Reza Sarkamari shows an easy way to create a portal effect using nParticles in Maya.

A new tutorial from VFX artist and trainer Reza Sarkamari shows how you can create what is now pretty much a “standard” portal effect that we’re all familiar. The tutorial covers working with Maya’s nParticles and Curve Flow.

The Particle Portal Effect.

While nParticles might initially seem like an old feature (in comparison to MASH or Bifrost) in Maya, it’s still a quick and easy way to create particle effects. “we utilize one of the oldest tools in Maya: Particle system,” Sarkamari says. “We use the Curve Flow tool to create and attach our particle object to a curve.”

The tutorial also covers creating a secondary layer of particles that emit from the original particle object.

About Reza Sarkamari.

Reza Sarkamari has nearly two decades in the industry under his belt and is a Maya Certified Professional, a Nuke Certified Trainer, and an Adobe Certified Specialist.