For many video editors and aspiring visual effects artists, the allure of learning After Effects skills comes from a desire to create some of those mind-bending, jaw-dropping visuals you often see online and on social media. Getting Started. In the meantime, even this simple technique is a great way to round out your After Effects skills, and it can really up the value of your projects and is great to add to client videos. Mark starts by describing the core terminology of film, video, and motion design before moving on to an exploration of the After Effects interface. I'll click here and you notice these are my project files. Tylegn May 14, 2020 21:58. As you first launch After Effects it's really important to understand how project files are saved and how all the assets that you'll be working with should be organized on your hard drive before you ever bring them into an After Effects project. Another great tool available in After Effects that, once you get to more advanced effects, you will use a lot of are track mattes. In this accessible and simple beginner’s guide video tutorial, you can learn some of the basic techniques of working with masking and Roto Brush tools for some simple rotoscoping tricks. So, I'll click on the BlueMtns.jpg and I'll hold down Shift and I'll click on the Camper_Mtns.jpg and then I'll click on the Label next to one of those files and let's change it to a nice bright Orange color. Ranging from beginner to advanced, these tutorials provide basics, new … Now as you can see in this After Effects project, I've got quite a lot of things going on. The tools in After Effects make it very easy to build video compositions, add video effects and motion graphics … And it’s not as tricky as you might think. I could use drag and drop if I had an Explorer window or a Finder window and I could drop things directly into the Project panel. Let’s take a look at how the interface of After Effects is designed so you can begin to get comfortable navigating in the application. Now I have to say getting in the habit of keeping the Project panel well organized is a very good way to keep your creative life pain-free as you continue on in your journey as an After Effects artist. You have your Project Files i.e. I'll click on the first one, hold down Shift and click on the next one and they're both selected. After Effects basics VFX tutorial. Different workspaces are designed for different job tasks, for example, if I were doing a text heavy animation I might use the Text workspace. And as you can see I've got video files in there, I've got graphics in there, let's take a closer look and figure out where these files actually are. The search field in the Project panel can help you find specific assets. Over on the right side you basically have your Effects and at the very bottom of your screen you’ll see your Timeline. Next, he covers fundamentals of working in After Effects: building compositions, working with layers, animating, adding effects, designing in 3D, and rendering. Their location is referenced by the project. This is definitely one of the cooler After Effects skills tutorials we’ve produced here at PremiumBeat, but here are some straightforward, effective, awesome guides to creating 8-bit pixel art for your videos or projects. The first way you can import assets into After Effects is by going up to the Menu bar and clicking on File, go to Import and choose File... Navigate to wherever you saved your project files and you notice I have an Assets folder saved right next to them. And I'll double click on the Project panel one more time to make that panel smaller again. If you’re still hungry for more After Effects learning, tutorials, and tricks, check out these articles. What you learned: Organize assets in the Project panel. While many graphics can be created in After Effects there will be plenty of times when you'll want to animate files created in other applications like Photoshop files or Illustrator files, you know, photographs and video files. And just press the Spacebar to stop playback. The next column over is Labels. This is a very interesting graphics … Now obviously if you've never opened an After Effects project before you probably won't have anything in your list. Teaching you how to make a lit fire effect, this is one of the most fun After Effects tutorials for beginners we know of. All files imported into a project don’t have to reside in a composition. Now if I want to change where this layer appears vertically I can click on that layer and drag it down to the bottom of the Timeline. If you're just looking to render what you've already done, check out this article: How to render a WebM. Now, let's organize the video file. If we click directly on the Type column you get the idea it's organized according to Type. The first one I want to Import is the SummerCamp_Badge Illustrator file. It's always a good idea to keep things organized whenever you're working in After Effects. So, I'll click once on that file and then down here at the bottom I have a couple of different options. By Kyle Hamrick. 