Disintegrating a text layer or logo into sand, ash, or magical dust, or building a logo out of swarming particles. How to Get Started: Step-by-Step
In the Effect Controls panel, click the Designer... button. This opens a dedicated visual workspace.
| Feature / Capability | Description & Evolution | | :--- | :--- | | | A major milestone was achieved with Trapcode Suite 14 , which introduced GPU acceleration (via OpenGL) for Particular. This upgrade provides significantly faster feedback and rendering speeds, with users seeing performance boosts of up to 4X or more over previous versions. | | 🎨 Redesigned Designer (UI) | The Designer is a visual, intuitive interface for building particle effects, making the process more creative and less technical. The Trapcode 2025 release refined this further with optimized preset search and navigation, as well as a timeline playhead control that allows you to set your scrub point directly within the plugin. | | 👪 Multiple Particle Systems | A groundbreaking feature introduced in Particular 3.0 is the ability to have multiple, independent particle systems interacting in a single 3D space , all within one instance of the plugin. This opens up endless creative possibilities for combining effects. | | 👨👦 Parent/Child Systems | Taking the concept of interaction further, you can now create parent/child particle systems , where particles from one system can emit other particle systems. This allows for the creation of cascading, beautifully complex results that mimic natural phenomena. | | ⚛️ OBJ Emitters & Sprites | You can use 3D models (in OBJ format) as particle emitters, choosing from a library of over 60 objects or importing your own. For particles themselves, you can use stills or animated sprites , greatly expanding the visual possibilities of the particles you generate. | | ⚙️ Advanced Physics Engine | The physics engine has been constantly expanded. It includes realistic forces like gravity, air resistance, and turbulence. It also enables complex flocking/swarming behaviors , predator/prey dynamics , and fluid simulations . Recent versions have added a "Combustion" fluid dynamics option for creating fire and explosive effects. | | 🎨 Layer Maps & Inheritance | Powerful features like Layer Maps , which use other layers to control particle properties, were added to Particular after proving successful in its companion plugin, Form . Additionally, particle inheritance has been upgraded, allowing child particles to inherit multiple attributes (like size, opacity, color) from their parent particles. | | 🌍 Seamless AE Integration | Particular is designed for seamless integration with After Effects. This includes full support for 3D cameras, lights, and depth of field , as well as the ability to use masks and text layers as particle emitters . | after effects trapcode particular plugin
Would you like a step-by-step tutorial on creating a specific effect (e.g., magical dust, fire, or particle text reveal) using Particular?
If you want to master a specific look using Particular, I can break down the exact settings for you. Disintegrating a text layer or logo into sand,
Change the emitter type from point to light, layer, or box, and adjust the velocity and particle count.
Uses a 2D or 3D layer's alpha and color data to spawn particles. This opens a dedicated visual workspace
: If you want the particles themselves to be letters or words, you must first pre-compose your text layer. In the Particular effect settings, go to the Particle section, set the Particle Type to "Sprite" or "Textured Polygon," and select your pre-composed text as the Layer .
Controls where particles are born. You can emit from a point, a 3D box, a light, or even a custom 3D model (OBJ).
You can emit particles from text, masks, 3D models (OBJ, FBX, GLB), or even other particles (Auxiliary Particles). Common Use Cases