Jul 12, 2024
Previewing the composition – Working with Shape Layers
You’ve created several shape layers using shape tools and the Pen tool, animated them, and used null objects to parent them. It’s time to see how it all comes together.
- Hide all layer properties, and then press F2 to deselect all layers.
- Press the Home key or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
- Press the spacebar to preview your animation. Press the spacebar again to stop playback.
4.Make any adjustments you need to make. For example, if the leaves protrude from the flowerpot as they rise with the stem, use the Selection tool to adjust their position or rotation, or animate the leaves’ opacity so that they are visible only as they emerge from the pot.
Tip
To rotate a leaf from its tip, use the Pan Behind tool to move its anchor point to the tip.
5.Choose File > Save to save the final project.
Animating layers to match audio
You can time animation to match the beat of an audio file. First you need to create keyframes from the amplitude of the audio (which determines loudness), and then sync the animation to those values.
- To create keyframes from audio amplitude, right-click or Control-click the audio layer in the Timeline panel, and choose Keyframe Assistant > Convert Audio To Keyframes. After Effects adds the Audio Amplitude layer. The new layer is a null object layer, meaning it has no size or shape and won’t appear in a final render. After Effects creates keyframes that specify the amplitude of the audio file in each frame of the layer.
- To sync an animated property with the audio amplitude, select the Audio Amplitude layer, and press E to display the effects properties for the layer. Expand the channel you want to use. Then Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (macOS) the stopwatch icon for the property whose animation you want to sync with to add an expression; with the expression selected in the time ruler, click the pick whip icon (
) on the Expression:[property name] line, and drag it to the Slider property name in the Audio Amplitude layer. When you release the mouse, the pick whip snaps, and the expression in the shape layer time ruler now means that the property values for the layer will depend on the Slider values of the Audio Amplitude layer.
Review questions
1 What is a shape layer, and how do you create one?
2 How can you create multiple copies of a layer, including all of its properties?
3 How can you snap one layer to another?
4 What does the Pucker & Bloat path operation do?
Review answers
1 A shape layer is simply a layer that contains a vector graphic called a shape. To create a shape layer, draw a shape directly in the Composition panel, using any of the drawing tools or the Pen tool.
2 To duplicate a layer, select it, and choose Edit > Duplicate or press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (macOS). All of the original layer’s properties, keyframes, and other attributes are included in the new layer.
3 To snap one layer to another in the Composition panel, select Snapping in the options section of the Tools panel. Then click next to the handle or point you want to use as a snapping feature, and drag the layer close to the point to which you want to align it. After Effects highlights the points to which it will align when you release the mouse button.
4 Pucker & Bloat pulls the vertices of a path outward while curving the segments inward (puckering), or pulls the vertices inward while curving the segments outward (bloating). You can animate the degree of pucker or bloat over time.
More DetailsJun 3, 2024
Using nulls to connect points – Working with Shape Layers
You’ve learned that parenting connects one layer to another. Sometimes you want to connect a single point to another layer—for example, the top of the stem in your animation to the flower itself. The Create Nulls From Paths panel lets you do just that. A null object is an invisible layer that has all the same properties as other layers so that it can serve as a parent to any layer. The Create Nulls From Paths panel creates null objects based on specific points, which you can then parent to other layers without having to write complex expressions.
There are three options in the Create Nulls From Paths panel: Points Follow Nulls creates nulls that control the position of the path points; Nulls Follow Points creates nulls that are controlled by the positions of the path points; and Trace Path creates a single null with its position linked to the coordinates of the path.
Note
The Create Nulls From Paths panel works only with masks or with Bezier shapes (shapes drawn with the Pen tool). To convert a shape drawn with a shape tool to a Bezier path, expand the shape layer contents, right-click the path (e.g., Rectangle 1), and choose Convert To Bezier Path.
You’ll create a null for the point at the top of the stem, and then you’ll join that null to the flower so the two remain connected even as the flower moves.
