Particle Playground: Fire
Posted on 02. Nov, 2007 by Jerzy Drozda Jr in After Effects
Join me and George in this interesting experiment. Learn how to generate particles from motion. No keyframes, no expressions. This one is hot!
Click here to watch the video tutorial
People! I’m on fire! George is on fire! And this tutorial is on fire! This tutorial is rather an experiment. I’ll show you how to generate particles from live action footage without using any keyframes or expressions.
The final fire look is just one of the possibilities. The idea of this is to show you how to generate particles that inherit motion and velocity from live footage. In the end you may use this tutorial to create a smoke trail of a falling plane, shining sparkles following someones moves, and basically anything you want. And most interesting of all… this is achieved using After Effects build in tools. No plugins required. Enjoy!
Particle Playground is very powerfull but it’s also very hard to master. It’s just not as user-friendly as 3rd-party plugins, like Trapcode’s Particular. If you’d like to know more about Particle Playground make sure to visit CreativeCow.net and Roland R. Kahlenberg’s tutorial.
Make sure to see the follow up tutorial: Particle Playground on Ice
Download: Tutorial project file (After Effects CS3)
86 Responses to “Particle Playground: Fire”
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maximumrfan: Is it possible to bunch some controls into groups ...
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oren: hi i have CS5 and the ce installer tell me that th...
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the digital taoist: Mr Maltaannon... Can you P L E A S E provide a 10...
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zip.locks: Vista 64bit OS. Will not install the PolyCE Instal...
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Cool4cats: Hey Maltaannon! First let me say what an awsome si...
Maltaannon recommends:
Pierce
02. Nov, 2007
Nothing can be said about this tutorial that hasn’t already been said about Adobe After Effects itself :)
Scott Bishop
02. Nov, 2007
This is a real treat! Cheers
DaMasteRZ
02. Nov, 2007
You got wonderful fingers!!! :D
Onno
03. Nov, 2007
I really like it, thanks mate! :D
Umair
03. Nov, 2007
Nice Buddy very very impact full Buddy!!! ;)
Maciej
03. Nov, 2007
Thanks !! I like it ^^
Robbert-Jan van der Does
03. Nov, 2007
Hey Jerzy,
Very clever. Nice to see you back too!
You’ve got what the Germans call “Fingerspitzengefühl”. And to be honest, I hope you will still have it after the fire is extuinguished.
Cheers
Orangesoda
04. Nov, 2007
Hey maltaannon, great job. I liked how you used time difference effect. I have never seen it done that way before. It beats the hell out of tracking. Where could I learn more about that effect?
Keep them coming.
Take care!
Maltaannon
04. Nov, 2007
Oh if you want to know more about Time Difference effect just use my “Suggest a tutorial” form and send me some ideas. Besides… Time Difference is very easy on it’s own. Just try to play with it for a while. Cheers
Kopiart
05. Nov, 2007
There are plenty of fields when this one can be used. Starting from teleportation for example and finishing with a dragonball efect :-)
Way2Evil
05. Nov, 2007
Very smart. thnx
SPOTS
05. Nov, 2007
Thanks for the great tutorial! Will you cover how to make it look more realistic by making the fire light reflect on the character, objects and room?
Homer
05. Nov, 2007
Great job guy! I wanted to reproduce that effect next to the video game “Bioshock”
Thx :)
cbowyer
05. Nov, 2007
Great tutorial. Could you duplicate that ramp and turbulence comp and use it to create lighting for the video layer, so that the light emitted from the flames can be seen on the subject, the surrounding walls, etc?
Maltaannon
05. Nov, 2007
Sure. Just try it out. If it doesn’t work than try something else. Maybe an adjustment layer and a glow effect that will spread around the fire, or whatever. Just play around it for a while and I’m sure you’ll figure out some cool ways to use it.
Harvest
06. Nov, 2007
Uuuuhh! Excellent blend of effects! The result is awesome!.. Cheers from Portugal!
JD
07. Nov, 2007
Clever work.
