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Timothy Trankle

Get up to speed with the techniques and pipelines for creating complex, high quality, AAA ready particle effects for your games.

This course will teach you how to create advanced particle systems using

Particle systems and visual effects for games is a deep and complicated subject, and once you learn the fundamentals of the tools, it can be hard and frustrating to take your effects up that extra level to something that looks like it belongs in a new best selling game.

This course will teach you that extra step.

Read more

Get up to speed with the techniques and pipelines for creating complex, high quality, AAA ready particle effects for your games.

This course will teach you how to create advanced particle systems using

Particle systems and visual effects for games is a deep and complicated subject, and once you learn the fundamentals of the tools, it can be hard and frustrating to take your effects up that extra level to something that looks like it belongs in a new best selling game.

This course will teach you that extra step.

Good particle systems are not just derived from the behavior of the particles themselves. Their look comes primarily from their textures. Being able to create high quality, believable textures is a vital skill for creating effects, and this course will teach you how to do just that.

Learn by DOING

This course is divided into 4 projects, each intended to cover a different key facet of creating particle systems. In addition to this, we will have a final project that will combine all of these lessons into one complex, unique, and truly impression effect that YOU will make. For each project, we'll go step by step over not only the particle behavior, but creating their textures as well.

Downloadable project files to help you follow along and learn.

This course includes several .zip files that contain the Unity project for you to use, After Effects project files, and the finished textures so you can follow along with any portion of the curriculum.

This course will cover:

  1. The fundamentals of Unity's particle system
  2. The fundamentals of using After Effects
  3. How to combine custom made textures and particle behavior
  4. How to animate in After Effects to create more advanced textures
  5. How to animate in Unity to change our particle effects over time and add more depth

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Create practical, real world particle effects for use in your games
  • Learn the techniques for creating your own complex aaa quality effects with leading game development and motion graphics software
  • Understand how to break down complicated effects into simpler components, allowing you to adapt these techniques to any effect imaginable

Syllabus

Introduction
Course Overview

In this video, you'll learn what particle systems are, and what they can be used for.

In this lesson on Particle Effects, you'll learn what different particle shaders are available in Unity, and the difference between Additive, Multiplicative, and Alpha Blended materials.

Read more
Learn the basics of the different "modules" of the shuriken particle system and how each affects the particle's behavior

In this lesson on Particle Effects, you'll learn how to set the start values of your particles including size, speed, rotation, and more. You'll also learn how to change the shape of your particle emitter and how to control the number of particles produced.

In this lesson on Particle Effects, you'll learn about the different parameters of a particle you can control over its lifespan, including color, rotation, and size, allowing you to change the look of each particle over time.

In this lesson on Particle Effects, you'll learn about the Rendering module for Unity particle systems. You'll learn about the different types of particles including Billboard and Mesh rendering setups, as well as how to change your particle material and maximum scale.

In this lesson on Particle Effects, you'll learn about more advanced behaviors of particles. You'll be introduced to concepts like applying force to the particles over time, damping their movement, and using procedural noise for turbulent effects.

Create two radically different effects using the same textures and materials by only adjusting the behavior of the particles.
Project Goal

Create a constantly emitting magical torch with some provided textures! Learn how to combine random rotation with the lifetime scale of each particle to create an organic looking flame.

Finish creating the torch! In this guide, you'll learn how to control particle properties with custom curves to create some pulsating rings and spinning light flares. You'll also learn how to control specific particle rendering types with the behavioral parameters to make some realistic looking sparks.

Instead of emitting our particles continuously, learn how to emit them in a burst to make an effect more akin to an explosion.

Finish up the Magic Burst by creating some star flares and a burst of smoke. You'll learn how to combine continuous effects with burst effects for more realistic behaviors.

Learn the fundamentals of After Effects like what compositions are, what layers are, and how to use masks and effects.

In this lesson on After Effects, get familiar with the interface, learn how projects in After Effects are organized, and what compositions are and how they are different from After Effects projects.

In this lesson on After Effects, learn what layers are and the basics of how to manipulate them. You'll learn how to trim layers to fit specific time frames and how to edit parameters like their position, rotation, and opacity.