- Go to 4:20 so you can see the stem and leaves well.
- Choose Window > Create Nulls From Paths.jsx.
- Expand the Stem layer in the Timeline panel, and then expand Contents > Shape 1 > Path 1.
- Select Path.
You must select a path in the Timeline panel in order to create a null using the options in the Create Nulls From Paths panel.
5.Click Points Follow Nulls in the Create Nulls From Paths panel.
After Effects creates two nulls, corresponding to the two points on the stem path. The null objects appear in gold in the Composition panel, and as layers named Stem: Path 1 [1.1.0] and Stem: Path 1 [1.1.1] in the Timeline panel. You only need the null for the top point.
Note
After you create the nulls, you can close the Create Nulls From Paths panel, or you can leave it open.
6.Select the null that corresponds to the bottom point of the stem, and delete it.
7.In the Timeline panel, drag the pick whip () from the Stem: Path 1 [1.1.1] layer to the Falling Star layer.
8.Move the current-time indicator across the time ruler to see how the stem connects to the flower.
You’ll animate the flower subtly, and the stem will move with it.
9.Go to 4:28, and use the Selection tool to move the flower a bit to the right as if it had been moved by the wind.
10.Select the Falling Star layer. Go to 4:20, and click the stopwatch icon () next to the Rotation property in the Properties panel to create an initial keyframe at its original rotation. Go to 4:28, and change the rotation to 30°.
11.Choose File > Save to save your work.
Apr 23, 2024
Drawing tapered strokes with the Pen tool – Working with Shape Layers
Animating using parenting
When you parent one layer to another, the child layer adopts the attributes of the parent layer. You’ll draw a stem and leaves to meet the falling star. You can simply parent the leaves and stem to ensure they move together.
Drawing tapered strokes with the Pen tool
First you’ll draw the stem. It will have a slightly thicker stroke than the flower, but no fill, and its tapered end will rise to meet the flower.
- Go to 4:20, when the flower is in its final position.
- Select the Pen tool in the Tools panel.
- Click the word Fill to open the Fill Options dialog box, and then select the None option, and click OK.
- Click the Stroke Color box in the Tools panel, change the stroke color to green (we used R=44, G=73, B=62), and click OK. Change the Stroke Width to 10 px.
- Click just below the rim of the flowerpot to create an initial vertex, and then click at the center of the flower. Before releasing the mouse, drag the Bezier handle to create a subtle curve in the stem.
6. Select the Shape Layer 1 layer, press Enter or Return, change its name to Stem, and press Enter or Return again.
7.In the Timeline panel, move the Stem layer below the Base of Flowerpot layer so it’s inside the pot, not outside of it.
8.Expand the Stem layer properties, and then expand Contents > Shape 1 > Stroke 1 > Taper. Change the End Length to 83%.
The Length values determine how quickly the stroke tapers. Start Length tapers the stroke at its starting point; End Length tapers the stroke’s end point. Width determines how much the stroke tapers, and Ease determines how sharp the tapered end is.
9. With the Stem layer selected, click the stopwatch icon () next to the Position property in the Properties panel to create an initial keyframe at its final position.
10. Go to 3:00, and press Alt+[ (Windows) or Option+[ (macOS) to set the In point of the layer to the current time.
11. Select the Selection tool () in the Tools panel, and drag the stem down so that it is completely below the top of the flowerpot. Press Shift as you drag to move it straight down.
Tip
If you haven’t already deselected the Snapping option, you may need to deselect it now in order to position the stem where you want it.
The stem will begin to emerge from the pot at 3:00.
12. Hide the properties for the Stem layer.
Jan 30, 2024
Creating a shape with rounded corners – Working with Shape Layers
You’ll use the Rounded Rectangle tool to create the rim of the flowerpot.
- Go to 1:10.
- Select the Rounded Rectangle tool (
), hidden behind the Star tool (
) in the Tools panel.
