ParticleStorm is a three-part design and development project dealing with an animation technique known as particle systems.  A particle system is a group of small, similar objects whose motion is governed by a shared set of rules.   Hollywood has long made use of particle systems for a variety of special effects, and the technique is also increasingly appearing in video games as well.

Currently, high-quality particle system animations are produced with elaborate software packages that require a great deal of training and technical knowledge to use effectively.  The artists who build these animation effects are forced to spend time learning scripting languages instead of focusing on the creative tasks they are best at.  The goal of ParticleStorm is to create a better user interface for creating serious particle effects.  Particle systems break down well into simple components that are easy for users to conceptualize (see Overview), so a well-built interface should be able to greatly lower the hurdle for new users.

The project consists of two major parts: designing and building the user interface, and implementing the animation and rendering of the particle system itself.  A demo of the real-time rendering and animation system can be downloaded from this site.  The links above give further details on the interface design and the graphics implementation.

Please contact Peter Flynn for more information.