Animation In After Effects (Full Version)

2D and 3D animation techniques, including lip-syncing cartoon characters, lighting and creating custom special effects.

Created byDara Harper

Last updated 1/2015

English

What you'll learn

Create and animate 2D text
Create and animate 3D text
Add special effects to video
Create and animate original lower thirds
Create credits for film, television or web video
Turn a video into a cartoon
Create 2D original animations
Create 3D original animations
How to record a cartoon character voice
Animate a cartoon character
Lip-sync a cartoon character
Create and animate masks
Create custom special effects and motion graphics
Add lights and cameras inside After Effects
Use masks to create animate and create unique effects
Color correct video footage
Integrate Photoshop, Illustrator and Cinema 4D files into After Effects
Intelacing After Effects projects for television and video on demand
Rendering for web or mobile devices

Course content

8 sections • 35 lectures • 4h 21m total length

Instructor welcome and introduction to After Effects interface6:36
Welcome to “Animation In After Effects (Full Version).” Take a moment to learn the After Effects interface along with an extremely important mistake to avoid.

How to use preset effects and animations for text10:13
Learn how to quickly add preset effects and animations to text. In a matter of seconds, you can create a unique text animation.
How to create ending credits for a film or video7:19
Learn how to create ending credits for a film or video with tools inside of After Effects.
How to create and animate lower thirds13:00
You will learn to create, customize and animated lower thirds for television or web videos. You can make your projects look as professional as a show broadcast on national TV. Download the attached video and Photoshop file to follow along with the instructor.
Tips for creating custom text animations5:01
Learn how to create custom text animations and animate unique attributes of text.
How to animate text on a motion path3:48
Learn how to animate text on a motion path and various options to customize motion path animations.
Animating Text Quiz

How to embed multiple compositions and tips for organizing files7:36
Learn how to embed multiple compositions to create unique effects. Also learn an important tip for organizing layers inside of After Effects. Download the attached video to follow along with the instructor.
Introduction to masks6:13
Learn the basics of how to use masks to crop videos in After Effects. Download the attached image to follow along with the instructor.
Importing masks from Adobe Illustrator6:52
Learn how to prepare a mask for export properly inside of Adobe Illustrator so you can use it in After Effects. Download the attached video and download Adobe Illustrator CC to follow along with the instructor. The link for a free trial download is included below.
How to animate masks8:59
Learn how to animate masks including adding feathers and animating the mask path.
Tips for animating masks in cartoons10:51
This video features tips for creating custom masks using solid objects in After Effects. If you’re interested in making cartoons, you can pick up some helpful tips in this video.
Introduction to shapes in After Effects5:25
Learn the basics of using shapes inside of After Effects. This video also features an introduction to parenting objects.
Animating attributes of shapes6:20
Tips for customizing shapes and animating various attributes of shapes including adding rounded corners, zigzags and twirls.
Working with animated PNG sequences8:09
Learn how to properly import an animated PNG sequence into After Effects. Learn how to control time-related attributes of PNGs including how to reverse animations. Due to file-size limitations, it wasn’t possible to upload the PNG featured in the video. However, you may download the attached PNG sequence as an alternative to follow along with the instructor.
Animating with null objects8:05
Learn the basics of null objects in After Effects and how to animate with them.
2D Animation Techniques Quiz

How to rig a simple cartoon character for animation7:02
Learn how to rig basic a character for animation. In this example, the instructor uses a cartoon of a worm. Download the Illustrator file attached. Please also download the After Effects Script Duik to follow along. The instructions and link are below.
How to rig arms, legs and the head of a cartoon character for animation17:44
Learn how to rig the arms, legs and head of a cartoon character. In this example, the instructor uses a cartoon of a monkey. Download the Illustrator file attached. Please also download the After Effects Script Duik to follow along. The instructions and link included with the previous lesson: "How to rig a simple cartoon character for animation"
Tips for preparing a cartoon character for animation15:12
This video includes a more detailed lesson on how to prepare your cartoon character for animation including important tips on anchor points.
Recording a character voice6:57
Have fun following along with this lesson by recording your own cartoon character voice. Please download the audio editing program, Adobe Audition. You must use your computer’s internal microphone or have an external microphone to follow along.
Lip-syncing a character8:35
This video explores the step-by-step process of lip-syncing a character. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long because the instructor uses the After Effects Script Auto Lip-Sync to get the job done. Please download it along with the instructions below to follow along.
Rendering lip-sync animations6:14
Tips on refining your lip-sync animation and rendering the final video.