- In the Composition panel, drag a shape a little wider than the top of the flowerpot. Draw the shape a little bit above the base of the pot.
- Select Shape Layer 1, press Enter or Return, and change the layer’s name to Rim of Flowerpot. Press Enter or Return to accept the new name.
- Select the Rim of Flowerpot layer.
- If the rim matches the base, skip to step 7. Otherwise, click the eyedropper next to the Fill Color property in the Properties panel, and then click the base of the flowerpot in the Composition panel to sample the color.
- Click the stopwatch icon (
) next to the Fill Color property to create an initial keyframe.
- Go to 4:01, and use the eyedropper to change the fill color to match the lighter brown in the flowerpot base.
9. Hide all layer properties. Press F2 or click an empty area in the Timeline panel to deselect all layers.
Snapping layers into position
The flowerpot layers currently have no relationship to each other in the composition. You’ll use the Snapping option in After Effects to quickly align the layers. When the Snapping option is enabled, the layer feature that is closest to your pointer when you click becomes the snapping feature. As you drag the layer near other layers, features on other layers are highlighted, showing you where the snapping feature would snap if you released the mouse button.
Note
You can snap two shape layers together, but not two shapes within a single layer. Also, a layer must be visible to snap to it. 2D layers can snap to 2D layers, and 3D layers can snap to 3D layers.
- Select the Selection tool (
) in the Tools panel.
- Select Snapping in the options section of the Tools panel, if it’s not already selected.
Tip
If the Snapping option isn’t selected, you can temporarily enable it: Click a layer and start dragging, and then press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) as you drag the layer.
3. Select the Rim of Flowerpot layer in the Timeline panel.
When you select a layer in the Composition panel, After Effects displays the layer handles and anchor point. You can use any of these points as the snapping feature for a layer.
4. Click near the bottom of the rim, and drag it near the upper edge of the Base of Flowerpot layer until it snaps into place. Be careful not to drag the corner itself, or you’ll resize the layer.
As you drag the layer, a box appears around the handle you selected, indicating that it is the snapping feature.
5. Use the Selection tool to adjust the size of the rim or base of the flowerpot if you need to.
6. Deselect all layers, and choose File > Save to save your work.
More DetailsNov 18, 2023
Duplicating a shape – Working with Shape Layers
The sky should have more than one star, and they should all shimmer. You’ll duplicate the star you created multiple times so that each of the new layers has the same properties as the original. Then you’ll adjust each star’s position and rotation separately. Finally, you’ll animate the offset paths to accentuate the twinkling effect.
- Press the Home key or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
- Select the Star 1 layer in the Timeline panel.
- Choose Edit > Duplicate.
After Effects adds a Star 2 layer at the top of the layer stack. It is identical to the Star 1 layer, including its position.
4. Press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (macOS) five times to create five additional star layers.
5. Select the Selection tool () in the Tools panel, and press F2 to deselect all layers in the Timeline panel.
Adjusting the position, scale, and rotation of each shape
The stars you created are all on top of each other. You’ll customize the position, scale, and angle of rotation for each.
- Using the Selection tool, drag each star to a different position in the sky.
2. Select the Star 1 layer, and then adjust its Rotation and Scale values in the Properties panel.
3. Adjust the Rotation and Scale values for each of the other layers to create variation among the stars. You can also use the Selection tool to adjust the stars’ positions.
4. Press the spacebar to preview the animation. The stars twinkle and fade as night turns to day. Press the spacebar again to stop the playback.
Animating concentric shapes
You’ll enhance the twinkling effect by animating the stroke for each star.
- Press the Home key or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
- Expand the properties for the Star 7 layer, and then choose Offset Paths from the Add menu.
The selected star expands in the Composition panel; its stroke has been repeated multiple times.
