Affiliate Link Generator Copied!

|
1.415.462.1982

In Depth: Particle Plugins for After Effects within your Budget

In Depth: Particle Plugins for After Effects within your Budget

Particles can be used in so many ways in motion design and visual effects – fire, smoke, cells, swarms, and more. Learn about the options for generating gorgeous particles in After Effects, including a great free option. We’re breaking this article down by features, host support, presets, and price. We’ll also show you lots of examples.

This is actually a two-part article. In the first article, we’re focusing specifically on After Effects. In the second article, we’ll focus on particle software that works with 3D hosts, such as Cinema 4D and 3ds Max.


What is a Particle Generator?

A particle generator, or particle system, is a method of producing replicated elements using sprites, 3D models, or other elements. Common uses include weather and natural elements, including rain, snow, clouds, fire, sparks, and water. In VFX, particle generators are used to create energy fields, magic effects, space elements, swarms of creatures or aircraft, and much more. I like to use particles to create swimming background elements.

Most particle emitters start from a point, a box, a line, a plane, or even an object.



Particle Plugins for After Effects Comparison Chart

Below is a breakdown of some particle engines, their hosts, features, and pricing. Note: Pricing is subject to change so please check the product page for current pricing.

Particle EngineSupported HostsMain FeaturesLicense typePrice
Boris Particle IllusionStandalone
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere Pro
Avid Media Composer
DaVinci Resolve
The Foundry Nuke
Magix Vegas Pro
3D Particles
Integrated 3D Render Camera
Unlimited Hardware-accelerated particles
Unlimited Emitters
2500+ Presets
Supports up to 8K
Subscription & PerpetualStandalone: Free

Plugin: $295

Also included in the Boris Continuum suite of plugins
Trapcode ParticularAfter Effects
Nuke
3D Particles
Volume rendering
GPU Acceleration
Unlimited Emitters
The Designer: An intuitive UI for particle design
Integration with After Effects 3D Camera and Lights
Sophisticated Physics Simulations
Hundreds of presets
.c4d file import
Perpetual, Subscription in larger bundlesNo longer available on its own, but it's included in:

Trapcode Suite: $999

Also available in Maxon One and Red Giant Complete.
Rowbyte PlexusAfter Effects2D/3D particle engine
Depth of Field
Motion Blur
Sound Effector
OBJ import
Depth Map culling
Perpetual$249
Superluminal StardustAfter Effects3D Particle system
VDB file import from 3D applications
3D physics
Replica animation engine
3D Model Library
Perpetual$249
Video Copilot Element 3DAfter Effects3D Objects as Particles
3D Model & Texture import
3D Shadows
Subsurface Scattering
Open GL rendering
Perpetual$189


Boris Continuum Particle Illusion

Boris Particle Illusion

Particle Illusion is now part of the Boris Continuum family of products, and there’s a free standalone version, too. Particle Illusion is fun to use. It’s fast and really easy to jump right into. There is a very small learning curve to get the basics, but if you want to create something complex and tweak every single parameter available, that is also available.

First, a bit of history. Particle Illusion started at a company called Wondertouch and people loved the gorgeous, photo-realistic particles that could be generated from it. Wondertouch was acquired by GenArts in 2009, and particleIllusion AE for Adobe After Effects shipped not long after that. In 2016, Boris acquired GenArts and its technology, including Particle Illusion.

Particle Illusion Interface & Effect Controls

The interface can be rearranged depending on your preferences, but the interface includes a preview window for the presets, the presets, an area to adjust the parameters, the main preview window with a few on-screen controls, and a timeline. The image below is the same on the free version and the plug-in version.

It’s incredibly easy to choose some presets and layer them in the Particle Illusion interface. That said, the options do run incredibly deep. There are A LOT of settings that allow users to customize the smallest details. Of course, users can build elaborate particle animations from scratch.

Below, hover over the images to magnify them.