250+ Elements for Influencers and Vloggers. When first starting out in After Effects, some of these early techniques can be great tools in adding that extra level of dynamics to your regular Premiere Pro projects. I am going to be working in a project I have already built but please feel free to follow along using any After Effects project. See the white line under the Footage panel this is letting me preview in the Footage panel. In this tutorial by Justin Odisho, we get a course in how to create and export transparent background videos in After Effects. So, I'm going to open up the Assets folder and in here we'll go ahead and import a couple of different assets. This is the panel where you will import and organize all the assets that you'll be using in your different After Effects projects. If you’re looking to try out something a little more advanced and outstanding, this tutorial by Peter McKinnon can show how to create the viral “float yourself” effect. After Effects Basic Introduction Course - Free Course. And notice when I do that now the image has gone out of my composition. And when I let go now you'll notice it's hidden under all the other layers, so I can't see it. By the end of the course, you will make a fish jump! In this video we're going to focus on how to keep things organized specifically in the Project panel. Sample files to practice with (ZIP, 117 MB), Southeast Asia (Includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) - English, الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا - اللغة العربية. For over 15 years, he's cultivated a successful freelance career, presented at conferences all over the U.S., and now serves as Senior Motion Designer for School of Motion. So, if I click on the Label column here notice now the files are organized according to their label colors. Well, try out this one on how to animate with trim paths! To add this to a folder I'll just click and drag down to the New Folder button and here we can call this Footage. Now usually when I get started I click on the New Project... button. After you’ve progressed beyond AE basic training, you should check out all of the awesome tutorials found on Video Copilot’s website. The desired effect can be really quite cool and a very impressive animation to add to any project. If we just press the Spacebar we can preview the animation. If you’ve ever opened up Adobe After Effects, you might have felt intimidated by all of the buttons and windows. After Effect software is used for creating compositions, Motion graphics and gives visual effect to any footage. Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book contains 14 lessons that cover the basics, providing countless tips and techniques to help you become more productive with the program. Selecting a region changes the language and/or content on Adobe.com. 4.1 After Effects Keyframe Basics In this lesson, you're gonna learn about keyframe basics which is at the heart of a tremendous amount of animation. If I click this white X to the left of the word Footage that will go ahead and close that panel. Post questions and get answers from experts. In this lesson, you will get familiar with After Effects Interface and Shape Layers structure and, of course, create your first animation. The Toolbar allows you to add different elements to your projects, for example, I could add a Rectangle into here or I could add Cameras, I could add Paint Brush Strokes, you get the general idea. Now the Current Time Indicator determines exactly what frame we are going to be viewing in the Composition panel. 38:11. And notice even though I'm using caps for some and lower for others it really doesn't change how things are organized other than just the fact that they are capitalized or lowercase. Adobe After Effects can help you take motion graphics to the next level, but the tool isn’t always easy to use (especially if you are new to it). If we go to the upper left corner of the interface there's this area called the Project panel. In fact, they're less than a megabyte a piece. In the Project panel if we look you'll notice I've already created a bunch of folders and organized several different elements like I have a Music file here, if we go down to the bottom I have Video Footage. Articles in this section. If I want to preview that file larger I can go ahead and just double click directly on the file and that will open here in the Footage panel. Adobe MAX 2020 may be over, but we've got videos from some amazing speakers to keep that inspiration going through the holidays . Adobe After Effects Basics Tutorial 5/8 – Track Mattes. Now in this project I have already organized everything into folders. Most versions of After Effects operate with the same basic interface layout from the moment you launch the application. In this 2 part tutorial we will take a basic to advanced look at creating titles in After Effects. When the Open panel pops up navigate to your project files. Here's a great video on the using our source files with After Effects! This tutorial goes over the following eight tools: You can follow along with this full write-up here. But again, we will make sure we are in the Standard workspace and if your interface still doesn't look right you can come down here and Reset “Standard” to Saved Layout. YouTube videos, while helpful, didn't get to the basics … I don't need to Create a Composition and I'll go ahead