TUTORIALS FOR VFX & MOTION GRAPHICS
Free After Effects Tutorials & More Hosted By: Andrew Kramer
July 06, 2010
• Cast realistic shadows from a 3D Particle System
• Includes work-flow tips and setup for custom sprites
 
TUTORIAL NOTES:
This tutorial also includes a mini 3D Max demo for creating the "Future Balls"!
Running Time: 33mins.


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208 RESPONSES TO "PARTICLE SHADOWS"

by fdograph 08/30/2010
you rock man!
by armin 08/30/2010
hi my name is armin from iran how i can give best quailty in ae bcuase i made tizer in iran but cant give best of those
by smash 08/22/2010
sir,
i want 2 become motion graphic. can u help
pls.
by jasper 08/18/2010
good movie andrew,

i got only one question
how can I scale a whole composition down
becouse I made a to big movie.

srry for my bad english I am Dutch
by pratap 08/16/2010
Hello Andrew, i want text effect more. will u please make some hollywood film text effects. there are various kinds of amazing text effects you can find in english movies. i want that. how do you make sun rays effect coming behind the texts in most of the movies.
by InSpecialFX.co 08/15/2010
thx for your tutorial. realy2 helpfull. GBU
by tushar 08/15/2010
sir u r god.
by Kousin 08/15/2010
My mind blowed by your use of top-view cam to fade the shadows. That is pure genius.
Thank you very much for wonderful tutorial!
by Suhail Baghdadi 08/14/2010
Hey Andrew You Rock!!...Amzing tutorial... thanx a million
by www.webtsdcom 08/14/2010
Nice how u do that?
by ahmad 08/13/2010
help../ tutorial
by Ronald Monahan 08/11/2010
I'm wondering how did you add the depth of field into the particles. Thank you!
by lol 08/10/2010
''Futuristic balls''
by Colin 08/07/2010
Andrew, you are the man. I have to disagree with you comedic nay-sayers. Your dry sense of humor nicely compliments your technical and creative prowess.

all the best,

The black Magic Johnson
by Mario 08/06/2010
How do you make the sprites show up in the front view? All I see is the emitter point.

Thanks again for taking time to make these tutorials.
by Axo media In India 08/06/2010
Hey Watz Up Andrew............
by yaya 08/05/2010
thank you very much.
by AHall 08/05/2010
Kramer you are a Mathematical Genus.
by yujieyang 08/05/2010
good
by david absalan 08/03/2010
thanks a lot Andrew ....this amazing tut .thank you
by x 08/03/2010
THNX for that, mr. kramer!

check out my future balls ;)

hd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqHIERfCebM
by dnl 07/31/2010
Wow, Kramer you are awesome!
by AMR 07/31/2010
hi andrew this is mazing tut
by
by David Biederbeck 07/30/2010
@HH.

Period plays audio only.

Zero (on your keypad only) makes a ram preview which will give you audio. If you do not have a num pad (ie. imac keyboard) then on the lef side click the arrow beneath "preview" that looks like ||||>.

You can also scrub through audio by dragging the timeline while holding command/ctrl.
by HH 07/28/2010
how can i hear the audio that i put in the composition?
by FreaqyGeeq 07/28/2010
"Heeey, let's take a closer look... yep, future balls."

Hahahah! Nice one Andrew -- another cracking tutorial, many thanks!
by m 07/28/2010
that's cool,after saw what you make I think there is still a lot of things we have to learn on the other side of the earth. sorry I have some language problems but I think you can see my point
YOU ARE AWESOME!
by amey adchule 07/28/2010
WHAT ABOUT DEPTH OF FIELD>>!!!!!!

HOW TO ADD IT IN 3D PARTICLES..PLZ HELP!!!!
by Mislav 07/27/2010
Hello Andrew , I wanted to say you are a very talented guy , best wishes for you , I learned almost everything watching you , its not that i just copied I watched and learned some cool stuff.
Anyway thanks , alot ! If i have a credit card i would buy all of your products , althought there are torrent downloads for your products :/
Goodbye and thanks.
by si0 07/25/2010
I can not understand in any way, what it is necessary to make that at video conclusion it was not visible a layer grid?
P.S
I apologise for English language as I from Russia...
by joey 07/25/2010
Thank you
by Wasim 07/25/2010
Every single one of your tutorials makes every single one of my tutorials look rubbish and I proudly accept it!!!