Particle Illusion DesignerEffect Controls
Particle Illusion Effect Controls

Particle Illusion Free Standalone vs. Premium Filter

In After Effects, BCC Particle Illusion includes more controls such as Use Comp Camera, Glow, PixelChooser/Mocha, and Enable Beat Reactor.
FeatureStandalonePremium Filter
PriceFree$295
3D Particles
Integrated 3D Render Camera
Integrated 3D View Cameras
AE 3D Host Camera Support
Lines
Turbulence
Requires Host Application
(AE, Premiere, Vegas, Media Composer, etc.)
Unlimited Hardware-Accelerated Particles
Unlimited Number of Emitters
Forces and Deflectors
Supports Projects up to 8K
2500+ Presets Included
ProRes Rendering with Alpha
Integrated Motion Blur
Direct Compositing on Source
Mocha Planar Tracking for “World” (Camera)
Mocha Planar Tracking for Emitters
PixelChooser/Mocha Masking
Particle Color/Alpha from Source
Continuum Beat Reactor Audio Driven Particles
Integrated Particle Glow
Email & Phone Technical Support
Forum Technical Support

Get Particle Illusion

If you’d like to use Particle Illusion, you have a few options.

Particle Illusion Free Standalone

Today, users can download and use the free standalone Particle Illusion, which includes 2500+ professionally-designed, drag & drop presets. It’s fun to use and allows users to export up to 8K.

Particle Illusion Standalone

Particle Illusion Plugin

In addition to the free version, Particle Illusion also comes as a premium filter.

 

Particle Illusion also comes with the Boris Continuum suite of plugins.

Boris FX Continuum Annual Subscription

Boris FX Continuum Annual Subscription

The Swiss Army Knife of Plugins

Meeting tight turnarounds just got easier. The post-production industry’s most complete plugin collection delivers nearly 350 creative effects in 20 categories, 4000+ presets, built-in Academy Award-winning Mocha planar tracking, and masking, a Beat Reactor that drives VFX to music, and the FX Browser. Busy editors and artists rely on Continuum to get the job done.

Learn MoreTry Boris FX Continuum Annual Subscription for free!

 

Download Free Emitters

Whether you purchase the plugin version or you use the free version, don’t miss the free emitter libraries.

Learn more

What’s new in Particle Illusion Standalone 2021

Particle Illusion 2021 adds some great new features.  Recorded February 3, 2021, John Dickinson, Director of Motion Graphics for Boris FX, goes over the new features.

 


Maxon Trapcode Particular

Trapcode Particular is an advanced and robust particle generator for After Effects and Nuke and continues to be a popular choice for motion designers and VFX artists. It won the category of Favorite Particle or Fluid Generating VFX Tool in the Toolfarm 2020 Plugin Awards. Not only that, Particular is number one on Premium Beat’s 10 After Effects Plugins Every Motion Designer Should Have.

 

Some Particular History

Originally developed by Peder Norrby, Particular has been considered a “must-have” and “an indispensable plugin” for After Effects since it was released in the early 2000s. Red Giant and Trapcode is now under the Maxon umbrella of products and is available in the Trapcode Suite, Red Giant Complete, or Maxon one.

It’s worth mentioning Form, another Particle generating plugin that is included in Trapcode Suite. It was originally called Flux, but that sounded too much like Lux, another Trapcode product, so the name was changed to Form. Peder explained, “I choose the name ‘Form’ because I think it described the functionality and I’ve always liked the Form/Emptiness duality that creates everything in this world. During development, Form evolved so it can do much more than these types of effects.”

 

The latest version of Particular includes new flocking/swarming and predator/prey behaviors. Particular also includes improved realism in its physics. It also includes parent/child emitters, so users can create really complex effects. For example, think of a firework that explodes into a rain of light, then the sparks explode once again.

Like Particle Illusion, Particular includes an interface called The Designer, that lets users manipulate presets and create their own particle systems from scratch. Users can get started quickly by layering and modifying the presets but can dive deep and modify complex settings for physics and flocking. In other words, the learning curve can be steep with more elaborate setups, but it’s easy for the beginner to jump right in.

The Particular Interface

In After Effects, there is also an effect controls panel, which harkens back to the days before The Designer. It’s useful for quick adjustments, especially as you composite your particles with other elements in your shot.

Hover over the image to magnify.

 

The DesignerEffect Controls
Particular Designer
Particular Effect Controls

 

 

Red Giant - Annual Subscription

Red Giant - Annual Subscription

Get all the tools from Red Giant at one low price with Red Giant Complete.

Trapcode Suite, Magic Bullet Suite, VFX Suite, and Universe now available together as an inexpensive annual subscription from Red Giant.

Learn More

Maxon One

Maxon One

Cinema 4D, Red Giant Complete and Redshift for C4D, all for one low price.

