-
particleIllusion 3 or Particular?
Does anyone have a preference of Wondertouch’s particleIllusion 3 or Trapcode’s Particular?
david
-
8 Replies
-
depends what ya need to do.
particular is much more basic plugin (that can produce some very nice results) while particle illusion is a full blown particle app that will allow for more flexibility
-
If you don’t want to move outside AE for your particles, and you want 3D particles, then go with Particular. There are definately advantages with staying in AE.
However, If you want an extremely fast, flexible and easy to use 2D-only particle system that comes with over 1300 FX out of the box, then go with particleIllusion. pIllusion can exchange position data with AE, by the way, so you can easily match things up.
Both have their strengths and weaknesses.
—————————————-
Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
[rendernyc] “depends what ya need to do.
particular is much more basic plugin (that can produce some very nice results) while particle illusion is a full blown particle app that will allow for more flexibility”
That’s a completely wrong statement. Neither is Particular “basic” nor is PI “fullblown”. Obviously you have never used particle systems in 3D programs to understand that. 😐 Particular does all its calculations in 3D, meaning it can never be as fast and interactive viewpoint (x^2 is mathematically different from x^3). Yes, it’s also limited in terms of collisions and a few other things, but don’t let that stop you.
PI certainly is nice, but since it’s an external app, you will always have to set aside time for the various import and export procedures. As it is restricted to 2D it’s probably more intuitive, but actually requires more manual work to integrate it with 3D elements if they are meant to overlap with the particles or if you need DOF etc.. Also do not forget that PI does all its magic using your graphics card – if you don’t have a halfway decent one it’s nearly useless. This also affects the resolution: If you have a small screen res thus resulting in a small render buffer for PI you will never be able to break out of this limit and e.g. render HD stuff if your monitor is set to 800 by 600 pixels.
As for the presets – well, I would argue that. You can find enough presets (including mine) for Particular to get going without digging into the depths of the plugin first. I also feel that many of those “thousands of presets” for PI are more or less the same, reducing the effective end number of distinctive setups drastically.
So in the end nobody really wins. If you can afford both, then get both. If you have an immediate requirement and need the intuitiveness along with a prefab preset, then go for PI.
Mylenium
[Pour Myl
-
actually i started using 3d particle systems about 10 years ago and almost all of work with particles has been in 3d apps. I have used particular on jobs where we needed some quick easy particles and Its great for a plugin that integrates so well
however,
it is basic as far as particle systems go, for instance, particulars ramp system to change values over time is very limited at best when you really need to finetune things.
who is that masked man…
-
[rendernyc] “actually i started using 3d particle systems about 10 years ago and almost all of work with particles has been in 3d apps. I have used particular on jobs where we needed some quick easy particles and Its great for a plugin that integrates so well
however,
it is basic as far as particle systems go, for instance, particulars ramp system to change values over time is very limited at best when you really need to finetune things.”
Ah, I see. Still, your assesment of Particular being “basic” and PI being “fullblown” strikes me as way off. A lot of what you would probably consider a weakness in Particular can’t really be blamed on the plugin itself but is more because of the limitations of AE’s 3D implementation. If ever, I would attribute “basic” to plugins such as CC Particle Systems, FE Pixel Polly or other such oversimplified tools (though that shouldn’t imply that this simplicity in some situations isn’t wanted).
Mylenium
[Pour Myl
-
yes i meant basic as far as a comparison to the systems in a 3d app and the ability to finetune parameters etc.
i still think its a great plugin when used in the right situation.
PI is an app not a plugin and as you mentioned isnt resticted to the limitations of AE. that is what i meant by full blown
(after i hit the post button i knew my thought didnt come out right when rereading)
who is that masked man…
-
One thing about particleIllusion is that the tools in there are exteremely visual – not very technical-seeming at all. But it’s pretty powerful. It was one of the first 2 programs i learned to use as an animator (before it was even called particleIllusion) and I still use it in my high-profile work today.
ANd you can fake 3D in many situations.
But again, if you must have everything inside AE, then Particular is the way to go.
—————————————-
Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
[Mylenium] “A lot of what you would probably consider a weakness in Particular can’t really be blamed on the plugin itself but is more because of the limitations of AE’s 3D implementation.”
Which is why I suspect the pIllusion AE plugin is taking so long. AE imposes many limitations on any plugin – there are only so many parameters that can be included in AE, and particle systems have MANY. As a result, anything that runs directly within AE, has to be dumbed down a bit. I’ve heard this from many plug-in designers – especially those porting stuff from stand-alone or from another program.
—————————————-
Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up