and just click the Import button. Notice the new Folder is already highlighted so I can just go ahead and name it. Beyond the Basics of After Effects - Adobe MAX 2020. Get familiar with the workspace and how to create and save your work. Hello, I am Anish Kokani an Enthusiast Digital Entrepreneur.. If you need to learn Adobe After Effects for the first time, it helps to break the program down to the basics. In very simple terms you can break the main interface down into 4 key sections. However, the basic functionality of After Effects has been pretty much the same with each release, so you don’t necessarily have to purchase a new book every year. Another way to Import is to double click in the Project panel. Navigate back to that Assets folder and this time I'll import both the BlueMtns and the Camper_Mtns file. Honestly 90% of the time when I am working in After Effects, I am using this left most tool here called the Selection tool and looking at the Tool tip I can see if I press V on my keyboard that will grab that tool. Notice I have four different After Effects project files and if you come over here on the right-hand side you'll notice under the Size that none of them are particularly large. Lesson 1 — After Effects Basics. https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/how-to/getting-started-after-effects.html Labels assigns colors to specific kinds of files. Now I'm going to double click on the word Project in the upper left corner of the Project panel to maximize that panel. Again, want to make sure Multiple Sequences is not selected and then I'll go ahead and just click Import and both those elements will be imported right here into the Project panel. This panel is the Project panel and I know that because its name in the upper left corner and to the right of the name you will see three lines. So grateful for this basic course! You'll learn to turn any layer into 3D as well as create 3D lights and cameras. Then, once you think you have everything figured out, you’re introduced to the powerful behemoth of digital video effects, motion graphics, and compositing that is Adobe After Effects. Because you can access additional columns just by Ctrl-clicking or right-clicking on the dark gray area here right next to the Name. Browse the latest Adobe After Effects tutorials, video tutorials, hands-on projects, and more. Plus, many users just developing their After Effects skills users might not be aware that this technique exists. How to Use After Effects? So, if I double click on that icon, notice now the Timeline is active and the Timeline and the Composition panel which is right here in the middle of the interface work together in conjunction. If you don't have these project files you can feel free to follow along using your own Assets. One way to really showcase some added value is by creating your own titles with even the most basic of compositing techniques. Well, you can come up to the Search area here in the Project panel. So, if you are not sure what something is, just hover over top of it. The left side allows you to stack layers vertically one on top of the other. And in this video, we will be focusing on the main elements of the interface to get you up and running quickly. In the Open dialog box let's look at our project files. Looking for a fun and simple tutorial to dive into while working with After Effects? I will show you how to apply track mattes to layers and gain detailed control over the opacity of your layers. The way I have organized things on my hard drive I created a folder called Assets and anything that I thought I was going to import into any of these After Effects projects, I put in the Assets folder. And that will load up a preview here on the top of my Project panel and it also shows me some important settings about the format of that file itself. Seems easy, isn't it? Dragging an element in the Project panel down to the trash icon will delete the file from the project. To know exactly what frame you are on, you want to look in the lower left corner of the Composition panel, here, this will tell you or in the upper left corner of the Timeline itself. Follow along with the tutorial above, and be sure to download the free project file here. Notice also, as I slide over different layers we can see other elements in our composition. I find it interesting that the JPEGs and the Vector Art have the exact same label color. Your Composition Window sits in the very center, which is essentially a ‘live view’ of what’s happening as you make edits. At the top of the Project panel, I have the AA_Compositions folder and in there I have the Tour the Interface composition. Now when you are working on After Effects and building elements, you will be building things called Compositions. You can browse and organize elements using columns in the Project panel. So, Layer 1 is selected, when I double clicked on the composition that is selected. Learn Adobe After Effect's basic tools and techniques with the Get Started series. In looking at the different files we have in the Project panel you'll notice we have a bunch of different kinds of files. And now that file has been brought into the Project panel and notice it's automatically selected and I'm getting a