In this lesson on After Effects, you'll learn what Blending Modes are. You'll be introduced to modes like Add and Multiply and you'll learn how these can drastically change the look of your composition.

In this lesson on After Effects, you'll learn how to use the Masking system. Masks are immensely powerful and you'll learn how to quickly create simple masks and how you can use the Pen Tool to create your own complex custom masks.

In this lesson on After Effects, you'll be introduced to Effects. Learn how to use the Effects Controls panel and how effects can be stacked and combined to create very complex looks.

Create a high quality particle effect by making your own custom textures in After Effects.

Get started making your own custom particle textures. In this lesson, we'll get familiar with the versatile Fractal Noise effect and use it to create a cloud of smoke.

Dive a bit farther into texture creation and learn how to combine Fractal Noise with other effects to create an arc of smoke.

In this After Effects lesson, you'll learn about Adjustment Layers and how they can let us combine Masks with Effects.

Learn more about the uses of Fractal Noise as we combine it with other effects to create some vertical rays of light.

In this Particle Effects lesson, we'll start creating the Pillar of Light. In doing so, we'll learn about the uses of Horizontal Billboards and Verticle Billboards for controlling our particles as well as the importance of the maximum particle scale.

In this Particle Effects lesson, we'll learn how to apply the collision module so our smoke slides along the ground, giving the illusion of dense fog.

Learn how to animate in After Effects and convert those animations into texture sheets for use in Unity
Project Overview

In this After Effects lesson, you'll learn how to animate in the software. You'll learn what keyframes are and how to manipulate them as well as edit the length of your composition so that you have just the right number of frames.

In this lesson, we'll cover how to create specific shapes with fractal noise, and how to animate it so it can realistically decay.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to combine multiple noise and distortion effects to create a realistic turbulent smoke animation.

In this lesson, we'll learn about Texture Packer, a very useful standalone utility for quickly packing the frames from our animations into texture sheets that our particle systems can read.

In this Particle guide, you'll learn how to use our texture sheets to create particles with animated textures.

Learn how to use Mesh Particles and how to use particle systems for more stylized effects

To create a more stylized particle system, we go over the Mesh particle rendering mode so our particle system can emit solid spheres.

In this lesson, we'll animate masks to create a texture for our sphere particles.

After Effects has it's own particle based effects. In this lesson, we'll learn the basics of how to use it to create a stylized smoke texture.

In this Particle Effects guide, we'll combine our 3d mesh particles with the textures we've made to create the final smoke puff effect.

Other Useful Effects
Final Project: Red SuperCharge
Project Goals

In this After Effects lesson, we'll create the texture for the debris flying around in a tornado-like pattern. In doing so, we'll learn about Layer Styles, which will help us add a sense of depth to the texture.

Understanding Mesh Particles and Texture Placement

In this Particle Effects lesson, we'll create the tornado at the center of the effect, and learn about how we can efficiently reuse textures in order to make our workflow more efficient, and take up less memory within our project.

For much of this course, we've been creating cloudy/atmospheric textures for our particles. In this lesson, we'll learn about how we can use the tools in After Effects to create crisper images like shards of glass.

In this After Effects lesson, we'll cover how to create the plumes of dust that emit from the shockwave and learn how to manipulate the Fractal Noise to emulate real world effects.

Now we'll create the individual plumes of dirt and debris for the shockwave. You'll learn how we can use texture sheet animation to randomize a particle's texture selection to make our effects look more organic.

In this Particle FX lesson, we'll learn what sub emitters are and how we can use them to instantiate many copies of our dirt plume effect for the shockwave.

As we finish our initial shockwave, we'll add a burst of light to kick it off. To do this, we'll create some radial light flare textures and learn how we can use adjustment layers to ensure that our particle textures aren't spilling out beyond the bounds of our composition.

In this After Effects lesson, we'll learn how to change the length of our composition after it has already been made and how we can combine the evolution parameters of multiple effects to give our effects a more liquid feel.

Now it's time to create some lightning! In this After Effects lesson, we'll learn about two different ways of creating lightning in After Effects: The Advanced Lightning effect, and combining the stroke effect with a mask and some turbulent displacement.

It's time to assemble the glowing orb at the heart of the effect. We'll combine the textures we made in the previous couple of videos along with some older ones to complete the orb.

