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JULY 14, 2003 Where There's Smoke, There's Fire
Back to the first comp Back in the comp called "Fractal," I've imported "Smoke Edge." I've used it as a track matte, using the Luma values again. Select "Fractal" and use the track matte switch to select Luma Matte. Fairly convincing, but needs more.[an error occurred while processing this directive]Because my layer called "Fractal" is larger than the comp, I can move it without exposing the edges of the layer. I'll set a keyframe at the beginning and end for position values here as well. Okay the fractal is moving, but not the "whispy" turn that I want.  New comp Next, I'll put the comp called "Fractal" into a new comp called "Warp." Yeah. Distorting again, this time with Mesh Warp. Mesh Warp is a distortion plugin that deforms pixels via a Bezier point controlled grid. (An n x m Coons warp). You can set the Row and Column value as well as an "elasticity" value for the whole grid. Unfortunately, your grid can't be larger than the layer, and you can't "select all" on the grid, or select multiple points easily (Shift-click). However, you can keyframe points on the grid. This time, I'm just going to set one position for the grid and let the movement of the layers below create the offset.  I only need a 4x4 grid for this, but you can use whatever makes you happy. The more points you have, the more control. However, it is also more difficult to control all of those if you want to keyframe each point uniquely.  Warped. Better. Smokier. Fire? Did I say there was fire too? First let me double up the layer and change the transfer mode to Screen. This give the highlights a little kick. Then, simply add an adjustment layer with Colorama (found under Image Control Effects).  Under the Input Phase, select Alpha. Under the Output Phase... Fire!  Okay, so in under 10 minutes, you can make the basics for smoke and fire, all with the tools you already have in After Effects. Ko Maruyama is a freelance animator who likes to warp [stuff]. When he's not playing with fire, you can find him in the After Effects Forum. If you need some flame-free advice, he's reachable at komaruyama@mac.com. Prev 1 2 Related sites: • AV Video • Creative Mac • Digital Media Designer • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • Digital Video Editing • Film and Video Magazine • The WWUG Related forums: [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
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