Maxon One is a new annual subscription for all products in one all-encompassing package. In summary, the subscription bundles Cinema 4D’s award-winning 3D animation tool. Furthermore, get Red Giant Complete’s full collection of powerful tools for editing, VFX, and motion design. Finally, receive the ultra-fast, production-quality GPU renderer Redshift for Cinema 4D.

Toolfarm sales of Maxon products are excluded in the following countries: China, India, Russia, and Japan.

Maxon One includes Cinema 4D, Red Giant Complete, Redshift for C4D, and 5 Team Render Clients

Learn More


Rowbyte Plexus

Plexus uses a different approach to creating particle animations in After Effects. So, do you know the ubiquitous design with dots connected by lines? That’s Plexus. Create and render the particles, and develop unique relationships among the particles by adjusting the parameters. Plexus is a fairly complex tool but, with it, users can create dynamic animations that would be impossible to create in After Effects without it.

Plexus has not had a major release since at least 2015, so it’s anticipated, but not confirmed, that we’ll see version 4 sometime in 2021. Version 3 includes motion blur, depth map culling, a sound effector, a new slicer object, seamless beams, and unified rendering. It also brought improvements to path objects, obj import, and null object performance. Below is an example from Rowbyte showcasing what Plexus 3 can do.

Plexus Effect Controls/User Interface

Plexus 3 added a new object-based UI that’s a major boon to workflow and staying organized. To put it another way, you won’t be spending your time scrolling through a long stretch of parameters. Take a look for yourself!

Hover over the image below to zoom in.

Plexus Effect Controls

Purchase Rowbyte Plexus

Rowbyte Plexus for Adobe After Effects

Rowbyte Plexus for Adobe After Effects

Create engaging motion graphics with this 2D/3D generative art plug-in for After Effects.

Plexus is a next-gen particle engine for After Effects that lets you create, manipulate, and procedurally visualize data. Not only you can render the particles, but also create all sorts of interesting relationships between them based on various parameters.

Learn MoreTry Rowbyte Plexus for Adobe After Effects for free!


Superluminal Stardust

One of the newer particle plugins on the scene, Stardust is a particle powerhouse. Stardust 1.6 added Volume Rendering, which is great for creating beautiful and realistic smoke effects. Volumetric Lighting lets users quickly add lighting and shadows. In addition, you can import VDB and OBJ files as particles, and articles can bump and interact with each other. Not only that, it works with AE’s camera for easy compositing.

Stardust Effect Controls

Hover over the image below to zoom in.

Stardust Effect controls and UI

 

Buy Superluminal Stardust

Superluminal Stardust

Superluminal Stardust

Modular Particle System

Superluminal Stardust is a Modular 3D particle system for After Effects. It has an easy to use node based user interface and ships with a ton of presets to create stunning effects quickly and easily.

Learn MoreTry Superluminal Stardust for free!


Video Copilot Element 3D

Element 3D works a little differently than other particle plugins. It creates particles from 3D models and text. It’s a lot more than a particle generator, with the particle replicator.  I won’t go into much detail on Element 3D but watch the video below for a fantastic overview from Andrew Kramer.

The Element 3D User Interface

Like other Particle plugins, Element 3D has an Effect Controls panel and a custom UI, known as the Scene Setup. This is where the magic happens.
Hover over the image below to zoom in.

Effect ControlsElement 3D Scene Setup
Element 3D Effect Controls
Element 3D Scene Setup

 

Get Element 3D

Video Copilot Element 3D

Video Copilot Element 3D

Lightning-fast 3D Particle Array System and Text Generating System for Motion Design and Visual FX Artists

Element 3D includes a well-designed user, easy-to-use interface. Open GL rendering allows users to quickly create beautiful 3D text and complex particle arrays with dynamic reflections, shadows, and texture mapping, all inside After Effects! To put it simply, Element 3D is great for new users. It’s easy to jump right in and a lot of fun to explore. But, Element 3D has deep and complex features that will allow artists to create never-ending variations. Element 3D is a lot of speed and power for a modest price!

Learn More

Share This Post

Subscribe to Toolfarm!

Get the latest updates on products, sales, tutorials, and freebies, delivered bi-weekly to your inbox!

Posted by Michele

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Opt-Out IconYour Privacy Choices Notice at Collection