Product Review: Page (1) of 2 - 10/05/09

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As editors and motion graphic designers know, there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of plug-ins out there, and you often find the same type of plug-in across many different plug-in packages, and a very, very popular plug-in is the Particle Generator. Just about every plug-in package has one, and even After Effects itself ships with a few. The problem with them is that, well, how do I put this gently? They generally stink, and in most cases you will find yourself purchasing an entire plug-in package just to get a great particle generator. Well, not anymore! Trapcode's Particular is, in my opinion, the best particle generation plug-in on the market, and it's back with version two. Let's see if it's worth an upgrade.

Installation
Trapcode's Particular 2 (TP2) installs quick and easy, and you will be up and running in less than five minutes.  Trapcode also offers a free trial of the software that you can download by heading over to www.redgiantsoftware.com/downloads/trial-versions.

New for version 2.0
With a long awaited upgrade like this, you expect some pretty big new features, and Trapcode doesn't disappoint. Here are just a few new features:

Streaklet particles
Probably the main, and most talked about new feature of TP2 is the "Streaklet" particle, which will let you quickly and easily re-create the "iPod Nano" look. It's very cool, and very easy to create. I made this one is about 45 seconds.

Double Click to play

Shaded Particles
Have multiple lights affect the particles in your scenes, and have the spot and point lights create a natural looking light falloff.

Double Click to play

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