VFX Techniques: Creating Particle Effects

Course details

VFX Techniques is back with a new course on particle effects—everyone's favorite feature for creating realistic smoke, fire, explosions, and other phenomena. Author Lee Lanier tackles a wizard battle, producing Harry Potter–style effects as the two wizards fight with their magic wands. Using this sample footage, he shows how to generate particles with After Effect's built-in plugins, dives into the settings to adjust their appearance, and retimes and color grades the scene to create a particular magical mood. Plus, learn about green-screen removal techniques, background plate repair, CG particles, and rotoscoping techniques. This course covers puffs, sparkles, blobs, flares, smoke, sparks, and blasts, so you'll be prepared to create particles for almost any scenario.

Learning objectives
Setting up the project in After Effects
Generating a particle blob
Hand tracking particles into the plate
Patching the background
Creating particle puffs, sparkles, and explosions
Motion tracking elements
Color grading shots
Keying green screen
Layering particles

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - Using the exercise files

1. Getting Started

03 - Breakdown of final comps
04 - Setting up the project in After Effects

2. Prepping and Repairing the Plate

05 - Working with Cineon files
06 - Color grading for night
07 - Generating a particle blob
08 - Hand tracking particles into the plate
09 - Patching the background

3. Working with Particles

10 - Creating a particle puff
11 - Creating a trailing particle sparkle
12 - Creating a streaked particle blast

4. Relighting the Scene

13 - Creating light spill
14 - Adding a fake shadow and flare

5. Motion Tracking Damage

15 - Copying footage and effects
16 - Motion tracking elements
17 - Continuing with motion tracking

6. Creating Smoke, Sparks, and Blasts

18 - Creating smoke with simple particles
19 - Creating sparks with particles
20 - Reusing particles
21 - Adding the blast as a 3D layer
22 - Integrating a CG explosion
23 - Creating glowing embers
24 - Rotoscoping the foreground
25 - Color grading the shot

7. Working with Green Screen and Clean Plates

26 - Preparing the green screen
27 - Keying green screen
28 - Time remapping and split screening
29 - Reusing particles

8. Utilizing CG Particle Simulations

30 - Preparing CG particles
31 - Using the Liquify effect
32 - Layering the particles
33 - Final relighting

Conclusion

34 - Looking at the final project
35 - Next steps