Use this effect to create animations in which a large number of similar objects must be animated indepen- dently, such as a swarm of bees. Particle effects simulate the physical interactions between objects in the real world. For example, if you want to create a snowfall effect, you normally have to animate many individual snowflake layers manually, hoping that you animated each layer’s motion path realistically. | 1 Adobe After Effects Effects part 5 This PDF file contains documentation for the Particle Playground effect which is in the Simulation effect category. Particle Playground PB only Use this effect to create animations in which a large number of similar objects must be animated independently such as a swarm of bees. Particle effects simulate the physical interactions between objects in the real world. For example if you want to create a snowfall effect you normally have to animate many individual snowflake layers manually hoping that you animated each layer s motion path realistically. By changing Particle Playground options you can control whether a single snowflake you create results in a gentle dusting of snow or a driving blizzard. The built-in physics including gravity ensure realistic movement. Using Particle Playground s detailed level of control over particles you can even make the snowflakes stick to a surface. Note Because of the complexity of Particle Playground you may experience long computation preview and render times. Snowflakes created using Particle Playground Overview of Particle Playground workflow Start by creating a stream or plane of particles or by exploding an existing layer into particles. Once you have a layer of particles you can control their properties such as speed size and color. However the effects available in Particle Playground go beyond the obvious. For example you can replace the default dot particles with the footage from an existing layer which is how you create an entire snowstorm from a single snowflake layer. You can also use text characters as particles. For example you can shoot words across the screen or you can create a sea of text in which a few letters change color revealing a message. General workflow for creating particle effects 1 Select the layer on which you want particles to exist or create a new solid layer. 2 Choose Effect Simulation Particle Playground. The layer becomes an invisible layer in which only .
