While I was researching different tutorials for After Effects I found a new way to use the particle animation that we talked about in class. Someone actually posted the tutorial that we saw in class on this blog, but just for those who didn't see it, its from VideoCopilot and it demonstrates how to create particle animation.
Well, on Greymachine there is a tutorial on fairytale lighting that illustrates a whole other way to create particle animation. Rather than using the Particle World effect, go to "Effect" then "Trapcode" and select "Particular." It allows for a whole new usage and control of particle animation. Now I wasn't able to figure out whether or not the tutorial was done on CS4 or CS5 but I still found it to be an informative tutorial in terms of lighting.
Red Giant QuickTip #39: Fairytale Lighting in After Effects from Red Giant on Vimeo.
There is also a new Trapcode Form 2 which is seen in this tutorial that would be really interesting to work with for different projects. It allows for a different format of particles that Harry Frank goes on to explore during the tutorial.
Getting Started with Trapcode Form 2 from Red Giant on Vimeo.
Indeed, some of the Trapcode effects are quite spectacular and very widely used in the industry. Unfortunately they are not free (about 900 dol!) and we don't have them installed in our stations. However if you have AE in your laptop you can download a trial version and give it a go. I think that they render with a watermark though. Here is the LINK
ReplyDelete