ABSTRACT
The Simulation effects are pound for pound the most powerful effects in After Effects. They attempt to recreate real-world circumstances and behaviors, such as explosions, caustics, and other particle effects. The Simulation effects, though needing a learning curve (and render time) usually steeper than for most effects in other categories, can take the art that you produce in After Effects to a completely new level. Because of their overwhelming complexity, we’re not going to cover these effects in extreme detail. Effects like Particle Playground could probably have an entire book written about them alone. My attempt here is to spark your creativity, give you a solid foundation, and give you enough information to learn the minutiae on your own.
