ha thats the same method i worked out to do like a year ago… unfortunatly i found it too look a lil flat but its a good starting point i'd advse adding a gauss blur of about 2.0-3.0 to the main stream i found it helps…

Well, I don't use that method, I just found it on the net.
Maybe it's useful for ace203.

i was just adding to it… my new method uses several plugins…

I do agree, that one looks quite… nasty.

i was looking at that one yesturday but i couldnt figure out how to draw the yellow stream

create a new layer that colour, then with the pen tool draw your 4 point mask…

what are some good plug ins to use for proton streams

I think your honest best bet is really a trial and error scenerio, look at the the tutorials here and just give it ago using different effects you already have. It's pretty much what everybody else who made their fan film has done and it's the best way of doing it.

I've begged a couple of the really good online after effects tutors to come up with a tutorial, but so far zippo.

I really don't think there is any easy way of doing it. You have to create a mask, then edit it every second frame or so to get the movement you want. Use the glow filter to get a cool look to the stream. Add a couple of advanced lightning bolts and some sort of glow to the tip of the wand and that's about it.

I've spent several long hours searching everywhere for an easier way and just can't find one. This one looks like it's elbow grease all the way.

My friend Jeremy have been working on a decent method for our fan film

check it out



Here's how I did it:

-Beam Effect(Add mode): Adjusted the length and changed the colors to red on the outside and orange on the inside. Then positioned it where I wanted it. I like the beam effect because you don't have to play with the colors until you get the color you need and it doesn't look as transparent as the lighting effect tend to get.

-Wave Warp(to beam layer): Adjusted the speed and wave height so its not so uniform. I messed around a bit with the Turbulence filter to give the beam even less uniformity and .

-Advanced lightning(Screen or Add mode. Add mode gives it a little more color): I brought down the glow radius and pulled the decay back a bit. I also messed with the core width to give it that thinner jagged look. Now I have tried using the Digital Delirium DE Glower plug in on just the lighting to make it pop but it is a really weird plug in.

-Lens Flare(Add or Screen mode) duh. I used Add mode for the pic. I really like the way the Add mode makes it look a lot like the movies.