STEP 1: Start with a spline in Cinema 4D
Use one of the spline tools in Cinema 4D to create a spline.
STEP 2: Add a camera
Imagine your spline to be an animation path for your particles. Next, create a camera and place it where your spline/animation path has some interaction with it. You might try starting it off in the distance so that it curves its way toward your camera and eventually passes by it.
STEP 3: Add motion
You can now begin to adjust your spline to add some dimension and varied motion. If you choose to draw a flat spline from a Top perspective, pull some of the points up and down so your spline no longer lies flat.
STEP 4: Drop in a light
Add a light, which can be a basic omni light, to your layout. You don’t have to adjust any of your settings.
STEP 5: Align your light
Right click on your light in the objects browser and, from the submenu, choose Cinema 4D Tags > Align to Spline. Click on the Align to Spline tag that now resides next to your light object, and under the Attributes tab look for the blank that says Spline Path. Take your spline and drag it to this blank, which will align the light to it. If you change the Position settings under that same attributes tab, you should see the light move up and down the spline.
STEP 6: Finish you animation path
Make sure your Position parameter is set to zero and control-click on the little dot next to it until it turns red. Move your time marker down the timeline however far you want. Now change the Position parameter to 100 percent and once again control-click on the little dot until it’s solid red again. You now have your animation path for your particles.
STEP 7: Set up parameters for your comp
Open up your render settings dialog and choose the Output submenu. Set your parameters for your comp size in AE. I’ve set 720 x 486 D1. Set frames to All Frames or Manual if you have a certain number of frames you want to output. Now, under your Save submenu, you can select your path and choose anywhere (this is not super important because you will not actually be rendering a file, but Cinema 4D requires it for saving your AE file). Same with format: choose one, but it won’t really affect your comp. Now click on the Save button next to the After Effects pull-down menu. A dialog pops up, showing your After Effects comp file. Choose it, find a place to save it, and hit Okay. You’re now done working with Cinema 4D.
STEP 8: Import your comp into After Effects
Make sure you’ve installed the Exchange Plug-in that resides in your Cinema 4D folder for After Effects, otherwise you won’t be able to select your saved.aec file from Cinema 4D. Open up After Effects and import your.aec comp. It should show up as Cinema 4D Composition. Double-click on the comp to open it. You should now be able to see your animation path for your light, as well as some missing footage. Go to your timeline and either delete or hide your missing footage; you won’t need it. In order for Trapcode’s Particular to see your light as an emitter, you need to rename it Emitter. Double-click on your light and change its name.
STEP 9: Create a solid and add the particualr effect
It doesn’t matter what color your solid is, but you should make it the size of your comp. Add the Particular effect to it. Under your effects settings, you can start off in a couple of different ways: You can either select a pre-made Animation Preset or you can just build an animation preset yourself by adjusting the different settings in the effect. When you have your initial settings set up, choose the Emitter Type drop-down menu under the Emitter category and choose Light. You can either use one of the particles that comes standard with Particular, or you can use your own. (I like to create a really simple particles movie file that I can place in the timeline so Particular can access it, but I will hide it first.) Then in the Particle submenu of the effect, choose Custom next to Particle Type. In my case, I’ll choose my particle.mov from the Layer selection under the Custom submenu. You’ll now be able to see the particle being emitted by your light source and following your path. You may need to go through and adjust some of the other settings to get the particle size, speed or behavior to where you want it. As the light gets closer to your camera, you’ll notice that the particles will grow in size, giving the appearance that they’re moving in 3D space (below).
FINISHED EFFECT
Your Guide
Aaron Schurman
Senior Designer/Mographer
Splice Here
Aaron Schurman started his career building the company BOY:1:DERDESIGN. He passionately studied the world of print and Web design for five years focusing all his attention on learning composition, typography and color. In 2004 he decided to jump into the world of motion graphics full time where he worked a stint at ShopNBC sharpening his broadcast skills, then ended up at Splice Here in Minneapolis as a Senior Motion Graphics Designer.
Aaron says Keep in Mind…
Splines in MAXON’s Cinema 4D are great to use as paths for Particular particles in After Effects to follow. The Cinema 4D bezier tools and multiple views allow a much easier approach to motion path creation than trying to move a particle emitter around in After Effects. Your particles will also give the appearance of moving through 3D space because of the way Particular interprets the z-space movement of your emitter and translates it into particle size.
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