Attract
Pull clones toward a point. Negative strength pushes them away.
Attract is a force, not a property driver. It reads each clone's position and returns a vector pulling it toward the point you set. Negative strength repels instead.
On its own it gathers a scattered set into a cluster. Keyframed, it is a magnet you can sweep through a field of objects.
When to reach for it#
- Gathering a scattered array into a shape.
- A repulsion bubble that pushes clones aside as it passes.
- Logo assembly — clones scattered at the start, gathered by the end.
How it works#
The force is proportional to the distance from the point, so distant clones move further per frame than near ones. At strength 1 a clone lands exactly on the point; at 0.5 it travels halfway there.
Radius limits the reach. At 0 the force is infinite in extent and every clone feels it equally. Above 0, the pull falls to nothing at the radius edge, which gives you a bubble with a soft boundary.
Parameters#
Where the attractor sits, in percent of the canvas. Keyframe these to sweep it across the frame.
-1 to 1. At 1 every clone collapses onto the point. At -1 they are pushed away by their full distance, which throws them off-canvas fast. The useful range for a visible-but-controlled effect is roughly -0.4 to 0.7.
Percent of the smaller canvas dimension. 0 means unlimited reach. Any other value creates a bubble that falls off linearly to nothing at its edge.
Recipes#
Clones assembling into place
- Add an Instancer in the final layout you want.
- Add Attract with a large negative Strength, around -0.8.
- Keyframe Strength from -0.8 to 0 over a second and a half.
Working backwards is easier than working forwards here — build the finished layout, then push the clones out and animate the push away to nothing.
Things that catch people out#
Forces read per-clone position. On a layer with no Instancer there is one position, at the layer centre, and the result is a plain offset rather than anything interesting.
Every clone lands on exactly the same pixel. Back off to 0.7 or add a radius.
See also#
Something here wrong or missing? Tell us in the community.