Creative Motion Mastery with Adobe After Effects: Learn the ins and outs of motion graphics, post-production, rotoscoping, and VFX

Creative Motion Mastery with Adobe After Effects

Copyright © 2024 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Group Product Manager: Rohit Rajkumar

Publishing Product Manager: Nitin Nainani

Book Project Manager: Sonam Pandey

Senior Editor: Rashi Dubey

Technical Editor: Simran Udasi

Copy Editor: Safis Editing

Proofreader: Safis Editing

Indexer: Pratik Shirodkar

Production Designer: Aparna Bhagat

DevRel Marketing Coordinators: Anamika Singh and Nivedita Pandey

First published: February 2024

Production reference: 1050124

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Grosvenor House

11 St Paul’s Square

Birmingham

B3 1RB, UK

ISBN 978-1-80461-728-1

www.packtpub.com

In loving memory of my father, M.K. Aggarwal, whose wisdom and resilience continue to inspire me.

Vishu Aggarwal

Contributors

About the author

Vishu Aggarwal is a seasoned multimedia professional, corporate trainer, and consultant with a rich tapestry of experience spanning more than 15 years. His expertise encompasses a wide array of disciplines, including graphic and web design, UX/UI, 3D animation, virtual reality, game design and development, digital video sound editing, and instructional design.

Throughout his illustrious career, Vishu has collaborated with globally recognized companies such as Adobe Systems India, HBO, Capgemini India, Hero Crop., Airbus India, UCB India, Femina India (TOI), Accenture India, DpIxg (Dubai), Deloitte, MB Holdings LLC (Oman), World Health Organization, and more, delivering top-notch training and consultancy services.

Vishu’s commitment to excellence is underscored by his impressive collection of more than 20 globally accepted and valued certification credentials, including being an Unreal Authorized Instructor, Unity Certified Developer and Instructor, Adobe Certified Expert in various CC domains, Adobe Certified Instructor and Community Professional, Apple Certified Trainer, and Apple Certified Professional in Final Cut Pro X.

I would like to first and foremost thank my loving and patient wife, my mother, and my son for their continued support, patience, and encouragement throughout the long process of writing this book. Special thanks to Jaiprakash Pandey, the content creator at SourceCAD, for motivating and guiding me to write this book.

Lastly, thanks to the entire team at Packt Publishing, especially Nitin, Sonam, Rashi, Manthan, and Keagan, for guiding me throughout the book. I would also like to express my gratitude to the technical reviewers of the book for their efforts and valuable contributions.

About the reviewer

Matthijs Clasener, a multimedia designer by education, has evolved into a seasoned educator based in Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Specializing in media and design, his expertise shines in the realm of animation, where he spearheads the animation curriculum at this vocational career school. Notably, Adobe After Effects is a key component in his 2D animation instruction.

His teaching approach stands out for its interactive nature, the integration of gamification, and a touch of humor to engage students effectively. As an Adobe Education Leader, Matthijs is renowned for his valuable contributions to educational events, both in person and online.

Beyond his role in academia, Matthijs extends his influence through his company, Cutaway, where he crafts courses and conducts training sessions on a wide array of Adobe tools. His expertise is not confined to traditional classrooms; he seamlessly transitions between online and onsite workshops, making knowledge accessible to a diverse audience.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1: Working with Motion Graphics