Stefan
07. Nov, 2007
Nice i like it and i hope that you will make more tutorials =]
rashid
07. Nov, 2007
Hi, This is Excellent Tutorial Thankx
Ghislain, Québec, Canada
07. Nov, 2007
Hi,
First of all; great job on this one, you made a awsome effect look like “easy”…
I don’t have CS3 yet, so I would like to know if there a similar effect like the “playground particule” in CS2 ??? (I do have trapcode’s particular…is it something i can use?)
Thank you and keep on the good work !
Patrick
07. Nov, 2007
Hi,
great tutorial with nice fire but I´ve got a problem:
As soon as I select a layer in the layer exploder (I use a comp as source with 1 wiggleing layer in it that has a feathered mask on it) my afterFX starts rendering millions and millions of particles. Yea, I set the particles/sec to “0″. It does the same without feathering or also without wiggle.
Any Idea?
PP
Ei
13. Aug, 2009
Hello,
its same for me…Ive tried different versions and system (like G5 Mac or Pc) and still same… Particle playground always tried to generate too much particles (over 720000). Something missing i think… When watching tutorial it generates nearly 3000-5000 particles what is the difference????
Maltaannon
08. Nov, 2007
is the wiggleing comp a precomp? it should be. and besides that always try to set the layer exploder when you’re at the beginning of your timeline. it’s easier for AE to calculate the particles. if that doesnt help than you might contact me directly using skype.
Ei
13. Aug, 2009
Hi again,
ive tried in different docs and everytime layer explode generates too much particles even in precomposed little static solid white circle…Are you using a controller for particle number reducing???Velocity only affect generating speed but i want to control particle number it is really trouble…
Michael Hardie
08. Nov, 2007
Ghislain you’re bound to have it in CS2. Back in the day I used to mess with Particle Playground with 6.0 :D
cheers for the tutorial!
Jack
09. Nov, 2007
Had no idea you could do stuff like this in AE, been taking out ropes and things for sfx but nothing like this. Cheers bro, primo.. Couldn’t find how to put the expression on properly but still looks pretty cool, I’ll have to check out your earlier tuts to suss that I think.
Cheers again bro… you’ve got me thinking.
17th Letter Films
09. Nov, 2007
Thanks a lot! This effects is so amazing and there are lots of possibilities!
Patrick
09. Nov, 2007
Hi again,
starting at the beginning helped a lot!
an the wigglelayer has been a precomp, but I shot some footage today and will continue with that for now.
thank you very much so far
PP
Kevin Nabity
13. Nov, 2007
Thanks for putting this tutorial up; I got a looooot out of it!
Maik Fleischmann
16. Nov, 2007
You are one crazy mind! Amazing doesn’t touch you. If I learned a fraction of what you know, I would be happy. Thank you for your GREAT tutorials.
Maik
Brett
18. Nov, 2007
Hey great tutorial. Got me a little lost at some points but I caught on quick. Thanks alot. I look forward to more.
arpit
25. Nov, 2007
awsum tut man….keep uploading…..im lovin it…
Leo
25. Nov, 2007
Got to be careful at gas stations…
Great Tut, thanks a lot.
Keep up the good work.
Thea
29. Nov, 2007
I love AE and don’t get enough time with it – have CS3 now but am trying to use tutorials to save time learning – this was really a lesson on several different things – I just loved it!! Just been working on a project for a state fire marshal so it’s perfect. I will be checking out all your other tutorials – thanks for all your efforts.
Crackfest
01. Dec, 2007
Great job on the tutorial! You make everything so simple. Keep up the good work!
IllD
03. Dec, 2007
WOW, you created another Monster with that, this Technique gave me 10 new Ideas.
Maltannon you are getting better and better…AE seems so easy to use while you work with it.
People, donate for this side to keep it alive!!!