3. Expand the Offset Paths 1 properties in the Timeline panel.
4. Reduce the Amount to 4, and increase Copies to 2.
The Amount value determines how much the shape expands; positive values expand the stroke outward, and negative values send it inward. Increase the number of Copies to add repetition.
5. Click the stopwatch icon () next to the Amount and Copies properties to create initial keyframes.
6. Go to 0:10, and change the Copies to 3. Then, go to 1:00, and change the Amount to 1 and the Copies to 1.
7. Repeat steps 2–6 for each of the other stars, varying the timing and settings so that they expand and contract at different times.
8. Hide the properties for all layers. Then select the Star 1 layer and Shift-select the Star 7 layer to select all the star layers.
9. Choose Layer > Pre-compose, name the new composition Starscape, and click OK.
After Effects creates a new composition named Starscape that contains the seven star shapes; the new composition replaces the layers in the Background composition. You can continue to edit the star layers by opening the Starscape composition, but precomposing the layers keeps the Timeline panel organized.
10. Choose File > Save to save your work so far.
Aug 3, 2023
Getting started – Working with Shape Layers
Lesson overview
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following:
- Create custom shapes.
- Customize a shape’s fill and stroke.
- Use path operations to transform shapes.
- Animate shapes.
- Taper strokes in shapes.
- Snap layers into alignment.
- Use the Create Nulls From Paths panel.
This lesson will take about an hour to complete. If you haven’t already done so, download the project files for this lesson from peachpit.com/AfterEffectsCIB2024, following the instructions in the Getting Started section under “Accessing the lesson files and Web Edition.”
PROJECT: ANIMATED ILLUSTRATION
Shape layers make it easy to create expressive backgrounds and intriguing results. You can animate shapes, apply animation presets, and connect them to other shapes to intensify their impact.
Getting started
Shape layers are created automatically when you draw a shape with any of the drawing tools. You can customize and transform an individual shape or its entire layer to create interesting results. In this lesson, you will use shape layers to create a whimsical animation.
First, you’ll preview the final movie and set up the project.
- Make sure the following files are in the Lessons/Lesson04 folder on your hard disk, or download them from peachpit.com now:
- In the Assets folder: Background.mov
- In the Sample_Movie folder: Lesson04.mp4
- Open and play the Lesson04.mp4 sample movie in Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player to see what you will create in this lesson. When you are done, close Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player. You may delete the sample movie from your hard disk if you have limited storage space.
As you start After Effects, restore the default application settings. See “Restoring default preferences” on page 3.
3. Start After Effects, and then immediately hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (macOS) to restore default preferences settings. In the Startup Repair Options dialog box, click Reset Preferences.
4. Click New Project in the Home window.
After Effects opens to display a blank, untitled project.
5. Choose File > Save As > Save As, and then navigate to the Lessons/Lesson04/Finished_Project folder.
6. Name the project Lesson04_Finished.aep, and then click Save.
More DetailsJun 5, 2023
Adding motion blur – Animating Text
Motion blur is the blur that occurs as an object moves. You’ll apply motion blur to finesse the composition and make the movement look more natural.
- In the Timeline panel, click the Motion Blur switch (
) for each layer except the FishSwim and LOCATION layers.
Now you’ll apply motion blur to the layer in the LOCATION composition.
2. Switch to the LOCATION Timeline panel, and enable motion blur for the layer.
3. Switch back to the FishSwim Timeline panel, and select the Motion Blur switch for the LOCATION layer.
After Effects automatically enables motion blur for the composition when you enable it for any layer.
4. Preview the entire, completed animation.
5. Choose File > Save.
Give yourself a pat on the back. You just completed some hard-core text animations. If you’d like to export the composition as a movie file, see Lesson 15, “Rendering and Outputting,” for instructions.