1

Getting to Know the User Interface and Workflow

Technical requirements

Customizing the user interface

Saving an After Effects project

Importing media files

Creating compositions and keyframes

Working with the Timeline panel and layer properties

Trimming composition duration

Working with text and animations

Rendering the composition

Optimizing After Effects’ performance

Summary

2

Applying Effects and Presets to Create Animated Graphics

Technical requirements

Importing footage

Previewing presets

Applying presets

Precomposing

Modifying the preset

Summary

3

Deep-Dive into Text Animations

Technical requirements

Opening the project and creating the text layer

Styling text using the Character and Paragraph panels

Working with text animation

Saving animation as a preset

Using multiple text animators

Offset animation

Working with the Wiggly Selector

Animating text on a path

Adding motion blur

Summary

4

Animating Shape Layers

Technical requirements

Creating shape layers

Exploring shape tools

Creating a funnel shape

Working with Bezier paths

Creating the bottom section of the funnel

Creating text layers

Animating shape and text layers

Creating an info chart

Creating a bar graph line

Using Null for vertex points of Shape layers

Animating the info chart

Merging the compositions

Creating a transition between compositions

Summary

5

Adding Motion to Photoshop and Illustrator Graphics

Technical requirements

Creating a master composition

Importing Illustrator and Photoshop files

Importing Illustrator files

Importing Adobe Photoshop files

Setting up the workout composition for animation

Fixing anchor points

How to convert Illustrator layers into shape layers

Parenting and linking layers

Animating the workout composition

Animating the hand layers

Animating the head and eye layers

Animating the text layer

Animating the Body layer

Using the Graph Editor to refine the animation

Working with expressions

Animating the Instagram Post 2 composition

Animating graphic layers

Animating shape layers

Using track matte to reveal the image

Converting a Photoshop text layer to an After Effects text layer for animation

Combining compositions in a master composition

Summary

6

Creating Motion Graphic Templates for Premiere Pro

Technical requirements

Setting up the project

Building the Media Opener composition

Creating a background

Creating the Media Template placeholder layer

Adding text placeholders

Adding a line graphic

Animating the Line shape

Adding common control

Working with Essential Graphics

Exporting the template

Previewing the template in Premiere Pro

Summary

Part 2: Post-Production and Visual Effects

7

Color Correction and Color Grading

Technical requirements

Opening up the project

Removing a color cast

Viewing Lumetri Scopes

Changing the tone of the footage

Basic corrections

Curve adjustment

Color wheels

Vignette

Secondary color adjustments

Color lookup tables

Summary

8

Rotoscoping and Mask Tracking Techniques

Technical requirements

What is rotoscoping?

Opening up the project

Using Roto Brush for rotoscoping

Roto Brush settings

Freezing the Roto Brush tool

Adding background effects

Adding text

Working with mask tracking and Content-Aware

Creating the mask

Mask tracking

Working with Content-Aware

Summary

9

Chroma Keying

Technical requirements

Opening up the project

Using the Keylight (1.2) effect for chroma keying

Why do we use a green or blue color for chroma keying?

Fine-tuning the screen matte

Foreground color correction

Changing the background

Improving the composite by using CC Light Rays

Adding the 4-Color Gradient effect

Summary

10

Working with Particle Simulations

Technical requirements

Opening up the project

Using the Foam effect to create a snow effect

Creating rain and drizzle simulations

Adding the rain simulation

Adding the Drizzle simulation

Creating fire and smoke simulations

Adding a smoke simulation

Adding a fire simulation

Summary

Part 3: 2D and 3D Tracking, and Rendering

11

Working with 2D and 3D Tracking

Technical requirements

Opening up the project

Using single-point tracking

Working with four-point tracking

Time Stretch

Perspective tracking

Using 3D camera tracking

Adding graphics

Summary

12

Exporting and Managing Projects

Technical requirements

What is a format and a codec?

Opening up a project

Exporting using the Render Queue

Exporting using Adobe Media Encoder

Archiving a project

Summary

Index

Other Books You May Enjoy

Preface

Adobe After Effects is a versatile and powerful software application that stands at the forefront of motion graphics, visual effects, and video editing. Known for its industry-leading capabilities, After Effects is an integral part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, empowering creatives and professionals to bring their ideas to life with stunning visuals and dynamic animations.

Embark on a creative journey with this book as it unravels the intricacies of Adobe After Effects across three captivating parts: Motion Graphics, Post-Production and Visual Effects, and 2D and 3D Tracking and Rendering. Delve into the fundamentals of After Effects, with each chapter thoughtfully crafted to showcase practical examples. Following every chapter will not only enrich your understanding but also provide a hands-on experience through project-based examples, making the learning process both insightful and engaging.

Who this book is for

This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn Adobe After Effects from scratch or enhance their basic knowledge. Whether you are a graphic designer, UX/UI designer, motion graphics artist, video editor, or VFX artist, this guide is tailored to provide valuable insights, basic concepts, and tips and tricks to elevate your skills in After Effects.

What this book covers

Chapter 1

, Getting to Know the User Interface and Workflow, covers the basics of the interface and explains how to import media files to create compositions following the best practices and optimizing After Effects performance.

Chapter 2

, Applying Effects and Presets to Create Animated Graphics, explains how to preview presets and apply built-in After Effects. You will learn the benefits of Precompose and how to adjust preset effects.

Chapter 3

, Deep-Dive into Text Animations, discusses the unique properties of After Effects text animations. We will deep dive into the properties of text animators and other text options for animation.

Chapter 4

, Animating Shape Layers, explains how to create shape layers and how to animate shape layers, apply animations, and connect shapes with null objects to create impactful animations.

