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Experimenting with dynamic Streak Animation…

When working on the Supermovers films, we created different backings of looping graphics to support the moves of people dancing and singing, including Squares, lines & circles…but the streaks were the most interesting to experiment with.

When Looking for references, the cel animation style paint strokes matched really well for the colourful shapes we wanted, whilst using the Premier League’s vibrant colours..

It all starts with a solid and playing with 3D Stroke, we draw the shape we would like to animate and colour the path at the same time. ‘Enable’ is the key to start working on the paint stroke style, as well as adding rough edges that give us the liquid feeling.

Our cel is already moving, but Turbulent Displace is the preset that sets the evolution of our stroke making the animation fluid, with a life of its own.

At this point, several layers add a combination of colours onto our streak. Using Trapcode Particular on what we have so far, the shape gains volume, and emitting particles at a birth time generates dynamism. This creates a more naturalistic feel and allows the streaks to move in a funny way from one spot in the background to another.

The result is a colourful backing, with shapes you can enjoy watching move on their own, in a way that doesn’t distract from presenters and celebrities dancing and singing. It’s all about movement!