Review questions
1 What are some similarities and differences between text layers and other types of layers in After Effects?
2 How can you preview a text animation preset?
3 What are text animator groups?
Review answers
1 In many ways, a text layer is just like any other layer in After Effects. You can apply effects and expressions to text layers, animate them, designate them as 3D layers, and edit 3D text while viewing it in multiple views. However, they differ from most layers in that you can’t open text layers in their own Layer panels. Text layers consist entirely of vector graphics, so when you scale the layer or resize the text, it retains crisp, resolution-independent edges. You can animate the text in a text layer using special text animator properties and selectors.
2 You can preview text animation presets in Adobe Bridge by choosing Animation > Browse Presets. Adobe Bridge opens and displays the contents of the After Effects Presets folder. Navigate to folders containing categories of text animation presets, such as Blurs or Paths, and watch samples in the Preview panel.
3 Text animator groups enable you to animate the properties of individual characters in a text layer over time. Text animator groups contain one or more selectors, which are like masks: They let you specify which characters or section of a text layer you want an animator property to affect. Using a selector, you can define a percentage of the text, specific characters in the text, or a specific range of text.
More DetailsApr 5, 2023
Skewing the range of text – Animating Text
Now, you’ll make that middle word shake and shimmy by setting Skew keyframes.
- Drag the Skew Animator’s Skew value left and right, and notice that only the selected word sways. The other words in the line of text remain steady.
- Set the Skew Animator’s Skew value to 0.
- Go to 9:15, and click the stopwatch icon (
) for Skew to add a keyframe to the property.
4. Go to 9:18, and set the Skew value to 50. After Effects adds a keyframe.
5. Go to 9:25, and change the Skew value to −50. After Effects adds another keyframe.
6. Go to 10:00, and change the Skew value to 0 to set the final keyframe.
7. Click the Skew property name to select all of the Skew keyframes. Then choose Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease to add an Easy Ease to all keyframes.
8. Hide the properties for the BLUE CRAB CHARTERS layer in the Timeline panel.
Tip
To quickly remove all text animators from a text layer, select the layer in the Timeline panel, and choose Animation > Remove All Text Animators. To remove only one animator, select its name in the Timeline panel, and press Delete.
9. Press Home, or go to 0:00, and then preview the entire composition.
10. Press the spacebar to stop playback, and then choose File > Save to save your work.
Animating a layer’s position
You’ve used several text animation presets to dazzle your audience. For a simpler effect, you can animate the Transform properties for a text layer, just as you can any other layer.
Currently, the company logo appears onscreen, but there’s no context for it. You’ll add the words Providing Excursions Daily, animating them so that they move into position as the company name is appearing onscreen.
- In the FishSwim Timeline panel, go to 11:30.
At this point, all the other text is onscreen, so you can position the “Providing Excursions Daily” line accurately.
2. Select the Horizontal Type tool ().
3. Make sure no layers are selected, and then click in the Composition panel. Make sure you’re clicking in an area that doesn’t overlap an existing text layer.
Tip
To make sure no layers are selected, click an empty area in the Timeline panel, press F2, or choose Edit > Deselect All.
4. Type Providing Excursions Daily.
5. Select the text you just typed. Then, in the Properties panel, choose Calluna Sans Bold from the Font Family menu. Set the Font Size to 48 px.
6. Make sure the Fill Color box is set to white.
7. Click More to see additional options. Then select Small Caps. Leave all other options at their default settings.
8. Select the Selection tool (), and then drag the Providing Excursions Daily layer so that the text is aligned with the bottom of the logo and the right edge of Snorkel Tours.
9. In the Properties panel, click the stopwatch icon () next to the Position property to create an initial keyframe for the layer.
10.Go to 11:00, the point where the logo has replaced the company name.
11. Drag the Providing Excursions Daily layer off the right edge of the composition. Press the Shift key as you drag to create a straight path.
12. Preview the animation, and then hide all layer properties.
It’s simple, but effective. The text moves in from the right side and stops in its final position beside the logo.
