Smoking Laser

To make the laser have a little bit more interest in the first scene, I have decided to use a superspray particle system to create some smoke as it hits the table.

As the laser moves, so does the smoke which drags in the wind like it would in reality. Just as with the car skidding, the effect is achieved by changing attributes in the system parameters. The material for the smoke was made by applying a radial gradient to the opacity map. Firstly, the diffuse colour was set to grey. Then, in the maps rollout, opacity was set to 5. By clicking 'none' next to the word opacity, I applied a gradient. The gradient was then set to radial by selecting the option.