after effects - crish design · excerpt from after effects apprentice. ... 88 masking with the pen...

Excerpt from After Effects Apprentice. Copyright © 2007 Trish and Chris Meyer.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means.

Focal Press, ISBN 978-0-240-80938-0

Real-World Skills for theAspiring Motion Graphics Artist

AFTER EFFECTS

TRISH & CHRIS MEYER

Amsterdam • Boston • Heidelberg • LondonNew York • Oxford • Paris • San Diego

San Francisco • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier




DEDICATED to the After Effects team, past and present: from those heartypioneers at the Company of Science and Art (CoSA) who revolutionized ourindustry, to the current innovators at Adobe who keep this vital program fresh.

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USALinacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK

Copyright © 2007, Trish and Chris Meyer. All rights reserved.

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� Lesson 1 – Basic Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Building your first animation while you learn a typical After Effects workflow

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Table of Contents

14 creating folders in the Project panel15 creating a new composition15 importing files and folders16 interpreting alpha channels17 adding layers to the Comp panel18 changing the Background Color18 scrubbing parameter values18 interactively transforming layers19 animating Position20 navigating between keyframes20 editing a keyframe’s Bezier handles

21 dragging footage to the Timeline panel22 animating Opacity, Scale, and Rotation24 aligning and distributing layers26 editing spatial keyframes, motion paths27 auto orientation28 adding solids29 adding effects29 copying and pasting effects30 importing layered Photoshop and

Illustrator files32 rendering

� Pre-Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Exploring the After Effects landscape

1 project structure2 main application window3 Tools panel3 Project panel4 importing footage5 Composition panel

6 Timeline panel7 Layer panel8 Info, Time Controls, Audio panels9 Effects & Presets, Effect Controls,

and other panels10 Workspaces

ix Introduction

x Getting Started

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� Lesson 3 – Layer Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Learning how to trim layers and enhance them using Blending Modes and effects

84 Rectangular Mask tool84 Free Transform Points85 masking in the Layer panel85 Mask Feather

86 animating a Mask Shape87 creating a vignette; Mask Expansion88 masking with the Pen tool88 creating and editing Bezier masks

� Lesson 2 – Advanced Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Manipulating keyframes to create more refined animations

36 Adobe Bridge38 Template Projects38 viewing animated properties39 Graph Editor overview40 panning and zooming time40 editing graph curves40 easing animations41 editing multiple keyframes41 the Work Area42 Speed versus Value Graphs44 Motion Sketch

45 The Smoother46 Auto-Orient47 Motion Blur48 Roving Keyframes49 Time-Reverse Keyframes50 Anchor Point overview51 Pan Behind Tool52 motion control moves54 Hold keyframes55 copying and pasting keyframes56 time display and timecode

58 layers and stacking order59 moving layers in time60 trimming layers61 trimming in the Layer and Footage panels62 slip editing63 Sequence Layers assistant65 looping footage66 image sequences67 changing the frame rate67 Time Stretch

� Lesson 4 – Creating Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Using masks, mattes, and stencils to cut out portions of a layer

68 Blending Modes70 effects and solids71 effect motion path73 Effects & Presets panel73 searching for effects74 Animation Presets77 Behavior presets78 Adjustment Layers79 “Instant Sex”80 non-square pixels

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� Lesson 6 – Parenting and Nesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Grouping layers to make them easier to coordinate

134 Parenting, Nesting, and Expressions defined136 assigning a parent137 parenting, opacity, and effects138 parenting with Null Objects140 using guides141 nesting comps142 editing precomps144 nesting a common source

145 sizing precomps147 locking panels148 precomposing a group of layers150 precomposing a single layer152 render order explained153 splitting work between comps154 using precomposing to re-order156 continuously rasterized layers

� Lesson 5 – Type and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Animating text and working with music are essential to motion graphics design

107 creating basic text109 creating Text Animators, Range Selectors111 animating text properties113 randomizing the order of characters113 creating cascading text114 working with selection Shapes115 setting the text Anchor Point116 animating by words117 title safe areas118 animating text Blur and Tracking119 text on a path

89 effecting a masked area90 controlling Mask Shape interpolation91 using effects with the mask path92 Mask Modes and multiple masks93 Mask Opacity94 creating and editing RotoBezier masks95 Audio Spectrum effect

