Pickaxe Mining Hit

HOW IT'S MADE

Pickaxe Mining Hit stacks 6 particle emitters, each with its own job. Techniques worth a look: glowing strokes traced along shapes, collisions, particles stretched along their motion, keyframed parameters and post filters (bloom). 3 scene layers (ground and props) show in the studio for context and stay out of every export.

It loops seamlessly every 0.7 s, and 6 of its layers fire in bursts, so it pulses instead of flowing evenly. To change its colour, select "Rock Dust" in the studio and edit the Colour over Life gradient. Size on the same layer sets how big its particles are.

Layers, in draw order

1. Fresh Crack A, Fresh Crack BstrokeA glowing line traced along a path. Its start and end are keyframed, so it writes itself on and off.
2. Rock DustparticlesOne burst of 14 smoke puffs from a disc at 0.04 s. They grow as they age, spin and slow down with drag. Colour runs from white to pale orange over each life.
3. Flashparticles / additiveA single particle at 0.04 s. It grows as it ages. Colour: pale gold.
4. Hit Starparticles / additiveA single particle at 0.04 s. It swells and then shrinks away. Colour: white.
5. Sparksparticles / additiveOne burst of 34 streaks at 0.04 s. They fall under gravity, bounce when they hit something and slow down with drag. Colour runs from white to orange over each life.
6. Rock ChipsparticlesOne burst of 12 debris at 0.04 s. They fall under gravity, bounce when they hit something and spin. Colours range between orange and grey.
7. GritparticlesOne burst of 16 debris at 0.04 s. They fall under gravity, bounce when they hit something and spin. Colours range between grey and orange.