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As a senior artisan for a vfx particle team, I am usually nonplussed by emitters, but when Aharon Rabinowitz introduced me to wondertouch particleIllusion, I was impressed. I really enjoyed the ease of use and endless creative freedom the application allowed. Naturally, the ability to manipulate and control small details of the particle system is important. Sometimes, however, graphic designers need a great looking particle system immediately, faster than anything they can produce from scratch. wondertouch's new Pro Emitters volumes 7-9 are the perfect solution. They're gorgeous. Previously, the Professional Emitter collection was comprised of six libraries, each with separate emitters. No doubt they were beautiful. CreativeMac's Dave Nagel gave them a "Buy" recommendation at the top of his article here: Wondertouch Professional Emitter Libraries. Creative Cow's Aharon Rabinowitz also gave the emitters high marks. A quick review of the new libraries confirms that new emitters are also worthy of praises.
My recommendation for the current library is "Buy"
Note: It does require that you have particleIllusion 3 (which runs on PPC, Intel & Windows).
If you're currently designing with particleIllusion 3, the new library is a "Must Buy".
Priced at $249 for the entire set (library 1-9), $39 for each set, or only $90 for just versions 7-9, you'll find value in each of these new presets.
The new libraries are specifically GRAPHIC ELEMENTS, with sets broken into subsections including:
Extreme
The group starts out with Horror splatters. I love these - they may look bloody now, but remember the variables for each particle can be modified. Think cool drippy backgrounds!
XRay and Scans
Ack! Where were these two months ago when the client asked for those "doctor-y / medical" animations? click - keyframe - keyframe. done.
Letters and Text
These are great. I think that not only are these usable as is, but as a learning tool - these library sections are a great resource.
Another interesting folder of number experiments. Not just for numbers. ;-)
Data Gizmos
These are great little pieces of iconography which.... guh... There are so (too) many places you can use these for your "tech" style animations.
Super twin powers activate 2007.
Readouts and Displays
"Paging Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
Textures and Backgrounds
These are really the best part of Elements 3 for me. If you need some texture to your animation.
These new libraries are filled with real images, and definable purpose. Unlike the previous libraries whose setups were filled with interesting experimental animations, the new Pro Emitters are ready for action out of the box.
This time the entire library was created by Tom Granberg (author of the Eclectic 2 library). Although Alan and worldwide users have created thousands of emitters which ship with the application and are available monthly, Tom's new collection is mesmerizing. No, really. You might wind up sitting and watching these particles play out for several minutes before being coerced back to working on the project at hand.
Some of the images that the presets produce could be used for print as well! Several of the emitters create excellent background textures, including splats, unique, shifting textures and painterly effects.These libraries are just the tip of the iceberg. The presets allow you to modify and customize several parameters connected to each of the particle systems. Not just the animation speed, and general elements that you would expect the simulation to require, but the individual facets of the custom particle itself. So while many might want to purchase these libraries just to have them as plug-and-play effects, the libraries can be used as a learning tool, or a starting point from which to develop your own particle systems.
While I suggest that you take a look at the wondertouch website to see a preview of the particles, that may just delay the inevitable: your purchase of the library set. I think that every particleIllusion user will be impressed by the great work featured in these presets.
If you're an animator, you should check out particleIllusion 3, and the Pro Emitter libraries offered by wondertouch.
If you're a pro particleIllusion 3 user already, these new Pro Emitters are a MUST BUY. Don't be the last on your block to have these, because even the default settings be showing up everywhere. You can find movies and order information at http://www.wondertouch.com. You'll also find several of the emitters that Alan has provided on the website, information about particleIllusion SE, particles for Motion and even several tutorials about how you might use the software in your graphics pipeline.
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Ko Maruyama is a freelance animator in Los Angeles. In addition to working on film and broadcast animations, Ko teaches at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design - focusing on motion design. When working, writing or testing software allows, you can find him lending a hand in the After Effects board and lurking among the Cinema4D, Visual Effects and Photoshop posts within the DMNForums.Related Sites: Creative Mac , Digital Producer , Digital Animators , Animation Artist , Siggraph News , Digital Post Production , Oceania , MacAnimationPro , MacDesignPro
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Source:Ko Maruyama.
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