To create the flame for the lighter in After Effects I used CC Particle Systems II. Using this tool, I changed the particle type to bubbles with a low birth and death rate with a fire animation preset. The initial result was pleasing but lacked any true motion.
Changing several variables via keyframing helped produce the following results. During write up i noticed a mistake in both demos as the flame disapears to the top as opposed to the bottom of the flame, closest to the fuel source. This will be rectified in the final piece.
Birth size / Death size
The flame grows to maximum height pre-set by the velocity modifier.
Death Colour
The Death Colour modifier helped bring the largest change to the flame. Alternating at roughly two second intervals between yellow and orange this created the impression that the flame was more organic similar to that from a lighter. The base remains blue throughout as this reflects reality.
Angle Offset
The Angle Offset modifier provides a pulsing effect on the flame, this will be useful in the final project as I will be moving the lighter in shot and this will aid the illusion of air resistance.
