A few days ago I came across a new insanely cool plug-in from Trapcode called Form. It’s a fractal based 2D particle generator for After Effects and it has some insanely cool potential.

You can download a free demo copy from here (don’t pirate kids).

Here is a link to the help files for this bad ass new tool.

And here’s a link to the online training videos they’ve put out there so far.

If you’re not familiar with the Trapcode family, it’s a Swedish plug-in company founded by Peder Norrby. So far they have seven tools out there, and they’re incredibly useful for all visual effects and motion graphics artists.

My favorite has to Particular. It’s a 3D particle system for AE that’s awesome for generating anything particle based. Whether it be smoke and explosions, or even just weird geometric shapes for motion graphics. Check out the interactive preview to see some of the power.

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And if you want to see more practical examples of what can be done, go visit Andrew Kramer at Video Copilot.net for some awesome Trapcode tutorials.

I’m a huge fan of his tutorials. They’re incredibly helpful and well done, and he has a bunch of products for all you digital rebels out there. I’m the proud owner of his SeriousFX AE compositing dvd’s and Action Movie Essentials, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used them. So go check out the site and buy some of his visual effects candy. If you’ve ever had the urge to blow something up or play with some digital squibs, then this is the place to go.

Alright, that’s the VFX link drop for today. Now go and have some fun playing around with this new tool! Back to work I go…