Chapter 5

, Adding Motion into Photoshop and Illustrator Graphics, explains how to import Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator files into After Effects, and animate the layers of Photoshop and Illustrator using keyframing. This chapter will also cover the usage of the graph editor and expressions and explains how to incorporate audio into a composition.

Chapter 6

, Creating Motion Graphic Templates for Premiere Pro, covers creating Motion Graphic Templates with controls that can be edited in Premiere Pro.

Chapter 7

, Color Correction and Color Grading, shows you how to color correct and grade video shots in After Effects. After Effects lets you easily correct white balance, adjust contrast/brightness, and change the mode of video clips.

Chapter 8

, Rotoscoping and Mask Tracking Techniques, takes you through rotoscoping in After Effects using the Roto brush and Pen tool, which will let you separate the foreground from the background in video clips and create masks. This chapter also covers how to remove unwanted objects using content-aware features in After Effects.

Chapter 9

, Chroma Keying, explains how to remove green/blue screens from video clips and composite on a different background.

Chapter 10

, Working with Particle Simulations, discusses how to create effects such as rain, fire, and smoke using the particle simulation effects in After Effects.

Chapter 11

, Working with 2D and 3D Tracking, covers perspective and single point tracking using the 2D tracking features and tracking 2D footage with the 3D tracker to composite graphics over video footage.

Chapter 12

, Exporting and Managing Projects, explains how to export compositions from After Effects and Media Encoder in formats such as .mov, avi, and mp4. This chapter will also cover how to consolidate a project’s media in one folder.

To get the most out of this book

Download and install Adobe After Effects from Adobe Creative Cloud, which should automatically install Media Encoder. In addition to Adobe After Effects, install Adobe Bridge as it is used in Chapter 2

. Adobe also provides a 7-day trial version of these applications. Also, don’t forget to download the lesson/exercise files provided with the book (the link is provided in the next section).

When opening the lesson files in the latest version of After Effects, you will get a message saying After Effects: this project must be converted from version 22.6(Apple ARM 64). The original file will be unchanged. Just click OK to open the file in After Effects.

Adobe After Effects version 2022 or higher is recommended. For the system requirements, please visit the Adobe After Effects System Requirements help document at https://helpx.adobe.com/in/after-effects/system-requirements.html

.

Download the exercise files

You can download the exercise files for this book at https://packt.link/gbz/9781804617281

.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: Now drag the sunset.mp4 file from the project panel to the composition icon in the project window to create a composition based on the properties of the media and duration.

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For instance, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in bold. Here is an example: If you select the Next to Project option, the project will be autosaved as a new file in the same folder as your current project.

Tips or important notes

Appear like this.

Get in touch

Feedback from our readers is always welcome.

General feedback: If you have questions about any aspect of this book, email us at customercare@packtpub.com

and mention the book title in the subject of your message.

Errata: Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you have found a mistake in this book, we would be grateful if you would report this to us. Please visit www.packtpub.com/support/errata

and fill in the form.

Piracy: If you come across any illegal copies of our works in any form on the internet, we would be grateful if you would provide us with the location address or website name. Please contact us at copyright@packt.com

with a link to the material.

If you are interested in becoming an author: If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, please visit authors.packtpub.com

.

Share Your Thoughts

Once you’ve read Adobe After Effects – Tips, Tricks, and Techniques, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Please visit https://packt.link/r/1804617288

for this book and share your feedback.

Your review is important to us and the tech community and will help us make sure we’re delivering excellent quality content.

Download a free PDF copy of this book

Thanks for purchasing this book!

Do you like to read on the go but are unable to carry your print books everywhere?

Is your eBook purchase not compatible with the device of your choice?

Don’t worry, now with every Packt book you get a DRM-free PDF version of that book at no cost.

Read anywhere, any place, on any device. Search, copy, and paste code from your favorite technical books directly into your application. 

The perks don’t stop there, you can get exclusive access to discounts, newsletters, and great free content in your inbox daily

Follow these simple steps to get the benefits:

Scan the QR code or visit the link below

https://packt.link/free-ebook/9781804617281

Submit your proof of purchase

That’s it! We’ll send your free PDF and other benefits to your email directly

Part 1: Working with Motion Graphics

Part 1 covers all the essentials of creating motion graphics with Adobe After Effects. You’ll begin by learning the basics of the interface and workflow, then delve into techniques for animating text, shape layers, Photoshop and Illustrator files, utilizing After Effects presets, and creating custom animations. Finally, this part guides you through the process of designing Motion Graphics templates for Premiere Pro.

This part contains the following