You're such an inspiring teacher.
by pilkazo 07/24/2010
Wow!!... you rock man....
by ben 07/24/2010
love the tutorial ... hate the jokes ...
by PictureBoxMagic 07/23/2010
ahha, as soon as you mentioned depth of field i was liek, brilliant! lol. cool thx
by Nadeem Ijaz 07/21/2010
Awesome Amazing
by bhawna 07/21/2010
awsum stuff... loved it.. thanx man. u r gr8.
by HARDBUILDING 07/20/2010
It's a great TUTORIALS .. we see like this in HOLLYWOOD ..HAVE ALL MY RESPECT Andrew Kramer
by CommodoreForce 07/20/2010
Great Tutorial Man.
I wanna say how to make realistic zoom effect like in your preview. Is it possible?
by Wendel Calvert 07/19/2010
Andrew,

Everything I know about AE, is because of you, bruh, can't deny it! The Particle shadows tut that you posted, is COOL, but I saw something else that I would LOVE to make. the "smoke_shadows" clip you showed is EXACTLY the type of smoke I want to make for my project. It doesn't look the same as the "smoke trails" tutorial to me... Any chance that you'll throw together a quick tutorial for the smoke_shadows" clip you posted? (PPLLEEAASSEE!!!!)
by Shan Ali Shah 07/18/2010
Awesome tutorial
Thanks From Pakistan
by A.J 07/18/2010
Another sweet tutorial. Havin a small probem of the lights on the some of the balls popping in and out frame by frame.

But thanks.
by Spencer T. 07/17/2010
Hey Andrew, if you check out the manual that comes with Particular 2.0 you will see just what the "Shadowlet" function does.

Perhaps you already know this, but it just takes the vector from your light to a particle and projects behind it a black particle. This intersects with other particles and creats self-shadows. That is why it is called "shadowlet", because it is a duplicate particle of the parent that is projected onto the other particles.

It isn't an ambient occlusion effect, but can look like one if you have enough particles (like in your smoke - which looks great by the way).


- Spencer
by John 07/17/2010
So these are what our future balls will look like. ;)
by mb editor 07/17/2010
very good
by scyder07 07/17/2010
where i can donwload that greenthing.max pogram?

this its a great toturial ever!!!!:)
andrew you are the best!!
by angryman 07/17/2010
Bloody marvelous. Up to and beyond anything else on the web. Thank you so much. Peace.
by vfx 365 07/17/2010
It's very awesome effects..
keep going
Than x a lot
by Ben 07/16/2010
Hi Andrew AMAZING turorial as usuall. i just hope you read this as an idea i thought it would be cool if you had your wife with you through a tutorial xD it would be fun to see if she could keep up with you.
by francis 07/16/2010
you sir are a genius...I would like to meet you in the near future just to shake your hands............and of course absorb all your powers...thanks for all your tutorials...i hope all of them including older tutortials stay so i can come back and rewatch them......
by Basuru 07/16/2010
Hey Andrew..... u r the most talented man i've ever seen. thanks dude....
by prasanth g 07/16/2010
Hi Andrew
Good work.
by Luke 07/16/2010
I hope someone here can help me... i have after effects 7 and the project files available here are made in after effects 8 and i can't open them someone please help... Thanks in advance.
by Rudra 07/16/2010
Hello,
Andrew,
After a long time searching finally I have got such superb website for after effects tutorial,hosted by you.I am a music remixer belong from India and my profession is not vfx design but I lovespecial effects one day I knew it canbe done by using after effects ,but I couldn't do any thing with it .After long time searching with help of www.youtube.com
by namtab69 07/15/2010
man how do you figure all this out! brilliant as usual...thanks Andrew...
by Nikolas 07/15/2010
Awesome Man....AE Master!
:D (Y)
by Phil 07/15/2010
Chuck Norris fears you.
by Feroz Quazi 07/15/2010
What up Andrew,

That was a sick tutorial. Really loved how you get creative with trapcode P.

Also, I just wanted to this with you real quick. This is a film that has really cool VFX similar to payment - perhaps you could give your insight on how they worked on this film. "Nuit Blanche"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVuUwvUUPro
by Mehrdad 07/15/2010
wow. greattttttttttt job...
thanks
by Paul 07/15/2010
Dear Andrew,
Still say thanks for the quality tutorials. I loved the bullet, just reminds me of the movie "wanted" Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, how they would shoot and curve the bullet! Hot stuff. Anyway back to the question of the day. Am not really sure if you've seen this FIFA world cup commercial, with the "waving flag song" I see those gold particles flying around the trophy in a cool way. Is it some particles following a path... it would be nice if you get such a tutorial.
by neal 07/15/2010
great tut...just wondering though if possible how could you add a light for s faint flickering optical flare inside the balls.
by shango tower wars 07/14/2010
Incredible fireball smoke... WoW
by ravi desai 07/14/2010
u r very best
by Jabrail 07/14/2010
Thank you very much!!!
Especially for 3d Studio max, would be more such lessons.
Sorry for the error (translater).My english very small =)
by Hype Napungra 07/14/2010
This goes beyond just being a tutorial, you're teaching concepts far beyond what's on offer elsewhere on line. Another excellent tutorial Mr K, above and beyond the call of duty.
by Elias 07/14/2010
how can I get letters in the background instead of the round things
by mehrdad 07/14/2010
hi andrew
thats great!
your tutorial is the best tutorial in after effect world
thank u
by guneselikucucuk 07/14/2010
very nice tutorial,
by Turuunuu 07/14/2010
hi andrew please advanced tutorial on smoke :D
by Mustapha 07/13/2010
thank you very much for tutorial
by sam fabio 07/13/2010
First thanks a lot Mr.Kramer
then let me appreciate your good job
believe me when you give something
you will get something else in advance
i think you understand what i have said
sorry for my language but god bliss you
by Auginator1 07/13/2010
Do you need any software before you get action essentials 2?
by youssef 07/13/2010
thank you sow mush andrew krimer you do great joob ?
by Auginator1 07/13/2010
I plan on getting the 99$ action essentials pack and had a few questions

