TRAPCODE: Particular - Part 2

Continuing setting up 3D Lights for particle emission

This tutorial is part of a series outlining several features of Trapcode's new plugin, Particular. If you have been entrenched in too much After Effects work, or are living under a rock, you may not have heard about Trapcode's newest plugin addition, announced at April's NAB. Many people preordered he plugin at the show, and more tapped into it when it released on May 10. If you don't already have it, you'll need the plugin, or at least the demo to complete this tutorial. You will also need After Effects 6.0 or greater. If you are downloading the demo version, be sure to download the other demos as well. Trapcode's LUX is a useful tool to have when using 3D lights in After Effects, for any purpose. You can download the demo of any of the Trapcode plugins by clicking here.

In addition to the extensive help file included within the Particular plugin, Trapcode's solo master, Peder Norrby has included 2 separate tutorial videos on the Trapcode website. [To find the internal help see the HELP button under the Options link at the top of the Effects Control window.] Look for more Particular tutorials on the Trapcode site. If you haven't seen Part 1 of this series, you can check it out by clicking here.

Step 5: The Fun Part(icles) (See steps 1-4)

Defining the Particle

Upon twirling down the Particle section of your Particular plugin, you'll notice a wide selection of parameters covering the description of the particle flow.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. You'll also note that there are a few parameters that don't carry a simple numeric value on the root level. These are Particle Type, Size over Life, Opacity over Life, Set Color and Transfer Mode.

A quick peek into these variables reveals deeper levels of control that may seem daunting at first. This is where much of the fun comes from.

There are, in fact, so many different parameters that it would take several pages just to describe these values. And, in preparation, Peder Norrby has already done that on his site. If you check the Help button within the Options window, or if you go directly to the Trapcode site, you can read the specific descriptions of each attribute, including images of different parameters that define some of the unique and custom particle shapes.

To the right is the surface of the Particle section of Particular. To see an "almost" fully expanded version click here: Expanded View.

Go to particle descriptions by clicking here. Go!

 

Step 5a: Keeping them alive

To ensure that the particles are always doing something during my animation, make sure that the Life[sec]=comp duration. You can make sure that it will maintain the appropriate value by creating a small expression for this parameter.

 

 

Step 5b: The Look

Particle Type may be the fastest way to change the way your particles look. Check the particle descriptions on the Trapcode Website to see the different presets available. Of course, there is an option to allow for the particle to reference a sprite from any layer within your composition.

For now, I'll change the Particle type from the default 'sphere' to 'smokelet', leaving the feather value at 50%.

Smokelet, Size=5

Step 5c: Size controls

Skipping over Rotation and rotation speed brings you directly to the size controls. There are three (3) different variables to the size of your particles. (Can you see me grinning?) This is just the beginning. The three variables are, in order, Size, Size Random and Size over Life. You'll see more "Over Life" controls. These are the controls that allow you to come up with thousands of variations.

Size.

Without using the other two parameters offered, you can adjust the size of the particles as they are emitted by keyframing the size value during the animation. This won't change the size value of the particles after they have left the emitter; it only governs the creation size.

I'll set the size to 10 in order to make the smokelets larger, and subsequently, closer together.

Smokelet, Size=10

Size Random.

When you enter any number other than zero (0) you will change the random value based on a percentage slider.

Size over Life.

Let the wild rumpus start. Size, Opacity and Transfer Mode all share a similar interface, allowing the user to "draw" with the cursor directly in the plugin interface. I hope you will call me on this, but I haven't seen any other plugin that allows you to draw values into the plugin window.

By default, the description area appears as a large red block, defining size over the course of the particles life to be constant at 100%. The small text within this window describes the curves you'll be drawing with your cursor. Bottom to top describes 0-100% of original size value. Left to Right describes Birth to Death (as described by "Life[sec]").

To the right of the box are preset curves that, once clicked, will fill the Size over Life value. Instead of using the Trapcode curves, you may want to create your own. Simply drag the cursor within the red box to begin to define your curve.

First create the curve by clicking and dragging within the window


Or, edit any portion of the curve by clicking and dragging during life.

Smooth the curve by clicking the "smooth" button. (Shift-click for greater smooth factor)

Unfortunately there is no "undo" for these functions, so if you find something that you like, before continuing, you may want to copy it into the buffer by clicking on the "Copy" button, or save the entire setup as a favorite. If you get to a place where you need to step back, simply load the favorite, or use the "Paste" button which will appear once you have values in the buffer.

You'll note that the particles have now adopted the size curve as they continue toward their death value.

By creating a step value, such as this (100,0) curve, the gaps in the particles will become obvious.

Step 5d: Opacity

While Opacity works the same way that Size works on the opacity value of the particle, it is important to note that the opactity of the particles and the opacity of your Particular Effect Layer (on our Black Solid) are two very different things. Most importantly, the opacity value controls the particle's visibility as it leaves the emitter. Particles that are even 5% opaque will build up and gain strength when combined with similarly transparent particles. The layer's opacity controls the visibility of the entire effect.

Clicking on the "Random" button at the right, then shift-clicking "Smooth" three times

I've set the Opacity value to 25%, allowing for each particle to be seen through. The Random value is 100% and the curve governing the changes of opacity over the life of the particle are drawn in. For this curve, I simply clicked on the Random button, featured at the right side of the curve. This draws a different graph each time I click on it. Some are quite jagged and need to be reigned in. By holding the shift key down and clicking on the "Smooth" button, the curve smooths out by a power of ten (10 regular clicks).

The resulting animation is a little more billowy and whispy, and not as cartoonish as my original setting (not that there's anything wrong with "cartoonish").

Part 5e: Adding Color

I've already made this installment too long, but I want to cover color.

First, you'll notice that there are three different modes by which to choose the color of your particles. By default, the Set color is "At Birth". When using a light, the color value is derived from the light source. You can use the light's animated color value to change the color of the particles if you want. To use the gradient values of the "Over Life" menu, you'll have to switch the Set value.

By now you're familiar with the "Over Life" grid. While color is a little different than the others, the gradient menu is fairly easy to navigate. If you need a little more help finding out how to use the gradient controller, yep - it's on the site: Trapcode Gradient Help.

 

To see other plugins available from Trapcode, check their website for news, updates to software, galleries and tutorials.

Ko Maruyama is a Los Angeles based freelance animator and host on the After Effects forum. When not setting up animations to render, you can find him answering questions in the DMN Forums and lurking in the new Mac___Pro page forums. Check out my favorite new additions to the CreativeMac family: MacAnimationPro, MacDesignPro, and MacDVDPro.