Animate cigarette smoke without particles

[CyberFilth]

Hi all,
I'm trying to animate a moving cigarette, held by a character, and I want it to have a certain look.

I've linked an example of what I'm aiming for below, and I don't think that using particles would fit with this look. So I'm guessing that using point animation would be the best option, but I could use some advice on how to go about it. I want the smoke to rise, whilst also following the path of the characters hand. But after animating the first part of the movement, it seems like I'd need to start adding points as the animation goes on?

[hayasidist]

are you using 14? take a look at Victor's tutorials on liquid shapes.


and this example (but not with a moving source) https://youtu.be/wly0Oz5DVQg based on it

[Maestral]

+1 but if you can't use liquid shapes, lowering the number of points and using a magnet tool for their manipulation could bring some ease. Also, adding some line or similar guide (separate from the animated layer) could be handy as well.

[Greenlaw]

Yeah, I agree...if you have 14, try Liquid Shapes. Curver is good for, too. Maybe combine the two? I haven't tried combining the two for smoke, but it's worth a look. If that doesn't work, then combine Liquid Shapes with regular curve animation. Also, use Stroke Exposure to 'grow' the smoke from its origin.

Earlier this year, I had to create a lot of smoke, dust, fire, and water effects using Moho without the above features. In some of the beginning scenes of Curses, eps 1, and in the main titles in eps 2 and later (on AppleTV+,) I made thin and whispy dust and smoke effects by animating curves and by varying the line thickness along the curve using the Line Width Tool in Magnet mode. Magnet mode lets me adjust the line weight with an adjustable fall-off (use Alt+Drag to adjust the falloff.) To reshape the curve over time, I used the regular Magnet tool and tweaked the Bezier handles only when necessary.

The results looked pretty good, so if Liquid Shapes doesn't work out for you, try animating the curves directly with Magnet.

Sometimes, I use particle simulations for smoke and dust effects, but not in Moho. In my opinion, you'll need a more robust particle system (like Trapcode Particular in After Effects) to do this convincingly. For that level of particle simulation, I export my animation from Moho (using Moho Exporter to break out layer comps,) and I add the effect in a composting program. IMO, using a particle system can be fast and look cool, but I may also be giving up precise control over the exact shapes and path animation I want.

Final note: after I render an effect, I'll usually apply turbulent displacement over the smoke element to add a little more organic detail and motion to the animation. This can be done easily using any compositing program (Fusion, Ae, etc.) The key is to set a credible direction for the procedural, don't let it just boil in place.

Hope this helps.

[Hoptoad]

. . .So I'm guessing that using point animation would be the best option, but I could use some advice on how to go about it. I want the smoke to rise, whilst also following the path of the characters hand. But after animating the first part of the movement, it seems like I'd need to start adding points as the animation goes on?

Point Animation works great for smoke.

This is how I would do it:

Create a vector shape for the cigarette.

On a separate layer, create a vector shape for the wispy smoke. I would use reduced Layer Opacity and Soft Edge effect. I would try to use a small amount of points for the smoke.

Create a bone for the cigarette, Bone Strength = 0.

Bind Layer the cigarette to the bone.

Bind Points 2 points of the smoke shape (near the ember of the cigarette) to the bone.

Go to frame 24 and move the points composing the smoke, making the smoke move upward. I would use the Transform Points tool. Do not move the 2 points near the ember of the cigarette; they keep the smoke attached to the cigarette.

Now, of course, a deficiency of points in the smoke shape would occur near the ember.

Go to Settings/Preferences > Tools and uncheck the box "Enable drawing tools only on frame 0."

Now you can add points on any frame you want, so add some new points on frame 24 near the cigarette. Note: Moho will also put those points on Frame 0, so go back to frame 0 and adjust the new points if they are not placed well.

Go to frame 48 and move the points composing the smoke again, then add a couple new points on frame 48 near the cigarette. And so forth.

Lastly, I would adjust the keyframes to make the smoke move faster or slower.

[CyberFilth]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm on Moho 12 so unfortunately Liquid Shapes aren't an option.

I eventually just used a series of shapes on the same 'smoke' layer, but the idea of using bone animation sounds interesting so I might give that a try next time.
This is the finished smoke, which is just 3 individual smoke shapes.

[Maestral]

I'd say it looks rather convincing and much much better than in your first post.
In the given scene, I believe the focus would remain on the character but things like this are more praised by fellow animators and affiliated viewers. And I also believe these would never pass by unnoticed.

[Greenlaw]

That looks great! Nice work.