In this Unity lesson, we'll learn about Unity's built in Animation window and Animator component, and how we can use it to animate various properties of our objects.

In this Particle FX lesson, we'll learn about how to animate many objects at once with a single anim file in order to control all the movement and particle properties of our orb.

In this video, we'll cover how to animate various properties of our particle systems like the emission rate and start size to make our orb decay over time.

Combine many of the effects we've covered in order to make a high resolution, organic looking ring for the aerial shock-wave.

To build the shock-wave itself, we'll use the texture we made in the previous video as well as combine some of our older textures with 3d sphere particles.

In this Particle FX lesson, we'll cover what particle trails are and how we can use them to create some energy tendrils that emit from our aerial shock-wave.

Now the the trials have been made, let's learn about how we can use curves to control physical properties like force over lifetime and drag in order to manipulate the behavior of our tendril particles.

Creating the Impacts (Part 1)
Creating the Impacts (Part 2)
Creating the Impacts (Part 3)
Creating the Impacts (Part 4)
Creating the Impacts (Part 5)
Linking the Impacts
Finishing the Effect

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Teaches the fundamentals of Unity's particle system, which is essential for creating visual effects in games
Explores the use of After Effects for creating custom textures, a vital skill for achieving high-quality particle effects
Covers animation techniques in both After Effects and Unity, enabling users to create dynamic and evolving particle effects
Includes downloadable project files for Unity and After Effects, facilitating hands-on learning and practical application of concepts
Requires access to both Unity and After Effects, which may necessitate separate software licenses or subscriptions
Focuses on creating AAA-quality effects, which may require a significant time investment to master the techniques taught

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Reviews summary

Mastering unity & after effects vfx

According to learners, this course provides a practical and in-depth approach to creating advanced particle VFX for games using Unity and After Effects. Students highlight the value of the project-based learning and the detailed instruction on creating custom textures and animated texture sheets, which many found to be a game changer for their skills. The course is seen as particularly beneficial for those looking to move beyond basic particle systems and create high-quality, AAA-ready effects. While some mentioned the pace could be challenging, overall feedback emphasizes the course's effectiveness and the clear explanations provided.
Downloadable project files are helpful.
"Downloadable files were very helpful."
"Downloadable project files to help you follow along and learn."
Instructor explains concepts effectively.
"Instructor explains things clearly."
"The techniques for combining textures and particle behavior are well explained."
Goes beyond the basics for AAA quality.
"Exactly what I needed to go beyond the basics."
"Amazing deep dive into advanced VFX."
"Learn the techniques for creating your own complex AAA quality effects..."
Strong focus on custom texture creation.
"Learning the texture creation process in After Effects was a game changer."
"Creating custom animated texture sheets was invaluable."
"The focus on texture creation sets this apart."
Hands-on projects are highly valuable.
"Fantastic course! The projects are super practical and really level up your VFX skills."
"The final project ties everything together well... overall very useful for game VFX."
"Projects were challenging but rewarding."
Best for those with some prior knowledge.
"This course is aimed at intermediate users, not total beginners."
"It's definitely for those who already know Unity basics."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Advanced Particle VFX in Unity and After Effects with these activities:
Review Fundamentals of Unity's Particle System
Reinforce your understanding of the core modules and functionalities within Unity's particle system before diving into advanced techniques.
Show steps
  • Review the official Unity documentation on the Particle System.
  • Create a simple particle system and experiment with different modules.
  • Watch introductory tutorials on YouTube.
Brush up on After Effects Fundamentals
Revisit the fundamental concepts of After Effects, including compositions, layers, masking, and effects, to prepare for creating custom textures.
Browse courses on Adobe After Effects
Show steps
  • Review Adobe's official After Effects tutorials.
  • Practice creating simple animations and effects.
  • Familiarize yourself with the After Effects interface.
Experiment with Particle Shaders
Practice creating different visual effects by experimenting with additive, multiplicative, and alpha-blended particle shaders in Unity.
Show steps
  • Create a new Unity project.
  • Create several particle systems, each using a different shader.
  • Adjust the shader properties to observe their effects.
Five other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all eight activities
Create a Simple Animated Texture in After Effects
Solidify your understanding of After Effects animation by creating a simple animated texture, such as a looping smoke cloud, for use in Unity particle systems.
Show steps
  • Create a new composition in After Effects.
  • Use fractal noise and other effects to create a smoke texture.
  • Animate the texture to create a looping animation.
  • Export the animation as a texture sheet.
Read 'Real-Time VFX in Unity'
Deepen your understanding of real-time VFX techniques by studying a dedicated book on the subject.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'Real-Time VFX in Unity'.
  • Read the chapters relevant to particle systems and texture creation.
  • Experiment with the techniques described in the book.
Recreate a Simple Game VFX
Apply the knowledge gained from the course by attempting to recreate a simple particle effect from a popular game, focusing on texture creation and particle behavior.
Show steps
  • Choose a simple particle effect from a game.
  • Analyze the effect and break it down into its components.
  • Recreate the textures in After Effects.
  • Implement the particle system in Unity.
Read 'Mastering Houdini'
Expand your VFX knowledge by exploring a different software package and its approach to particle effects.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'Mastering Houdini'.
  • Focus on the chapters related to particle systems and dynamics.
  • Compare and contrast Houdini's approach with Unity's.
Portfolio Piece: Advanced Particle Effect
Create a high-quality, original particle effect and present it as a portfolio piece to showcase your skills and understanding of advanced VFX techniques.
Show steps
  • Brainstorm and design an original particle effect.
  • Create all necessary textures in After Effects.
  • Implement the particle system in Unity.
  • Optimize the effect for performance.
  • Create a video showcasing the effect.

