Trapcode Suite 13 released

Red Giant Software announced the release of the v13 of the collection of After Effects plugins for motion graphics and VFX developed by Peder Norrby. The update includes Trapcode Tao, a new plugin, as well as significant updates to Trapcode Particular, Shine, and Mir, and new features in Sound Keys, Starglow and Form.

TRAPCODE TAO is a new tool for generating 3D geometries along a path. Features include:

• Create motion graphics with animated ribbons, geometric shapes and more.
• Generates procedural 3D geometries using built-in auto paths, mask shapes, and the motion from 3D lights.
• Two levels of repeaters give you the ability to take simple paths and turn them into complex geometric animations.
• Create motion graphics with textures and included reflection/environment maps.
• Loop animations for motion graphics and backgrounds with Trapcode Tao’s offset and looping system.
• GPU-accelerated, so that features like image based lighting, reflection maps, and ambient occlusion, all render at fast speed.

TRAPCODE PARTICULAR 2.5 – WHAT’S NEW

• While you can still work the regular Particular UI, Particular 2.5 includes a new Effects Builder, for visually creating particle effect. In the builder you can 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 for creating flames, spaceflight, fireworks, explosions, smoke and more. New Sprites and Polygons – over a hundred still and animated sprite images, easily loaded through the new Effects Builder.
• New “Over Life” Graphs give you more control over the size and opacity of particles over life. The new graphing system lets you 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.
• Aspect Ratio control allows you to change the aspect ratio of your particles, giving you the ability to stretch or compress the shape or sprite image. Quickly turn spheres into ovals, squares into rectangles, and much more. Two new Particle types have been added, giving you the ability to create procedural generated square and circle shaped particles.
• Particular 2.5 can render up to 30 Million particles (previously 20 Million).

TRAPCODE MIR 2 – WHAT’S NEW

• Mir 2 adds the ability to spiralize the mesh, deforming the surface with spiral rotation.
• Trapcode Mir 2 now includes the ability to create seamless looping fractal-based backgrounds.
• Choose between quad or triangle-based polygons for your surfaces.
• Add a second-pass wire-frame on top of your Mir surface. Great for creating grid overlays on terrains and more.
• Choose one of three modes for texture sampling. Choose “Nearest” for an unfiltered rendering, “Linear” to smooth gradients, and “Solid Face” to give each polygon a single color.
• Take control of the displacement by setting Z-Range minimums and maximums. Great for creating plateaus and craters on your surfaces.
• Choose from 4 different types of Fractal Distortions for varying displacements of the mesh: Regular, Multi, SmoothRidge, Multi SmoothRidge.
• Mir 2 includes many performance enhancements including up to 3x optimized rendering speeds and improved VRAM management.

TRAPCODE SHINE 2 – WHAT’S NEW

• Trapcode Shine 2 introduces true 3D light rays. Connect Shine to a 3D light, and the rays become 3D camera aware.
• With Shine’s new camera-aware Fractal Noise effects you can add smoky lights to your motion graphics and VFX. Includes masking and 3D fractal noise parallax tools for simulating even more depth.
• Shine comes with 35 fully-customizable presets, to get you started.

TRAPCODE SOUND KEYS, STARGLOW, FORM
There are also minor improvement to Trapcode Soundkeys, Form, and Starglow. These features are included as free updates for current users:

• Trapcode Sound Keys – Choose to show or hide the various UI elements, making it easier to isolate and integrate them into your motion graphics work. And since we really wanted to make the Sound Keys UI elements useful for mograph, we’ve added the ability to change the color mapping and the quantize the VU meter as separate blocks.
• Trapcode Starglow – New color/direction presets have been added.
• Trapcode Form – a new Square particle type has been added.

Trapcode Suite 13 includes 11 tools:

• Trapcode Particular 2.5 (NEW)
• Trapcode Tao (NEW)
• Trapcode Form 2
• Trapcode Mir 2 (NEW)
• Trapcode Shine 2 (NEW)
• Trapcode Lux
• Trapcode 3D Stroke
• Trapcode Echospace
• Trapcode Starglow
• Trapcode Sound Keys
• Trapcode Horizon

PRICE

• Full: $999
• Upgrade: (from previous versions of Trapcode Suite) $199
• Academic: $499

All of the plugins work in After Effects. Trapcode Shine, Starglow, and 3D Stroke also work in Premiere Pro. Check the individual plugin pages for specific host-app and OS compatibility. More information on Red Giant Software’s website.