Last week, Red Giant announced the release of the Trapcode Suite 13, which is an upgrade to their popular After Effects plugins that create motion graphics and visual effects. In addition to major updates to Trapcode Particular, Shine and Mir, this particular release introduces Trapcode Tao, a brand new plugin for generating 3D geometries along a path, and also includes new features in Trapcode Form, Sound Keys and Starglow.

Trapcode Tao 

With tools to generate complex procedural 3D geometries using built-in auto paths, mask shapes and the motion from 3D lights, Trapcode Tao brings new depth to motion graphics projects. Thanks to GPU acceleration, process-intensive graphics and effects, like image-based lighting, reflection maps and ambient occlusion, all render at incredible speeds.

  • Generate procedural 3D geometries using built-in auto paths, mask shapes and the motion from 3D lights
  • Create beautiful, complex motion graphics with animated ribbons, geometric shapes and more
  • Take simple paths and transform them into complex geometric animations using two levels of repeaters
  • Create photo-realistic motion graphics with textures and included reflection/environment maps
  • Loop animations for motion graphics and backgrounds with Trapcode Tao’s powerful offset and looping system

Trapcode Particular 2.5: New Effects Builder and More Than 130 New Presets

Offering a more creative and intuitive way to build and customize particle effects, Trapcode Particular’s new Effects Builder lets you drag and drop blocks of particle behaviors and styles, and includes a built-in instant preview window for immediate feedback. In addition to the massive library of Sprites, you can choose from more than 130 new presets to help kick off any project. Instantly create flames, spaceflight, fireworks, explosions, smoke and more with tools to customize just about every detail.

  • Brand new Effects Builder for visually creating particle effects. Add adjustable blocks with preset behaviors and styles or add complete, customizable particle effects instantly. The Effects Builder gives instant visual feedback, making the building and previewing of effects an intuitive and creative experience.
  • 130+ New Presets: Particular 2.5 includes more than 130 new Effects Builder presets, meaning over 180 fully customizable presets for creating flames, spaceflight, fireworks, explosions, smoke and more.
  • New Sprite Library: Particular 2.5 includes more than 100 still and animated Sprite images, easily loaded through the new Effects Builder.
  • New “Over Life” Graphs provide more control over the size and opacity of particles over life. The new graphing system lets users draw curves and adjust points easily. Draw from scratch, or start with presets and adjust.
  • The new explode behavior automates the process of creating explosion effects by removing the need to set keyframes.
  • With the new Aspect Ratio Control, users can change the aspect ratio of particles, enabling them to stretch or compress the shape or Sprite image. Quickly turn spheres into ovals, squares into rectangles and much more.
  • Create procedurally generated square and circle shaped particles with two new Particle types.
  • Particular 2.5 can render up to 30 million particles (previously 20 million), offering more power, flexibility and particle awesomeness than ever before.

Trapcode Shine 2: 3D Light Rays, Fractal Noise and 35 Customizable Presets

With Trapcode Shine’s new ability to link to an After Effects 3D light, you can generate 3D camera-aware light rays. Shine’s new Fractal Noise tools enable users to add smoky, volumetric lighting to their motion graphics and visual effects. These Fractal Noise tools include masking and Parallax that simulate depth and organic behavior within the light. 35 customizable presets let users quickly generate light from text, or replicate natural effects like sunshine filtering through clouds or an ocean surface.

  • True 3D light rays: Connect Shine to a 3D light, and the rays become 3D camera aware.
  • New camera-aware Fractal Noise effects allow users to add smoky lights to your motion graphics and VFX. Includes masking and 3D fractal noise parallax tools for simulating even more depth.
  • Comes with 35 fully-customizable presets to get you started.

Trapcode Mir 2: Loop, Spiralize, Distort and Second-Pass Wireframes

Also getting a major upgrade, Trapcode Mir 2 adds a number of new ways to create and customize dynamic 3D surfaces, such as the ability to spiralize the mesh or deform the surface with spiral rotations. Create seamless looping fractal-based backgrounds, add a second-pass wireframe to create grid overlays on terrains and other surfaces, and choose between quad or triangle-based polygons for a surface.

 

  • Mir 2 adds the ability to spiralize the mesh, deforming the surface with spiral rotations.
  • Create seamless looping fractal-based backgrounds.
  • Choose between quad or triangle-based polygons for surfaces.
  • Add a second-pass wireframe on top of your Mir surface, great for creating grid overlays on terrains and more.
  • 3 New Texture Sampling Modes: Choose “Nearest” for an unfiltered rendering, “Linear” to smooth gradients and “Solid Face” to give each polygon a single color.
  • Adjustable Z-Range minimums and maximums; these allow users to take control of displacement and are great for creating plateaus and craters on surfaces.
  • 4 Types of Fractal Distortions for varying displacements of the mesh: Regular, Multi, SmoothRidge and Multi SmoothRidge.
  • Performance Enhancements: Includes up to 3x optimized rendering speeds and improved VRAM management.

Trapcode Suite 13: Even More Updates and Improvements

Trapcode Sound Keys, Starglow and Form updates, which are free to existing users, include:

  • Trapcode Sound Keys: The go-to plug-in for using audio tracks to generate keyframes, Trapcode Sound Keys now enables users to isolate and visually alter the plug-in’s UI elements, so they can be used as part of an artist’s motion graphics. Users can now hide UI elements, as well as change the color mapping and quantization of the VU meter.
  • Trapcode Starglow: New color/direction presets are now available.
  • Trapcode Form: A new Square particle type has been added.

 

Updates to Trapcode Sound Keys, Starglow and Form 2 are free to current users and can be downloaded through Red Giant Link. Trapcode Suite 13 is available today and can be purchased for $999 ($199 upgrade) through Red Giant. You can purchase individual products or the entire Trapcode Suite 13. Complete pricing info available at www.redgiant.com/products/trapcode-suite.