Career center

Learners who complete Advanced Particle VFX in Unity and After Effects will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Visual Effects Artist
A visual effects artist creates compelling visual effects for games, film, and television. This role requires a strong understanding of particle systems and the ability to create realistic and stylized effects. This course provides a practical approach to creating advanced particle visual effects using industry standard tools such as Unity and After Effects, with hands-on experience in creating textures and manipulating particle behaviors. This course may be useful in learning how to break down complex effects into manageable components, a critical skill for any visual effects artist. The course emphasizes the creation of AAA quality effects, making it relevant for high-end projects.
Technical Artist
A technical artist bridges the gap between artists and programmers, optimizing art assets for games. This often involves creating and implementing visual effects. A course that teaches advanced particle visual effects in Unity and After Effects helps a technical artist because it provides specific skills in creating those high quality effects. With its focus on creating textures and particle behaviors using Unity and After Effects, this course specifically targets the skills a technical artist needs to create stunning visual elements. The course's emphasis on breaking down complicated effects into simpler components makes it suitable for this role.
Game Artist
A game artist creates the visual assets for video games, including characters, environments, and special effects. This course provides specific training in creating advanced particle visual effects, a crucial aspect of game art. The course helps game artists by providing instruction on creating textures and manipulating particle behaviors using industry standard tools like Unity and After Effects. The project based approach allows artists to develop a portfolio of work showcasing their ability to create high quality, AAA ready effects.
Unity Developer
A Unity developer implements game mechanics and features within the Unity engine. This role often involves working with particle systems to create visual effects. This course provides a comprehensive understanding of Unity's particle system and how to create advanced effects. The course may be useful for developers in learning how to combine custom textures and particle behaviors, as well as animating effects over time. The hands-on projects and downloadable project files make this course particularly well suited for Unity developers looking to enhance their visual effects skills.
Animator
An animator creates moving images using various techniques. This role is closely tied to visual effects, especially in games and film. A course that teaches advanced particle visual effects in Unity and After Effects helps an animator to learn how to realistically create motion. The course is useful because it focuses on texture creation and particle manipulation, and provides animators with the tools to craft complex and engaging visual stories. Concentrating on creating AAA quality effects, the animator learns techniques and concepts in this course.
Motion Graphics Designer
A motion graphics designer creates animated graphics and visual effects for various media, including videos, commercials, and websites. This role requires proficiency in software like After Effects and a strong understanding of animation principles. This course may be useful for motion graphics designer as it focuses on creating textures and animations in After Effects for use in particle systems. The course's emphasis on creating high quality, believable textures and animating them to achieve advanced effects directly aligns with the skills needed in motion graphics design. The project based approach also allows for practical application of learned techniques.
Augmented Reality Developer
An augmented reality developer creates interactive experiences that overlay digital content onto the real world. Visual effects are crucial, and this course may be useful in creating immersive and engaging AR applications. By focusing on creating realistic and stylized effects using Unity and After Effects, the course helps developers integrate compelling visual elements into their AR experiences. The emphasis on particle systems and texture creation is particularly relevant for enhancing the realism and interactivity of AR environments.
Simulation Specialist
A simulation specialist creates realistic simulations of physical phenomena, often for training, research, or entertainment purposes. This role often requires a strong understanding of physics and the ability to create believable visual representations of complex systems, and may require an advanced degree. The course helps a simulation specialist to create simulations of natural phenomena, such as fire, smoke, and explosions. This course may be useful in creating textures and particle behaviors, as well as animating effects over time. The project based approach also allows for practical application of learned techniques.
