HOW TO CREATE A 3D PARTICLE ENVIRONMENT USING PLEXUS

Here’s a couple of VFX tutorial videos, to help you create your own particle environment complete with particle trails, 3D landscapes and a motion captured actor, using aescripts plugin Plexus 2 in Cinema 4D and Adobe After Effects.

Plexus 2 ($199) is a plugin for After Effects, that works in a similar manner to Red Giant’s Trapcode Particular ($399), but for half the price. It allows users to create organic structures with physical simulation effects, depth of field, 32-bit rendering, native camera and light awareness all within AE.

Sean Kothe, from aescripts walks us through using the program and has provided the project files (as a zip file download) HERE. So you can easily follow along.

First, check out the final result:

Now, grab a coffee, unzip that download file, boot up AE and get creating your own 3D environment!

Part One: Creating a 3D Particle with Plexus in Cinema 4D.


Chapters

  1. 00:27 Motion Capture and BVH files
  2. 01:39 BVH Import to C4D
  3. 02:07 Creating Geometry for your joints
  4. 03:54 Binding the geometry to your joints
  5. 4:36 Export OBJ sequence and Compositing File for After Effects
  6. 5:08 Building the “Streak”
  7. 06:04 Thinking Particles Setup
  8. 11:43 Adding Geometry to the Thinking Particles
  9. 12:35 Export OBJ sequence and Compositing File for After Effects
  10. 13:07 Floor Geometry
  11. 13:26 Outro

Part Two: Creating a 3D Particle with Plexus in After Effects.

Chapters

  1. 00:14 Getting Started in After Effects
  2. 00:25 Getting Started with Plexus
  3. 00:38 Linking OBJ Sequence
  4. 01:13 Importing Compositing Data
  5. 02:07 Adding Plexus Triangulation
  6. 03:13 Plexus Color Map
  7. 07:49 The Floor
  8. 11:14 The “Streak”
  9. 12:30 Linking OBJ Sequence
  10. 14:54 Creating the Reflection
  11. 16:22 Outro

For Inspiration:

Check out how artists have incorporated Plexus into their filmmaking.

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