How to make particles form text

Question

DC Steve Author

Level 1

34 points

How to make particles form text

That says it. I'd like to have particles coalesce to form any text I want, such as "Any text I want." How do I do that?

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9), i7, 3TB fusion drive

Posted on Mar 15, 2014 3:49 PM

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Answer 1

fox_m

Level 6

12,238 points

Mar 15, 2014 5:40 PM in response to DC Steve

Create your emitter and the text.

For the Emitter:

Set Shape to Image

Arrangement: Random Fill

Drag the text layer into the Image source well

I recommend Emission Alpha Cutoff be set to 100%

In the Cell Controls:

Birth Rate: 0

Birth Rate Randomness: 0;

Initial Number: (start around) 15000

Life: start with about 0.7

Life Randomness: (less than Life but start with 0)

Speed: ~ 600

Speed Randomness: (less than speed unless you want particles to go "out the back"; start around) 500

[Align the Text and the emitter as closely as possible]

Play. When the last particle disappears: Stop.

Select the Group the Emitter is in and type 'o' to set an out point.

Type 'k' to create a Clone. Turn off the Emitter's Group.

In Properties > Timing, click the Reverse checkbox.

Set the playhead at the end of the clone in the timeline and select the Text and type 'i' to set an in point.

That's the basics... You should customize "Color over Life", opacities over life, etc. As long as you don't change the Life/Life Randomness params, the length of the Clone will stay the same. You can change any of the other Emitter parameters afterwards to customize further (without having to "re-clone" the original unless you make the Life longer). [You might have to Clear RAM Preview for updates to take effect.]

Hope this helps

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Answer 2

DC Steve Author

Level 1

34 points

Mar 15, 2014 6:35 PM in response to fox_m

I'm inexperienced with motion so I'm not sure if this helps me. What I'd like to do is to be able to make a spray of random dots coalesce into text. So the dots would be sprinkling the screen and they would coalesce into the words "Movies of 2012." In your solution above, does it allow me to input the text into which the particles would coalesce? If yes, how?

Thanks!

Steve

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Answer 3

Mar 17, 2014 9:23 AM in response to DC Steve

Inexperience might help reduce your expectations. You could approach this different ways:

1. Create and render out a movie or two of your spraying particles. Create the text layer that is revelaed by a combination of masks, light rays, lens flares. Combine these movies in FCP.

2. Figure out how to get some of Fox's advice to work but move forward in time. It's easier to blow something up than it is to assemble it. Render the movie, reverse it in FCP.

These things are often achieved by hiding your inabilities with additional effects like explosions of light or other particles. Add a sound effect to sell the effect hit.

Search youtube for Motion particle ffects tutorials but most of what's out there is, umm, questionable.

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