• Adobe After Effects

  Swarming around a shape using particles

  Posted by Kerovisuals on August 16, 2005 at 10:02 am

  Hi
  First post on Creative Cow so I hope this question isnt too dumb.
  Im trying to achieve the effect of various swarms or flocks of flying animals forming the shape of a number “7” briefly before flying off again. I have played a lot with Particular and hoped this would be the solution (by using a flying bird as a custom particle and then using a “7” shaped layer as an emitter and animating the spread from the emitter) – but from what I can see the emitter cannot be set to a layer “shape” as such, just a layer position.
  Does anyone have a suggestion on how to go about achieving this effect or know of a tutorial that could point me in the right direction? I really dont have enough knowledge of bespoke 3D packages to go about it another way.

  Peder Norrby replied 20 years, 9 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Steve Roberts

  August 16, 2005 at 2:11 pm

  You set the emitter type to “layer” and choose the layer. If you’ve done something to the emitter layer (masked it?), you need to precompose it so Particular can see what you’ve done to it.

  Steve
• 

  Peder Norrby

  August 16, 2005 at 3:24 pm

  steve’s remark on pre-comp is probably what you need right now.

  some other quick tips:
  set emiiiter>velocity to 0 (so particles stay still)
  then use Physics>Air>Turbulence>Position – keyframe from high value at time 0 and then down to 0 (now they form the 7) and then high up again (they spread apart again).

  then add velocity or wind to taste.

  Peder Norrby / Trapcode

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