Adding cameras in After Effects10:38
Learn how to add cameras inside of After Effects and how to change 2D layers into 3D layers.
Adding lights in After Effects6:01
Learn how to add lights inside of After Effects and change attributes such as light colors and angles. Also learn how to animate lights.
Tips for color correcting video6:07
Learn important tips about color correcting video. Also learn how to make tinted colored videos and convert color videos to black and white videos.
Adding a customizing preset and animations effects for video6:42
Explore tips for adding and customizing preset effects and animations to videos. Download the video attached to follow along.
Tips for creating custom video effects6:05
Learn tips for creating unique custom effects and how to turn a video into a cartoon.
Lights, Cameras & Special Effects Quiz

How to create 3D Text6:19
Learn how to create 3D text using tools inside of After Effects. Also learn how to animate attributes of 3D text.
Adding 3D objects to After Effects with Photoshop5:34
Learn how to import 3D files into After Effects using Photoshop. Learn how to apply materials to change the color and texture of 3D objects and how to animate them inside of After Effects. Download Photoshop using the link below and also download the 3D file attached to follow along with the instructor.
Adding 3D shapes to After Effects with Cinema 4D Lite3:47
Learn how to add 3D shapes using Cinema 4D Lite and import them into After Effects.
Animating 3D shapes4:51
Learn how to animate 3D objects using Cinema 4D Lite and import them into After Effects.
Creating editable 3D shapes7:00
Learn how to make editable 3D objects using Cinema 4D Lite. This will enable you to change the shape of an object. Also learn how to import them into After Effects.
Lighting a 3D scene5:56
Learn how to light a 3D scene using Cinema 4D Lite and import it into After Effects.
3D Animation Techniques Quiz

Rendering inside After Effects6:44
Learn important tips for rendering film, TV, video on demand and web video projects using the After Effects internal render options. Also learn about how to interlace video. This is especially important for video on demand projects. To follow along, you can use the After Effects project of your choice.
Transfering renders from After Effects to Adobe Media Encoder8:39
Learn how to load After Effects projects into Adobe Media Encoder. Learn important tips for rendering film, TV, video on demand, mobile devices and web video projects using Adobe Media Encoder. Also learn about how to interlace video. This is especially important for video on demand projects. To follow along, you can use the After Effects project of your choice.
Rendering Quiz

Requirements

Download After Effects CC (Full Version or Free Trial)

Description

In this Adobe After Effects CC course, you will learn a variety of 2D and 3D animation techniques, from lip-syncing cartoon characters to lighting 3D scenes. You will also learn how to create unique special effects for video and custom motion graphics. This course includes several practice files so that you can follow along with the instructor.

This is the ideal online class if you want to learn how to rig and animate a cartoon character. You will even learn how to record a character voice! You will also learn the basics of 3D animation using Cinema 4D Lite. “Animation In After Effects (Full Version)” provides you with the foundation to create your own original animation.

In addition to 2D and 3D animation techniques, this online class will teach you how to create credits, animate lower thirds, color correct video footage and create original special effects. You will also learn how to use and customize the preset animation and effects in After Effects to save you time. Other topics include how to turn a video into a cartoon and tips for animating text.

You will also learn how to render an After Effects project for mobile devices (including the iPad and Android) the web, DVD, and Blu-ray disc. This course also teaches you how to interlace, an important step for preparing your After Effects project for video on demand so that you can submit it to Netflix, iTunes, Hulu and other outlets.

If you're interested in learning After Effects to make your own cartoon, enhance your film project, start your career in motion graphics, create a unique video to promote your business or spice up your YouTube page, this class can help you realize your creative goals.

Who this course is for:

Filmmakers, photographers, designers, cartoonists and visual artists who want to learn animation and motion graphics

Animation In After Effects (Full Version)

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Welcome1 lecture • 7min

Animating Text5 lectures • 39min

2D Animation Techniques9 lectures • 1hr 9min

Character Animation6 lectures • 1hr 2min

Lights, Cameras & Special Effects5 lectures • 36min

3D Animation Techniques6 lectures • 33min

Rendering2 lectures • 15min

Conclusion1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: