Editing particle-system visual effects (VFX) is vital for digital storytelling, but achieving controllable, art-directable results remains challenging due to their multi-dimensional nature. Given a large collection of parameters, users must find the ones relevant to their creative goals -- a task that requires a systematic understanding of the particle system and how parameters map to high-level intents, such as making a fire look angry. Elemental Alchemist is a generative interface that transforms user intent into contextualized controls for semantic editing of particle systems. The system introduces two components: a contextual brush palette that generates tools based on scene context, and a generative control panel that surfaces relevant technical parameters and abstracts them to generate mid-level semantic attributes and high-level conceptual controls. An evaluation with 10 novice and 5 expert VFX practitioners shows the system supported users in translating high-level creative goals into particle system parameters.
@article{arxiv.2605.10014,
title = {Elemental Alchemist: A Generative Interface for Semantic Control of Particle Systems Across Dynamic Levels of Abstraction},
author = {Kyzyl Monteiro and Evan Atherton and George Fitzmaurice and Qian Zhou},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.10014},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
23 pages including appendix, 14 figures. Accepted at ACM DIS 2026