ParticleIllusion 3

Particle Illusion 3.0 has changed all that for me. I recently viewed some sample videos at the Wondertouch website and was amazed at what this package has to offer, so I downloaded the fully-functioning trial and was immediately blown away. It’s been quite a while since I got this excited trying new software – I felt like a kid in candy store while playing with the available presets!

This software does one thing, and does it well – particle effects. So just what are particle effects, and why would you need them? Particle effects simulate things like smoke, water, fire, sparks, plasma, explosions, creatures and all kinds of other neat stuff. The applications are virtually endless once you realize how many ways particle effects can be used, from mild to wild.

Particles are produced by an emitter, and there are over 1500 different emitters included. Every month, Wondertouch makes more available for download to increase your collection at no charge. The emitters provide realtime feedback in the preview window – click on an emitter icon to select it, then drag your mouse around in the preview window to make fiery meteor trails, smoke, water jets, sparkles or whatever! I was mesmerized playing with every preset and lost all track of time.

Interface

I’d normally expect an effect preview to be of a reduced quality and frame rate, but playing with the emitters provides super detailed, realistic and realtime feedback. I could imagine the possibilities of using these in my own productions, even weddings – use particles to enhance title write-ons, or add fireworks above the couple for the big kiss (observe local fire codes, for outdoor use only).

This is THE must-have tool for sci-fi and action videos to create amazing effects like explosions, smoke, flames, rocket exhaust, transporter effects, you name it! Even if you already use a 3D program to create animated scenes, use Particle Illusion for the visual effects and they’ll render in minutes instead of hours!

You can import stills or video clips and add particle effects directly, using keyframes to follow the action, or create your effects with transparent alpha channel backgrounds and composite the results over video in your favorite editing application.

By going through the included tutorials, I was up and running quickly and creating amazing videos. Hey, this is fun stuff! I could go on and on, but just go to the Wondertouch site and check out the sample emitters and video reels, or better yet – try out Particle Illusion 3.0, and you’ll be hooked!

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