Lesson 4 continued:

96 Alpha Track Matte97 nesting a track matte composite99 effects and track mattes

100 Luma Track Matte101 animating matte layers102 Stencil Alpha and Stencil Luma104 mask shapes in CS3

120 separating fields121 adding the Wiggly Selector122 rendering with an alpha channel123 field rendering124 adding sound to a comp125 add comp and layer markers126 applying Text Animation Presets127 customizing presets128 saving text animations as presets129 editing Photoshop Text layers130 Per-character 3D animators in CS3

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� Lesson 8 – 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Adding a new dimension to your animations

� Lesson 7 – Expressions and Time Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Using expressions and playing with time

160 using the pick whip to create expressions161 altering expressions162 stabilizing shadows164 matching value ranges (the linear expression)166 looping keyframes167 expression tips168 the wiggle expression169 expression controllers169 keyframing the wiggle expression

170 creating a master controller171 converting sound to keyframes172 frame blending173 Pixel Motion174 stop motion tricks175 Preserve Frame Rate176 creating freeze frames177 Time Remapping181 resources for learning more

192 moving and animating cameras194 layer and camera

auto-orientation196 3D lights197 vignettes197 animating lights198 casting shadows200 OpenGL and Fast Previews202 adding dimension to stills

204 editing stills for 3D

183 enabling layers for 3D184 moving layers in 3D space184 how layers stack in 3D185 3D rotation and orientation186 multiplaning effects188 3D motion paths189 multiple views190 camera settings191 customizing 3D views191 camera track and orbit tools

208 creating track points209 important tracker options210 applying stabilization211 compensating for stabilized footage

211 fixing bad tracks211 tracking interlaced footage212 motion tracking213 applying a motion track

� Lesson 9 – Track and Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Tackling several essential skills for creating special effects

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� Lesson 10 – Paint and Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Using Paint and Vector Paint to make your mark

229 basic painting231 erasing strokes231 Paint Channels232 Paint Blending Modes232 Brush duration bar233 animating strokes234 revealing a layer235 creating organic textures

236 tablet settings237 cloning238 transforming strokes240 Vector Paint overview241 Wiggle Control242 Onion Skin mode243 Playback modes

214 Radio Waves effect216 applying tracks to effect points217 perspective corner pin tracking219 Bezier Warp effect220 stabilizing position, rotation, and scale

222 interpolating obscured tracks223 working with high-definition footage224 keying using the Keylight effect225 improving keyed composites226 creating garbage mattes

Lesson 9 continued:

� Lesson 11 – New Features in CS3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Exploring Brainstorm, the Puppet tool, and Shape layers

245 using Brainstorm247 Brainstorm with keyframes248 Puppet Pin tool249 animating Puppet pins250 Puppet Overlap tool251 Recording Puppet Animation251 Puppet Starch tool252 creating a Shape layer253 Shape Stroke and Fill settings253 editing shapes

254 multiple shapes255 Even-Odd Fill256 Shape Effects257 Shape Repeater258 Compound Paths260 Shape Gradients261 Shape Pen paths262 advanced Strokes264 animating a Stroke

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267 importing layered Illustrator files268 setting Anchor Points268 Parenting269 coloring with Fill and Tint270 Ramp and CC Composite effects271 copying paths from Illustrator272 using Stroke to reveal lines274 Wiggle Behaviors275 wiggle expression276 Edit Original280 using Anchor Points to align 3D layers

281 nesting comps282 creating a camera move283 extending seamless tiles284 4-Color Gradient effect285 Illustrator Crop Area286 lighting and shadows288 multiple 3D cameras289 Continuous Rasterization290 Accepts Lights toggle291 curing aliasing (shimmering)292 integrating with 3D programs

� Appendix – Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294Unleashing your creations on the world

� back matter

294 The Render Queue (Movie)294 Rendering: Under The Hood295 Render Settings Templates295 Output Module Templates296 Rendering Movies

300 Resources, Production Credits301 Index

296 Rendering Sequences297 Rendering for the Web297 Flash Video298 Converting between D1 and DV299 3:2 Pulldown

� Lesson 12 – Final Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Putting your newfound skills to work in a fun project

after effects - crish design · excerpt from after effects apprentice. ... 88 masking with the pen...

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