Virtual Reality Developer
A virtual reality developer designs and builds immersive VR experiences. Visual effects are essential for creating realistic and engaging virtual environments. This course may be useful to a virtual reality developer as it provides skills in creating advanced particle visual effects using Unity, which is a common platform for VR development. The course is helpful in creating textures and particle behaviors, as well as optimizing effects for performance in VR environments. The project based approach also allows for practical application of learned techniques.
Game Designer
A game designer is responsible for the overall design and mechanics of a game. Visual effects play a crucial role in enhancing gameplay and creating immersive experiences. While game designers may not directly create visual effects, understanding the capabilities and limitations of particle systems is beneficial. This course provides insights into creating advanced particle visual effects in Unity, enabling game designers to conceptualize and plan for visually appealing and impactful effects. The focus on breaking down effects into simpler components may also be useful for designers in communicating their vision to the art and development teams. This course may be useful for game designers.
Content Creator
A content creator produces various types of digital content, such as videos, animations, and interactive experiences. This course helps a content creator because it provides skills in creating advanced particle visual effects that can enhance the visual appeal and engagement of their content. The course is useful for creating textures and manipulating particle behaviors using Unity and After Effects. This course may also be useful for creating special effects for YouTube videos, social media posts, and other digital platforms.
Visual Effects Supervisor
A visual effects supervisor oversees the creation of visual effects for film, television, or games, and may require an advanced degree. While this role is primarily managerial, a strong understanding of the technical and artistic aspects of visual effects is essential. This course provides a comprehensive overview of advanced particle visual effects techniques in Unity and After Effects. The course may be useful for visual effects supervisors as it touches on texture creation and particle manipulation, as well as the process of breaking down complex effects into manageable components. This course may be useful for communication with the visual effects team and making informed decisions about the creative direction of a project.
Creative Director
A creative director leads the creative vision for a project, such as a game, film, or advertising campaign. While they may not be directly involved in creating visual effects, understanding the possibilities and limitations of VFX is beneficial. This course may be useful for the creative director as it provides insights into creating advanced particle visual effects in Unity and After Effects. The emphasis on breaking down complex effects into simpler components and creating high quality textures can inform their creative decisions and communication with the art and development teams.
Instructional Designer
An instructional designer creates learning materials and experiences. Visual effects often enhance the effectiveness of educational content. This course may be useful in learning how to create visual aids. The course is helpful in understanding the principles of creating visually appealing and engaging content, which can be applied to the design of instructional materials. This course may be useful for creating simulations, interactive exercises, and other educational resources.
Software Engineer
A software engineer designs, develops, and tests software applications, often for game development. While not directly focused on visual effects, understanding the underlying principles of particle systems and graphics rendering can be valuable. This course provides insights into creating advanced particle visual effects in Unity and After Effects. Software engineer may find this course useful in seeing how to optimize performance, customize particle behaviors, and integrate visual effects into game engines. The focus on breaking down complex effects into simpler components may also be useful for designing efficient and scalable systems.

Reading list

We've selected one books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Advanced Particle VFX in Unity and After Effects.
Provides a comprehensive guide to creating real-time visual effects in Unity. It covers a wide range of techniques, from basic particle systems to advanced shader effects. This book is particularly useful for understanding how to optimize VFX for performance in games. It serves as a valuable reference for creating high-quality, AAA-ready particle effects.

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