over Spectrum Analyzer. This native render keeps the visualizer visible instead of hiding a source picture.
Can I render the ribbons as a video?
FROM → CENTER works in RENDER, including authored ribbon lifetimes. Use TEST RANGE → RENDER A SHORT RANGE to check the composition before rendering a full track, then download through SAVE VIDEO. The opening and length comparison were made with that native workflow.
The lifetime controls apply to emitted particle shapes; THREADS retains its separate behavior. These are visual particle effects, not a fluid simulation. BeamTracer needs a browser and device with WebGPU support. The EMIT guide covers the controls, and the video export guide explains output settings.
Shape your own ribbon field
Start at the center with a low rate, then change one part of the lifetime at a time.
Open EMIT