Smoke / steam from coffee cup

[Joseph W. bourke]

Why don’t you just shoot it and create a Dissolve Loop? Just cut your steam clip in the middle, then place the two pieces at opposite ends with a dissolve (as long as looks good – at least a half second) in the middle, or use this script:

https://aescripts.com/the-loopmaker/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aescripts+%28After+Effects+Scripts%29

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[John Cuevas]

Here’s a pretty decent tutorial, if you want to loop particles yourself rather than use the script. In the tutorial, he does a dissolve to make the outgoing particles disappear. I prefer(if I have enough time in my comp),is to just turn off the particle emitter of the first layer while the emitter of the second layer is turning on. So if my particles have a life span of 5 seconds, I turn off the first emitter over 5 seconds, while the 2nd one is starting up, IMO, it looks more natural.

Johnny Cuevas, Editor
Thinkck.com

“I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
—THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb.

[Darby Edelen]

If you decide to use cross dissolving I highly recommend pre-composing the layers to be dissolved and using the Alpha Add blend mode. This avoids unintentional dimming in the middle of the dissolve, much like the Blend effect but easier in my opinion 🙂

Darby Edelen

[Stig Olsen]

Thank you guys!!

[Jeff Cummings]

Hi John,

I’m not seeing a link to the tutorial you’re referring to? I would love to get that as I’m currently struggling to create some steam on a coffee cup.

Thanks!