More DetailsMar 13, 2023
Using a text animator group – Animating Text
Text animator groups let you animate individual letters within a block of text in a layer. You’ll use a text animator group to draw attention to BLUE CRAB CHARTERS, animating only the characters in the middle word without affecting the tracking and opacity animation of the other characters in the layer.
- In the Timeline panel, go to 9:10.
- Expand the BLUE CRAB CHARTERS layer to see its Text property group name.
- Select the BLUE CRAB CHARTERS layer, and make sure only the layer name is selected.
- Next to the Text property group name, click the Animate pop-up menu, and choose Skew.
After Effects adds a property group named Animator 3 to the layer’s Text properties.
5. Select Animator 3, press Enter or Return, and rename it Skew Animator. Then press Enter or Return again to accept the new name.
Now you’re ready to define the range of letters that you want to skew.
6. Expand the Skew Animator’s Range Selector 1 properties.
Each animator group includes a default range selector. Range selectors constrain the animation to particular letters in the text layer. You can add selectors to an animator group, or apply multiple animator properties to the same range selector.
7. While watching the Composition panel, drag the Skew Animator’s Range Selector 1 Start value up (to the right) until the left selector indicator () is just before the C in CRAB.
8. Drag the Skew Animator’s Range Selector 1 End value down (to the left) until its indicator () is just after the B in CRAB in the Composition panel.
Now, any properties that you animate with the Skew Animator will affect only the characters that you selected.
About text animator groups
A text animator group includes one or more selectors and one or more animator properties. A selector is like a mask—it specifies which characters or section of a text layer you want an animator property to affect. Using a selector, you can define a percentage of the text, specific characters in the text, or a specific range of text.
Using a combination of animator properties and selectors, you can create complex text animations that would otherwise require painstaking keyframing. Most text animations require you to animate only the selector values, not the property values. Consequently, text animators use a small number of keyframes even for complex animations.
For more information about text animator groups, see After Effects Help.
More DetailsNov 22, 2022
Animating text to appear over time– Animating Text
You want the letters of the location—ISLA MUJERES—to flow organically onto the screen under the activity title. The easiest way to do this is to use another text animation preset.
- Go to 5:00 in the timeline. At that point, the title has finished scaling to its final size.
- Select the LOCATION layer in the Timeline panel.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+O (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+O (macOS) to jump to Adobe Bridge.
- Navigate to the Presets/Text/Animate In folder.
- Select the Raining Characters In animation preset, and watch it in the Preview panel. This effect works well to reveal the text gradually.
- Right-click or Control-click the Raining Characters In preset, and choose Place In Adobe After Effects 2024 to apply it to the LOCATION layer, and then return to After Effects.
- With the LOCATION layer selected in the Timeline panel, press UU to see the properties modified by the animation preset. You should see two keyframes for Range Selector 1 Offset: one at 5:00 and one at 7:15.
Note
The Raining Characters In preset changes the color of the text, which is fine for this project.
The U key, sometimes referred to as the Überkey, is a valuable keyboard shortcut that reveals all the animated properties of a layer. Press it once to see the animated properties; press it twice to view all modified properties.
You have a lot of animation to fit into this composition, so you’ll speed up the effect.
8. Go to 6:00, and then drag the second Range Selector 1 Offset keyframe to 6:00.
Tip
Press the Shift key while you move the keyframe to ensure it moves to the current time.
9. Select the LOCATION layer, and press U to hide the modified properties.
10. Select the FishSwim tab in the Timeline panel to make that timeline active, and then go to 6:00, if you’re not there already.
11. Use the Selection tool () to move the LOCATION layer so that ISLA MUJERES is right-aligned with and just below Snorkel Tours.
12. Deselect all layers. Drag the current-time indicator across the time ruler from 4:00 to 6:00 to see the letters fall into place. Then save your work so far.
Animating type tracking
Next, you’ll add the company name and then animate its appearance using a text animation tracking preset. By animating tracking, you can make words seem to expand outward as they appear onscreen from a central point.
More Details