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title: "V-Ray Point Particle"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VRAYHOUDINI/113280180/V-Ray%20Point%20Particle"
format: markdown
---
This page provides some details on the settings available for the BSDFPointParticle material node. Overview The BSDFPointParticle material is specifically designed for rendering points when the  Render Points As (Mantra)  option in the  Render  tab >  Geometry  sub-tab is set to  Circles . Parameters Diffuse Color  – Specifies the color of the points. Phase Function  – Specifies how light scatters from the point particles. A value of  0.0  means perfect diffuse scattering in all directions. Values close to  1.0  specify that light scatters predominantly in the direction that it comes from. A value close to  -1.0  specifies that light scatters mostly backward. The phase function is useful to simulate scattering from water mist or steam, in which case values between  0.0  and  1.0  work best. For dust particles, smoke or soot, a value of  0.0  is more appropriate. The particular phase function model that is implemented is the Henyey-Greenstein model.  See the  Effect of the Phase Function Parameter example  below. Example: The Effect of the Phase Function Parameter   In the images below, we have particles randomly distributed in a plane, with two spherical lights behind and in front of the plane. The images show how the particles scatter the light coming from the spherical lights depending on the phase function parameter. The  Phase Function  is  0.0  and the particles scatter light uniformly. This is characteristic for particles that form dust, smoke or soot. The  Phase Function  is  0.8  and the particles scatter light predominantly forward. This is characteristic for the way light is scattered from water droplets. The  Phase Function  is  -0.8  and the particles scatter light backward. Notes If the material is applied to spherical particles or regular geometry, it renders as a normal diffuse material.