Learning Adobe After Effects CC 2014

Master the After Effects default workspace, switch between standard and other workspaces, and locate essential panels like Project, Composition, Timeline, and Preview to streamline animation work.

Discover the general after effects workflow, from importing media and building compositions to nesting them, then navigating the timeline with the current time indicator for the fighter animation project.

Create and save custom workspaces in After Effects, switch between standard, minimal, and text layouts, and reset or delete configurations to tailor your workflow.

learn to reset After Effects preferences to restore default behavior. access preferences to adjust memory and autosave, and appearance, and use the startup keyboard shortcut on Windows and Mac.

Understand the role of compositions in Adobe After Effects, including how nested compositions organize layers, manage timelines, and vary in size, duration, and frame rate.

Create a new composition to host independent timelines, nest other compositions, and reuse elements across your After Effects project.

Learn how to edit an existing composition's settings in After Effects CC 2014, including changing resolution and duration, and adjusting the anchor point and scaling.

Understand the nature of the After Effects project, including how it stores media links and compositions. Learn basic project settings and how to import media.

Learn how After Effects imports video, images, and audio with the same handling, while noting special cases for Photoshop and Illustrator files and importing from multiple folders.

Import Photoshop and Illustrator files as compositions in After Effects, retain layer sizes, and animate layered artwork without flattening, preserving original layouts and layer structure.

Organize your project by creating and nesting folders in the project panel for still images, video, audio, and compositions, and rename items for quick navigation.

Explore after effects layer types, including footage, solids, shapes, text, and the no object, with 3-D layers, lights, cameras, and alpha channels.

Add layers to a composition by dragging assets from the project panel into the timeline. Center and stack layers, adjust transform properties, and integrate Illustrator, Photoshop, audio, and video content to build your After Effects composition.

Adjust layer blending modes in After Effects to control how layers interact, using the transfer controls pane or keyboard shortcuts to preview options like screen, overlay, and multiply.

Learn to adjust layer duration in After Effects CC 2014 by using in/out points and time stretch to fit a 30-second composition, extending video and trimming audio to match.

Master nesting compositions and pre-composing in After Effects to treat multiple layers as a single unit. See how importing Illustrator or Photoshop files creates nested compositions for reusable, organized animations.

Apply and animate layer transform properties—position, rotation, scale, and opacity. Master the anchor point as the origin of transformations and use keyboard shortcuts to reveal or hide properties.

Learn to animate layer position in After Effects by setting keyframes, constraining horizontal movement to the x-axis, and applying the same animation to multiple layer instances via nesting.

Apply easing to keyframes to simulate acceleration and deceleration in animations. Use easy ease, ease in, and ease out, and refine the motion with the graph editor.

Animate scale and rotation in after effects cc 2014 by scaling clouds from 0 to 100 percent and rotating flare layers for dynamic explosion effects.

Learn to create a staggered animation by sequencing layers in After Effects, trimming to 10 frames, and extending to 60 frames for a non-simultaneous reveal.

Animate the opacity of helmet and logo layers to create a fade-in, using 0% to 100% keyframes over two seconds, then copy and stagger them for a one-second overlap.

Animate the audio volume in After Effects by keyframing the waveform, fading from -25 dB to 0 dB over about two seconds. Preview audio separately to verify the fade.

Preview your After Effects timeline with scrubbing, spacebar playback, and ram previews, control the work area, and adjust audio, frame rate, and resolution for efficient animation review.

Explore the difference between effects and layer styles, and learn how to apply, adjust, and animate them on your layers in After Effects.

Learn to apply and adjust motion blur in after effects by enabling layer motion blur, tweaking the composition shutter angle, and balancing samples per frame for realistic fast-moving elements.

Add effects to individual layers in After Effects and adjust their properties, applying tint color correction to three arrows, and using levels and blur plus frame blending to refine motion.

Learn how to animate effect properties in After Effects by applying a grid wipe to a logo, keyframing completion and tile count, and using j and k to navigate keyframes.

Explore how the brainstorm effect randomizes animation by trying out different property values on the highlighted rotation, then apply to the composition and adjust the spread.

Apply an adjustment layer above the background to apply a curves effect across multiple layers, enabling a global change and faster control of tone and contrast.

Learn to add and copy layer styles in After Effects, creating strokes and drop shadows, adjusting color, size, and position, and applying them across multiple layers with blending options.

Learn to create text layers in after effects cc 2014 using horizontal type, area text and point text, and apply text animators within the title safe area.

Explore formatting text in After Effects, using the character and paragraph panels and the text workspace to adjust color, font, size, leading, tracking, kerning, baseline shift, and justification.

Learn to apply a text animation preset in After Effects CC 2014, exploring built-in text animators, range selectors, and the randomized order feature to create dynamic letter-by-letter fades.

Modify text animation presets in After Effects by tweaking timing and opacity, copy and paste keyframes to extend duration, and adjust range selectors from characters to words for fade effects.

Save a text animation preset by renaming the animator and saving it in user or application presets, then apply it to other layers with the playhead at the start.

Learn to create custom text animators in Adobe After Effects CC 2014, using range selectors to control tracking and opacity across letters, words, or lines, and save presets.

Learn to create and animate text along a custom path in After Effects by using masks, path options, and sequential margins to shape readable, flowing typography.

Explore vector shapes and shape layers in After Effects to create scalable, animated graphics, using shape tools, the Pen tool, and Illustrator imports for both simple and complex designs.

Create simple shapes and assemble them into an icon-based phone illustration using shape tools, fills, strokes, and gradients, including a transparent inner screen and rounded corners.

Master creating custom shapes in After Effects with the pen tool—place vertices, convert to bezier points, adjust handles, use guides and fills or strokes, duplicate, and flip horizontally.

Learn to convert Illustrator vector data and After Effects text layers into editable shapes, then apply strokes, fills, and animations in After Effects CC 2014.

Learn to animate shapes in after effects cc 2014 using shape animators and a repeater to create a circular burst, with centered shapes, keyframed motion, and motion blur.

Master mask properties in After Effects by editing the mask path and vertices, applying feather and expansion, and switching between add, subtract, or intersect modes.

Create and refine masks with shape tools in After Effects, using rectangle masks to reveal the frame, adjust vertices, switch between add and subtract modes, and preview the result.

Create custom masks with the pen tool that follow a contour and reveal Serenity as two figures walk, then animate frame by frame with feathered edges.

Animate the mask path in After Effects by keyframing the mask vertices to follow the figures and reveal text, then interpolate keyframes and convert vertex to handles when needed.