Editing & Customizing Optic Lens Flare Presets
The blueprint we're working with is at Content\Optic_Flares_Presets\BP_Optic_Standard_Flare. Each Optic Lens Flare Blueprint comes with a custom preset, and these instructions will show you how to edit and save your own unique variations.
Part 1: Editing an Existing Preset
This section is all about starting with a pre-built preset and making changes to it to create your own unique look. We'll use the "Retro Sci-Fi" preset as our example.
Step 1: Set Up Your Scene
1. Drag and drop an Optic Lens Flare Blueprint into your scene.
Dragging and dropping a lens flare blueprint from the Content Browser into a level
2. With the blueprint selected, go to the Defaults tab in the Details panel.
3. Within the Defaults section, click the "Retro Sci-Fi" button.
Blueprint's Details panel with the "Defaults" tab and the "Retro Sci-Fi" preset button highlighted
Step 2: Tweak Global Blueprint Parameters
The blueprint itself contains a number of global parameters that allow for quick, broad adjustments to the lens flare without having to dive into the material instance. These parameters are one of the main ways to edit the flare's appearance.
1. In the Details panel, you can adjust the following:
● Lens Flare Scale
● Lens Flare Brightness
● Hotspot Scale
● Hotspot Brightness
● Lens Flare Tint
● Anamorphism
● You can also toggle the visibility of some of the individual flare elements.
Blueprint's Details panel showing the global lens flare parameters
● A key feature here is the Flare Mixer, which allows you to toggle multiple lens flare presets. Be aware that this comes at a performance cost, as it's essentially two or more flares being used.
Step 3: Customize Your Flare's Look with the Material Instance
For more detailed customization, you can directly edit the flare's material instance. We recommend editing the material instance while looking at the actual lens flare in the level, as the preview in the material editor is not the most accurate representation.
When you select the "Retro Sci-Fi" preset, you'll be editing its associated material instance, MI_Retro_Sci-Fi. You can find the material in the project's content browser. Just head to Content\Optic_Lens_Flares\Optic_Flares_Materials to get started.
Showing the file path in the Content Browser, with the Optic_Flares_Materials folder highlighted
The product uses well-organized Material Instances, which let you fine-tune every part of your flare. The material instance has specific sections for each element, plus two global sections that affect the whole look.
1. Tweak Global Controls: Start by setting the overall mood. The material instance has a section for global parameters that affect the entire flare, like:
● Global Temperature: Select from existing HDR gradients based on Kelvin values to set the tone. Just a heads-up, this feature is designed to heavily influence the flare's colors on purpose. If you want the lens flare to look exactly as you want, then manually editing the colors for each element is the way to go.
● Master Tint: Apply a global color tint.
● Master Brightness: Adjust the overall intensity.
Material Instance Editor showing the global parameters sections with sliders, switches and color pickers
● There's also a Post Process Adjustments section for shifting the colors of the entire flare after the fact by adjusting its red, green, and blue intensities.
2. Fine-Tune Individual Elements: Dive into the HDR element sections to get into the details. Each section (e.g., Halos, Ghosts, Stars & Spikes) provides parameters to adjust things like Individual Scales, Brightness, and Colors. You can even replace the Associated Textures to fully customize your flares' shapes and looks.
close-up view of the material instance's Halos section, showing parameters like scale and brightness, and a thumbnails of the associated textures
3. Add Dynamic Effects: Look for specific parameters in the Material Instances to add dynamic effects like flicker and smoke for a more realistic feel.
After modifying the "Retro Sci-Fi" preset in your scene, you're ready to save your changes.
Important Note: Saving the material instance updates the preset permanently. This makes your updated look ready to use in any project.
Part 2: Editing a Custom Preset
This part shows you how to edit one of the existing custom presets that are included with the product. We provide these custom presets so you can edit them without the fear of accidentally overwriting a system preset. Regular flares come with three custom presets, while sun flares have two.
Step 1: Set Up Your Scene
1. Drag and drop an Optic Lens Flare Blueprint into your scene.
Dragging and dropping a lens flare blueprint from the Content Browser into a level.
2. With the blueprint selected, go to the Defaults tab in the Details panel.
3. Within the Defaults section, click the "Custom Preset A" button.
Blueprint's Details panel with the "Defaults" tab and the "Custom Preset A" preset button highlighted
Step 2: Customize Your Flare's Look
1. Every lens flare has a material that controls its appearance. When you select "Custom Preset A," you'll be editing its associated material instance, MI_Custom_Preset_A. You can find the material in the project's content browser, which is located in the Content\Optic_Lens_Flares\Custom_Flares_Materials folder.
Showing the file path in the Content Browser, with the Custom_Flares_Materials folder highlighted
2. The editing process is the same as in Part 1. You can adjust the Global Controls and Individual Element parameters to create your desired effect.
Step 3: Save Your Changes
Custom presets are directly linked to their Material Instances. Any changes you make to the material instance will be automatically reflected in the corresponding blueprint preset.
To save your modifications, simply find the associated material in its directory (Content\Optic_Lens_Flares\Custom_Flares_Materials) and save the file.
Important Note: Saving the material instance updates the preset permanently. This makes your updated look ready to use in any project.
Part 3: Edit Sun Flares
You can edit existing sun flare presets or custom ones just like in Parts 1 and 2. Their materials are in the same folders as the others: Content\Optic_Lens_Flares\Optic_Flares_Materials and Content\Optic_Lens_Flares\Custom_Flares_Materials.
Step 1: Set Up Your Scene
1. Drag and drop the sun flare blueprint, BP_Optic_Sun_Flare, into your scene. This blueprint automatically creates a directional light. We highly recommend you delete any existing directional lights in your scene, or deactivate them, to avoid having two of them in your scene at the same time.
Dragging the sun flare blueprint into a level
Editing a sun lens flare is just like editing a regular one, but the blueprint has extra global settings for the sun's position and behavior.
Step 2: Global Sun Settings:
In the blueprint's properties, you'll find settings to adjust the sun's properties. These include Sun Longitude and Latitude to set its exact position in your level, and Sun Intensity to control its brightness.
Blueprint's Details panel showing the global sun flare parameters
Step 3 Sun Cycle Animation:
To preview the sun cycle animation, you will need to play the game. The sun flare blueprint also lets you turn on a Sun Cycle Animation. This feature automatically updates the directional light and atmosphere, creating a smooth sunrise-to-sunset transition. You only have to set the sun cycle animation length in minutes, with the default being 10 minutes. The sun cycle only adjusts the position of the sun, and the atmosphere reacts accordingly. It works best when you have an atmosphere in your level.
One of the key differences with sun lens flares is that their materials are labeled with "sun" in their names. Also, each sun flare uses two materials. For example, the Sahara Desert preset has two: MI_Sun_Sahara_Desert_Glow and MI_Sun_Sahara_Desert_Cloud_Occluded. The _Occluded material handles the parts of the flare hidden behind clouds, while the _Glow material shows the visible elements.
Recommendation: To really understand how all these settings work, we highly recommend checking out the existing preset materials to see how they were made.
Thank you for your support in purchasing Optic Lens Flares! We hope this guide helps you create stunning cinematic looks for your projects. If you haven't yet, we invite you to check out Optic Lens Flares and see how it can enhance your next creation.
