Creating Flowing Particle Effects

[Misty]

The Magic Music Visualizer seems like a very interesting software. I want to buy it but there are a few questions I have regarding whether or not I'd be able to create the types of visual effects that I like.

First, I want to say that I'm not very tech savvy when it comes to complicated software. I don't know how to use highly technical programs like Blender. For this reason, I'm trying to figure out what I would be able to create using a software like Magic Music Visualizer.

Second, the types of effects that I wish to create are particle effects. I want the particles to move in a flowy & smooth fashion, rather than flashing on the screen. I have looked at some different tutorials, but I wasn't able to find anything which shows particles that have a flowy movement. The videos that I saw looked flashy, which isn't an effect that I want.

These are some videos that show the types of flowing particle effects that I'm more likely to want to create:

This example shows a beautiful rainbow flame effect. I love how the particles flow here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpViZkhpPHk

This example shows particles that flow in various ways, while also being combined with interesting camera movements & zooming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cel9lJ3IkS4

This example is beautifully smooth, and the particles look like a closeup of an ocean wave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRi9ioeSCXc

I'm sharing these videos with you because they show the types of flowing particle effects that I would like to create.

Would I be able to create effects like these with Magic Music Visualizer? Are they difficult to create? Around how long might it take me to create something like this?

Are there any specific videos that you would recommend for me to get started with?

Thank you for your help

[Sadler]

Magic has some scope for particles but not to the extent you are after. The videos you provided as examples were done using particle systems in sophisticated 3d systems and were not real-time. Magic is intended to be real-time. Particle systems in real-time are not impossible however you may have to use GL shaders (software that runs on the graphics processor) but this may also be beyond you.

If you've downloaded and installed the demo look at the IteratorBasicExamples sample project which has some examples of particle systems. You might want to have a look at Particle Illusion - not real-time or reactive to music but free to use and has hundreds of presets for you to start from.

[Misty]

Magic has some scope for particles but not to the extent you are after. The videos you provided as examples were done using particle systems in sophisticated 3d systems and were not real-time. Magic is intended to be real-time. Particle systems in real-time are not impossible however you may have to use GL shaders (software that runs on the graphics processor) but this may also be beyond you.

If you've downloaded and installed the demo look at the IteratorBasicExamples sample project which has some examples of particle systems. You might want to have a look at Particle Illusion - not real-time or reactive to music but free to use and has hundreds of presets for you to start from.

I understand that the music visualizer examples I shared are probably quite complex to create without knowledge of a 3D program. Although I wouldn't mind creating a much simpler particle animation that doesn't require 3D, as long as the particles flow smoothly. I just don't like the flashy effect that I've seen with a lot of visualizers. I want the particles to flow smoothly, without any flashing.

Maybe I'll decide to learn Blender at some point, so that I'll be able to create a particle visualizer like the ones in the video examples. I just hope it won't take too long to create these particles in 3D, because I don't have a lot of time to devote to complex 3D creations. I'm mainly interested in creating a music visualizer as quickly as possible.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will take a look at the IteratorBasicExamples sample project.

I appreciate your help!