Trapcode Form 2.0

Finally after waiting for two years, Trapcode has updated it’s widely used plugin Trapcode Form to the version number 2! When I first read about all the new features I was speechless, because who would’ve thought they would add so many new features like Textured Polygons, Streaklets, Shading and Shadowlets from Particular 2, unlimited Base Form shapes (it means that you can import any 3D model or animation with OBJ importer and use that as the base shape for particles) and so on.

New features

• Some of the features from Trapcode Particular 2 are now integrated into Form plugin. Textured Polygons, Streaklets, Shading and Shadowlets will give fans of Particular an improved workflow and a lot better design experience.
• Base Form can now have any shape because the plugin’s OBJ Importer is able to import any 3D model or 3D animation and use it as a base shape for particles. Basic shapes like grid, sphere and rectangle are still available.
• The plugin now has two new particle types; Streaklet, which can generate organic designs like ribbons and light trails (like the ones in Apple’s iPod Nano commercial) and Textured Polygons which let’s user to import any image as a particle source (for animated sequences like flying birds etc).
• Trapcode Form 2 has much better support for Layer Maps. Layer maps can now be applied to 3D base forms and sphere layered objects. There’s also two new layer map types which are Rotation Layer Map (controls the orientation of particles) and Invert Map (no more need for additional pre-comps).
• Shadowlet particles can be used to add realistic shadows to composition from a single After Effects light source. The plugin also supports new light falloff feature in After Effects CS5.5 so the effects will look much more realistic than before.
• The plugin has built-in audio reactors which can be applied to multiple parameters like size and twist, motion and dispersion. This feature allows Form’s to react to any kinds of sounds with style!

Compatibility

If you don’t have the newest version of After Effects (CS5.5 or CS5) this is your lucky day because Trapcode Form 2.0 officially supports After Effects CS4! Of course the latest versions CS5 and CS5.5 are supported too.

Where to buy

You can download the free trial version and buy the full version of the plugin from Red Giant Software.