(George needs food :))
yenuiyins
18. Dec, 2007
Have got to really thank you for this! Is really helpful :D
and you are Great man ^O^
antory
24. Dec, 2007
very simple and useful! big thanx!
ilan
26. Dec, 2007
i dont understand how did we get the “particles playground ”
i dont have it in my effect
cred
09. Feb, 2008
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. One question: You mentioned that George doesn’t move, just his hands. Would it still work if, say, George was walking or jumping?
Maltaannon
10. Feb, 2008
Yes, but then it would burn his whole body. It “burns” everything that has changed in the video clip across last few frames.
Bob
29. Feb, 2008
Wow this tutorial is hot indeed ! Great Job
I gonna play with this :D…
Very very usefull, you can use it for almost everything!
Keep up the good work ;)
Faisal Amin
07. Mar, 2008
Thanks For A Wonderful Tutorial.You Are Great For After Effects.
Thanks Mr.Maltaannon.
Ilya
06. Apr, 2008
I can’t find “Particle playground” in my after effect, I use v.7.
Where can I find it?.
Beside it, a very useful tutorial, I was looking how to set my hands on fire, thanks.
By the way, how do I do it with my whole body?, like Human Torch, or something like that?.
Maltaannon
06. Apr, 2008
Well… I hate to be the one pointing this out to you, but are you using legal version of After Effects Pro?
Ilya
07. Apr, 2008
Nop, too expensive, about $1000, I can’t afford it, sorry.
Maltaannon
08. Apr, 2008
That’s probably why it’s missing.
Henry Lankila
20. Apr, 2008
Awesome tutorial!!! I had a question regarding the particles comp. When I select my source file for the “Layer Exploder” the source layer gets offset to the right. Have you seen this before? If I turn off the effect, my original source looks good. Once I turn on the effect the particles appear, expand slightly and shift to the right. All the comps are the same size and I ran the tutorial several times. When I look at the final comp, the particles comp looks like they are different sizes. I checked the settings and everything is the same. I am using AE 6.5 Pro. Thanks for your time and this great tutorial.
Maltaannon
20. Apr, 2008
Strange. My first thought was that the comp size differs accros the project, but since you’ve checked that it’s hard to say, or I’m simply missing something. Contact me through the Contact section on this site, and make sure to provide your real email. I’ll write you back, so you could send me the project file. I’ll take a look in my spare time (yeah… like I ever have time for myself)
DawnTreader
18. May, 2008
Hello Maltaannon
thanks for the Tute. the time difference has come in handy elsewhere.
as for the shifting to the right problem experienced by the other poster. it is not actually shifting the original footage, it is shifting the effect.
if you watch your own tutorial you will see that when you get to the part of where the “smoke” is shown on the subjects hands, it is slightly to the left of the placement of the original footages hands.
i have been having the same trouble and wondering if it was the text i was using, but then i went back to watch the tute to see if i had done something wrong and noticed that your effect was doing the same thing as mine.
it is easy enough to move the effect over and match it, but then you end up pushing over the edge of the comp for the effect and this becomes a problem if you are creating fire right accross the screen. if you figure out a solution that doesnt involve moving the effect precomp over please post it somewhere, preferably on Creative Cow.
thanks for the amazing tutes, keep them coming. :)
Maltaannon
18. May, 2008
Hm…. I realy need to take another look, because I still don’t see the problem. Everything works as it should as far as I’m concerned.
TGD
26. May, 2008
[...] Particle Playground on Fire [...]
Bowie Presto
10. Jul, 2008
You’re the the one & only « REAL ULTIMATE AVATAR »
GOD BLESSED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JR
20. Jul, 2008
This is great, but is there a way to acheive a similar effect with trapcode and it’s built in fire presets? I’ve tried to use a layer as the emitter, both with it as a precomp and without, and I just can’t get it to produce anything. Any ideas?
josh
26. Jul, 2008
very great lesson, it has introduce me to the time difference effect, I think I will like to experiment with it now. :) One thing I like to suggest that may enhance the effect is maybe to use that comp of the hands as a luma matte for adjustment layer in the final scene, to add brightness or glow to the skin behind the flames.
