AFX CS6 Particular – Grid Emitter

[Tudor “ted” jelescu]

As Google translate is not able to give the correct meaning to all your words, it’s a bit hard to understand, especially since most of us may not speak German. Could you please post the question in English.

Google translation (for those who might figure out what the issue is):

Hi!

I have the following problem.
I have about 100 white Kasterln which are arranged in a rectangular grid clean side by side with each other.

Now to each Kasterl randomly get a cross (“checked”)

So now I have reproduced this with Particular Grid as an emitter and the crosses are also super properly positioned (Sprite / Layer Paticles), each Kastel has a cross, great.

Unfortunately, the crosses always appear at the top left and go in sequence through to the bottom right.
So first top row from left to right, then the second row, third row … etc

Now I want to specify that these crosses appear randomly until all Kasterln have a cross.

I’m (almost) sure that this is just a small adjustment in Particular probably, BUT I can not find them.

Anyone have any ideas?

lg

Tudor “Ted” Jelescu
Senior VFX Artist

[Baba Luba]

Okay, I try in english!

I made a grid with small white boxes (= kasteln :P). 12×17 boxes

Every box should get a checked-symbol.

So I made a grid emitter with particular matching a particle for every box. This Particle is set to use a layer, which is the check-sign (a cross), witch fits very well

but with the grid emitter the signs apear row by row from left to right
now i want, that every box get his check-sign randomly, not one after another, and I can’t find a way to make the Particles apear randomly.

is this possible, or do I have to make this by hand…

or has anyone an idea of getting this effect I need.

cheers, and sory for my bad english

[Matthew Keane]

Hi,

I’m pretty sure this is a limitation of the Grid Emitter – you can either use the ‘Traverse’ setting which works across the rows and columns as you saw, or the ‘Periodic Burst’ which updates all of the grid at the same time.

I’m not sure Particular is the best tool for what you want to do. Unless you need some of the other particle functions, like direction, velocity, etc, you might be better off using something like Card Dance, which can work on a grid of images and flip them (from an empty box to a ticked box). If you use a black-and-white precomp as a gradient layer, you can flip the images at random until the whole grid is full of ticked boxes.

The gradient layer drives the animation of Card Dance, but if your gradient doesn’t use greyscale values, but just pops from black to white, you shouldn’t see the transition. If you use Fractal Noise to generate some random noise, the Mosaic effect to force it into a grid to match your boxes, and then animate the levels from black to white, you should get a random grid effect that does what you want.

Matthew Keane

Freelancer based in Paris, France
– Motion Graphics, Video Editing & Effects, Watchout Programming & Live Operation.