Apply the Sphere filter

  1. In the Layers List, select the 'Glowy' group.
  2. From the Add Filters toolbar menu or from the Library, select the Distortion->Sphere filter.
  3. Move the centerpoint of the Sphere near to the bottom-right of the Canvas.

Now that we have our particle-covered 3D sphere, let's make it shine!

Apply the Light Rays filter

  1. In the Layers list, select the 'Glowy' group.
  2. From the Apply Filters toolbar menu or from the Library, select the Glow->Light Rays filter.
  3. Move the centerpoint of the Light Rays near to the bottom-right of the Canvas.

Pump up the volume

  1. In the Layers list, select the 'Glowy' group.
  2. In the Inspector, select the Filters tab.
  3. Set the Amount of the Light Rays to 145.
  4. Set the Glow of the Light Rays to 6.
  5. Set the Expansion of the Light Rays to 0.

If you play back the project, you'll see a sphere of light beams that seem to rotate properly in "3D" space. To make the beams a little less regular and more full, let's adjust the little circle shape that we used as the particle source and apply a filter to it.

Adjust the particle source shape

  1. In the Layers list, select the 'Circle' shape object.
  2. In the Inspector, view the Shape tab.
  3. Change the Fill Mode of the shape to 'Gradient' and select the 'Light Metal' Gradient preset.
  4. Change the Feather of the shape to 35.
  5. From the Add Filters toolbar menu or from the Library, select the Distortion->Insect Eye filter.
  6. In the Inspector, view the Filters tab.
  7. Set the Size of the Insect Eye filter to 45.
  8. Set the Refraction of the Insect Eye filter to 3.
  9. Set the Border Size of the Insect Eye filter to 4.

Next, we want to increase the number of light beams on our sphere. We'll do this by increasing the birth rate in the particle emitter.

Change the birth rate

  1. In the Layers List, select the Emitter object.
  2. In the Inspector, view the Emitter tab.
  3. In the Cell Controls section, set the Birth Rate to 55.

Go ahead and play back your animation. You've created a volumetric lighting effect with a simple particle system and a few filters!

And if you replace the Sphere filter with a Ring Warp and lower the shape feather value, you can get a whole different look:

I hope this has encouraged you to play around a bit in Motion. It's fun and easy to experiment, and you often end up with something great!

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