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Product
Name : Advanced
Particle Dynamics
Author : Nicholas J. Pellegrino
Publisher : AsileFX Cost
: US $79.00 CD
/ $74.00 Download / $85.00 CD and Download
(Cost is as of April 2008 - prices
subject to change)
Media Type :
Internet Download or CD
Target Audience :
Beginner,
Intermediate and Advanced
Size : 14
Videos totalling approximately 7 Hours
LightWave Version : These
videos use LightWave version 9.0.
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| Index |
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There are a total of
14 videos which add up to approximately 7 hours
in total
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| Review |
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The mov files are 1440 x 900 pixels so the size is very large. Good for detail but bad if you have a screen resolution less than the size of the movie. I reduced the window slightly and found that the details etc were still fine.
The large movies can be demanding on a system if
it has older specs so beware of this. There are moments of heavy pixelization throughout the movies when the author is moving panels or doing something on screen that has a lot of motion in it but, although a little annoying, generally I did not find that they interfered with the tutorial.
It can be hard to see what he is doing in a panel though if the image has not
stabilized and at times the pixelization occurs
when the author is demonstrating the reactions of
the particles to the changes being made in the
program. My advice for the student is to follow
along with LightWave and watch the particle
reaction on your own. The author should
really review his videos to catch these types of
things. Sound throughout is clear and legible.
The first movie (HV vrs Partigon Emitters - 23:48) introduces partigons and hypervoxel particles and describes some of the differences. Particle blur, particle size, basic texturing and glow are all introduced with this first movie.
The second movie (Introduction to Controlling Emitters - 32:40) looks at each of the tabs in the particle fx options panel and discusses some of the areas in each tab that are used and how they are used. Follow along with LightWave and play with all the options to get a good idea of how each part affects the particles.
The third video (Global Wind and Gravity - 27:56) discusses the gravity and wind dynamic options and goes through each panel. Most but not all
of the various options in each panel are discussed and demonstrated.
The forth video (Collision Objects - 22:27) looks at the basics for the collision dynamic and how it affects particles.
The fifth video (Parent Emitters - 25:26) looks at the basics of parent/child
emitters.
The sixth video (Parent Emitters - Collision Control - 38:50) delves further into parent/child emitters and explores the interactions with collision FX. By the end of the video the particle limit has been set to
1,000,000 so hopefully you have a decent system to run that number of particles or you could be waiting for Lightwave to update.
This video does give you a lot of information so be prepared to spend some time playing with your particles to try to understand the concepts taught.
The seventh video, (advanced grouping - texture control - 29:21) . The first part of the video takes us through a setup of particles that continually divide so that one particle becomes thousands quickly. The next half of the video looks at how to control the birth of a specific amount of particles over a specific time - this involves a bit of math so go through the exercise several times until you get the idea of how to finely control your particle birth rates. We also look at how to control the birth of particles using textures but the effect does not show up well in this video. It may have been better to have a flat emitter
that shows the effect better.
The eighth video (polygonal Object Emitters - 28:25) looks at using an object as a particle emitter. It also explores using a gradient to control the birth rate of the particles. The portions that show how the gradient effects the birth of particles is very interesting
and shows how much control there is over particles.
The ninth video (Polygonal object collisions - 34:39) looks at the different type of object types for dynamics (in this case particle colliding with a rock object). the video also has us create a more complex object with scoops. I might have been nice to have some hypervoxel surfaces set up to put onto the particles to really show of what the
finished particles might look like .Within the video the author has to overcome a few errors that lightwave generates with the particles.
The tenth video (Introduction to FX Linker - 31:19) goes through the exercise of creating a rock model with some brief texturing and then applying the FXLinker to create a rain of rocks with smoke trailing from the falling stones. Many of the options in the linker are covered although most are only looked at briefly while other options are not looked at
all. In this video the author suggests a variety of ways to change the scene he has created but does not explore any of them, this exercise is left to you.
The Eleventh video (FX Linker Explosion - part 1 - 28:12) continues with FXlinker but creates a new scene of a large asteroid exploding.
The objects that are created in the videos are supplied with the tutorial videos.
The scene takes all of what has been learned so far and applies it to a complex scene. This video sets up some of the basic aspects of the scene and the twelfth video takes over where this one leaves off. the video also shows how to create selection sets to help organize the thousand or so objects that end up in the scene and it also goes through creating a cloud of rocks using hypervoxels that is integrated with the cloud of exploding rock objects created with the FX Linker. After all is said and done the final project is complex but looks great. the author also suggests how to expand the scene and make changes which are up to you but the scene is interesting.
The thirteenth video (Advanced Emitter Operations - 50:21) looks at a few more options in the emitter panels such as how the size of the emitter affects the speed and density of the particles created. The video also looks at the key effect and how it can be used to further control the birth of particles and also looks at the different ways that particles can generated, such as by the speed of the emitter, collision events and wind. the video also discusses particle looping. this video also covers the EditFX tab and shows how to manipulate individual particles.
The fourteenth video (OpenGL Emitter Display Previews - 18:30) is the last video in the series. By adjusting a variety of texture options, and in doing so manages to discuss using a variety of texturing options for hypervoxels as they apply to particles (gradients based on particle age) this video shows how to preview particles within the lightwave interface using openGL. The video also explores adding lights to particles using the fxlinker.
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| Value |
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Overall
I liked this tutorial. The interface is
explained well, how to control particles is
covered very well, and you are taught how to apply
this knowledge in a couple of projects. My
biggest concern is the quality of the videos but
even that doesn't hinder you from learning from
these videos. |
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| Final
Score |
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I
would recommend this product, the content is
excellent but I took marks away for the poor
quality of the videos. |
B+
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