Brandon
31. Jul, 2008
at the begining in step number 1 you overlap . im haing trouble figuring this out. is there a shortcut?
Maltaannon
31. Jul, 2008
I’m not sure what you mean. Can you give me a specyfic time in the tutorial that you have a question about? That would help. Thanks.
KID
01. Aug, 2008
Excellent ! thanks so much !
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[...] es solo un ejercicio en After Effects para aplicar un videotutorial de Maltaannon. Los efectos usados son Turbulance Displace (Desplazamiento Turbulento) y Roughen Edges (Bordes [...]
pmcb
08. Sep, 2008
Hi, Mr Maltaannon, congratulitions for your works and tutes. You became my fan nº1. I work in 3D and finally I have inspiration to have great ideias to interact 3D with movies. I tried once work with AE but it was very difficult for me, but now becames easy to work whith it and I already see some results. Thank you very much.
But I have 1 question. I can’t import files whith extension .mov, do you know what it can be?
thanks, and keep going
(from Portugal)
Maltaannon
08. Sep, 2008
Thank you very much for kind words. Try reinstalling QuickTime.
pmcb
08. Sep, 2008
Hummm. Ok, I don’t have QuickTime. I usually read this files with “VLC media player”
thank you
wob
30. Sep, 2008
What a tutorial! So many possibilites! Now I can light anything on fire. I look forward to more of your great tutorials.
A.Jendrysik
21. Oct, 2008
Fine tut,
greetings from de
Artue
22. Oct, 2008
Hello! Nice guide.
I was trying to do exactly the same, messed it up :/
I’m kinda new with the program.
Is it possible for you to add me on MSN, so i can seend you my movie, and you make it look like fire on my hands? :)
My MSN is Jesperwinbladh@hotmail.com
Kinda regards: Artue
infared
24. Oct, 2008
Thanks and Big up Your Self!! This Tutorial is Very Cool!!!
Bryant
06. Nov, 2008
Wow…this was phenomenal. Loved working it, Great job!
Tinashe
12. Nov, 2008
i cant get it to work i dont know what im doing wrong, been at it for like 5 hours now .
Im using a MAC , i so need to know what im doing wrong ,
Maltaannon
12. Nov, 2008
Need more detail.
nate
19. Nov, 2008
cant remember how i found your site, but i am glad i did. Your tutorials are great. Heres a snowboarder i put some flames on: http://vimeo.com/2279296
Boldbulkhead
12. Dec, 2008
awsome, i hav’ent tryed it jet, but i have all the effects i need, ill try it today, maybe ill record it ‘n put it on y tube, whil mentoning your name, or this website, thnx 4 the lesson!
ya mum
13. Jan, 2009
fuk u
tiw
05. Feb, 2009
This is a really good tutorial.
Thanks for making it clear and step by step.
I burned my cat with a laser pointer using this tutorial :)
And linked back to you for the tutorial of course!
http://tiw.blogginggeek.com/2009/01/how-to-make-your-cat-dance-on-fire-using-a-laser-pointer-and-adobe-after-effects/
Kai
05. Mar, 2009
Genius, Maltaannon, genius.
I’m looking forward to using this in a lot of videos.
ali
06. Jul, 2009
thank
chrispinoy
16. Jul, 2009
hi men maltaannon ive watch yur tut about a6-8 months now and the first tut ive download is that yur watermark and it helps me a lot you have inserted yur site because really i dont find such website like yurs has a very nice teacher and explains well that i can easily follow…thanks and hopefully i can join yur site as one of yur member..how?to join…thanks
chrispinoy
Ashik
14. Sep, 2009
You’re the man !!
MAXKOOL
12. Dec, 2009
thank a lot of time!
Maxim
05. Jan, 2010
How to do with Cs4?
Nothing happens!
Cordialement
Maxim T. Potvin
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Arma
22. Mar, 2010
Really useful!
I put in my own little adjustments and it looks nice.
Thanks a lot!
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