Random Seed
Changes the turbulence pattern while keeping it reproducible.
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ParticlesAdvanced
pTurbulence
Add noisy particle motion
Adds procedural, chaotic motion to particles so streams feel like wind, smoke, dust or fluid turbulence instead of rigid trajectories.
pTurbulence
DaVinci Resolve · Fusion
pTurbulence is a force node that perturbs particle velocity using a noise field.
Overview
What pTurbulence does
X, Y and Z strength controls determine how strongly particles are displaced across each axis. Density changes the spatial character of the noise field.
Strength Over Life can make particles start stable and become more chaotic later, or do the opposite.
Probability, particle sets and region controls let a turbulence field affect only selected particles or a selected part of the scene.
Mental model
Think of pTurbulence as invisible turbulent air moving through the particle field.
Common uses
Organic smoke-like drift
Break up straight particle paths
Add wind variation
Create swirling dust
Make sparks feel less mechanical
Flow anatomy
Inputs & outputs
The port structure shows how this node fits into a Fusion graph.
Particles
Particle stream processed by this node.
Region
Input used by pTurbulence.
pTurbulence
Fusion node
Particles
Particles after the noise field changes their motion.
Inspector
Important parameters
Start with these controls before reaching for more complicated workarounds.
Reseed
Sets the random seed so a procedural variation can be reproduced.
Time Lock
Locks procedural randomness to time so the same frame evaluates consistently.
X Strength
Sets turbulence strength along the X axis.
Y Strength
Sets turbulence strength along the Y axis.
Z Strength
Sets turbulence strength along the Z axis.
Strength Over Life
Changes turbulence intensity as particles age.
Density
Controls the scale and spatial frequency of the turbulence field.
Probability
Affects only a fraction of eligible particles when reduced.
Age Start / End
Limits turbulence to a portion of particle life.
Set Mode
Selects the Set Mode used by pTurbulence.
Set 1–32
Chooses which particle sets are affected by this operation.
Region Mode
Selects the particle region type.
Chooses the geometric region used by the particle operation. Available region types include Ignore region, When intersecting region, When inside region, When not intersecting region, When not inside region, When entering region, and When leaving region.
Region
Selects the particle region type.
Chooses the geometric region used by the particle operation.
Practical setup
A reliable workflow
- 1
Create a basic particle stream.
- 2
Add pTurbulence after the initial directional motion.
- 3
Start with low strength on all axes.
- 4
Tune Density to change the size of the motion structures.
- 5
Use Strength Over Life or a region when the effect should build gradually.
- 6
Render through pRender.
Typical node chain
pEmitter→
pDirectionalForce→
pTurbulence→
pRender
Examples
Where this node fits in real work
Drifting dust
Low-strength turbulence adds subtle irregular motion.
pEmitterpTurbulencepFrictionpRender
Energy cloud
Stronger turbulence breaks a dense particle source into a chaotic field.
pImageEmitterpTurbulencepRenderGlow
Troubleshooting
Common mistakes
Using very high strength and turning the system into random noise.
Ignoring Density and trying to solve every look with strength alone.
Forgetting region or set restrictions from an earlier experiment.
Production notes
Practical tips
Tune Density before pushing Strength too far.
Combine a clear directional force with lower turbulence for believable flow.
Use Strength Over Life to evolve particle behavior over time.
Related nodes