1 is it compatible with mac?
2 do you need any software to begin with?
3 can you put it on imovie
4 and can you do all those things you do in the tutorials (ex. time freezing) with action essentials?
by s.chandrasekar 07/13/2010
dear, video copilot right i am learn started from your site right now i want more from ur site what to do....?
by Zigumza 07/13/2010
Awesome..
Thank for tutorial
by Maan 07/13/2010
Andrew you are the best! keep it up :D
by Chuckarama 07/12/2010
Nice. Now if it were possible to put a lens flare inside each ball, you'd have something. The light emanating out, casting shadows, from within what is essentially a particle. Not only that, but at then end of it's creation you could say, "goodness, gracious, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!" ...that would be cool.
by Diego 07/12/2010
Andrew, you are the best
thanks for this tuts.
by elton 07/12/2010
hey anderw....i am one of your fans...plss teach us how to create a tansformer
by Eric 07/12/2010
Excellent. Very Excellent.

I smell a plug-in or preset on the horizon...
by eduardo 07/12/2010
and for those who dont have the last version of trapcode; what d you recomend
by Garrett 07/12/2010
Andrew thanks for all the time you put into these awesome tutorials!! I would never have learned after effects without them!!
by OnkelManfred 07/12/2010
thanks andrew, this tutorial looks pretty well, but when i looked at the screenshot used at the top of the site i thought: "how could a sphere with holes have a round shadow? the light must be able to pass through the holes and illuminate the floor beneath the balls! (especially at the top and the bottom of the balls)"

softening the shadows even more might solve the problem that people notice it, but would it look realistic? if you found a method please tell me :)
by Ricardo Mantovani 07/12/2010
Very good.
by steven 07/12/2010
Nice tut! this is also the step for me to start with 3ds MAX, it's realy a pain in the ass to learn it, but the basics you teach us will help a lot of people!

greetz from HOLLAND
by samir douakh 07/12/2010
thnx ANDREW
by Pavel Peterka 07/12/2010
Andrew, What is the number of tutorial that you're saving the ATF for?
by Dave 07/11/2010
HOLY CRAP. AMAZING.
by romain 07/11/2010
salut Andrew, super tuto comme d'ahbitude ! N'écoute pas les râleurs qui te critique tu ne nous dois rien et tout est bon à prendre. Tes tutos sont d'une qualité exceptionelle continue ! Bravo
by Clemzd 07/11/2010
Hello, thank you for this tutorial, I do an incrustation with 3dsmax and this image of New York, please see it : http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4300/rendutank1.jpg.

PS :sorry for my english I'm french.
by Mr.Denis 07/11/2010
Good work.
but i have question.
do you make 3d object in Max
it's truth?
why no Maya programs?

Thanks
by Alexander 07/11/2010
Alright Andrew! Nice one with the balls. I noticed how you avoided saying 'balls' for 30 minutes, that's funny.
This one was really good. I think you can probably do a sand effect(kind of like they had in the movie "The Mummy") or a similar one at least with this.
Also if instead of the balls we had a rendering of a jelly fish we might have faked a bank of jelly fish...
Anyway, great tutorial, congrats.

by Myaka 07/11/2010
You used almost same technique programmers using when making shadows in openGL/directx games/applications. This is VERY smart move man, you have quite a brilliant mind!
by onkelmanfred 07/11/2010
great tutorial!
by linkat 07/10/2010
Andrew i wanna ask you somethin i have cs5 trial version and i cant find ccParticle world is it because of the trial version or because it is AE cs5 if so where can i download it.
by edha 07/10/2010
awesome..
by Vicky Shah 07/10/2010
THANK YOU SIR JI...
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