preview over a black background here in the Project panel. your media files, footage, and images etc on the left. Pay attention because a lot of these same principles will stay relevant and helpful in application as you learn more advanced techniques later on. And when I let go it's going to tell me: Are you sure you want to remove this because it's being used in one composition? I want to make sure that Illustrator/PDF/EPS Sequence is not selected and under Import As I'll just import this as Footage. And to master it as well, you’ll need to change your thinking and focus. We're going to focus on the Work section and go to the upper left corner here and RECENT is selected. So, in the Menu bar, I am going to go to Window, Workspace and make sure I am set to the Standard workspace. Now the last thing you might want to do is delete files, like let's say there is an image that you're not working with anymore, well here I'll open the images folder and I'll click on the Camper_Mtns.jpg and drag it down not to the New Folder icon but over here to the Trash icon. So, when you are working in After Effects it's very important that you pay close attention to where you are clicking and what is selected because there will be different Menu options made available depending on which panel or property is currently active. While “rotoscoping” as a term itself might scare some potential editors away, it’s actually not that scary and a surprisingly intuitive technique to master. If you go to the top portion of the Project panel notice I have the Name column. Click once in the Project panel to make it active and I know it's the Project panel because it says Project in the upper left-hand corner. Now they both have switched to Orange and notice the order has changed because we still have things organized according to the Label column. So, whenever you're working in After Effects it's always wise to keep all the elements you'd like to import into your project in one centralized location. So here I'll go to Columns and notice I could set up any kind of information I'd like to organize things by, like the In Point or the Out Point or the overall Duration of the file. To determine how the elements are laid out within the interface we need to first set our workspace. Since these are both selected I can also just click on one of those files and drag them down to the New Folder button here in the bottom of the Project panel. Experience the best TheBeat has to offer. To get started we're going to import a couple of different kinds of files. So, I'd like to change the color for the labels for each one of these JPEG files. You can use this effect for any of the following: In this tutorial by Michael Tierney, we go over some of the very basic and easy ways to work with motion tracking in After Effects. In a course designed to inform and inspire beginners, instructor Mark Christiansen covers the basics of Adobe After Effects 2020. When you build graphic builds like this they'll be built in something called a Composition which is represented here in the Composition panel and down here in the Timeline. So, if I didn't want to do that I can just press Ctrl + Z on Windows or Command + Z on the Mac to undo but now you know how to actually delete files in your Project panel. After Effects Basics Part 1: Using the Rigid Mask Tracker - L6623a; Transforming 2D Design to 3D Animation in After Effects - S6608; After Effects Basics Part 2: Using Content-Aware Fill for Video - L6623b; After Effects Basics Part 3: Using 3D Camera Tracker - L6623c ★ Now on the right side of the Timeline this determines where the layers appear over time and you notice this blue line has an element on top that if I hover over top it tells me it's the Current Time Indicator. We will also take a look at depth of field and a 3D particle system. The Start screen contains a list of previously opened projects. So, go to the upper left portion of the interface and click once in the Project panel to make it active. This is especially helpful when combined with techniques from the tutorial above, and can be great for creating and using your own custom lower thirds. Here are some tutorials that teach all the basic knowledge you’ll need for working with the program. So, I'll click on the New Composition From Footage button and you guess that I'm going to find a video clip, so I'll click once on this Road Trip-Camp MP4 File and I'll click Import. Here’s a complete step-by-step breakdown on how to unlock this hidden feature for making precise adjustments to your shape layer paths. What you learned: Open or create projects. And while some of your basic editing knowledge might serve you in some ways, learning After Effects skills really is a completely different beast. Composition is just a stack of layers that create this composite. Now, you may have noticed whenever you click on an object you have made it selected. However, as you continue to grow — and do your research into how to master the programs — you quickly learn that video editing using After Effects skills can actually be pretty straightforward and fun. Now I don't want to use any of these, so I'll go ahead and just click outside of that menu to hide it. You will notice these lines repeated throughout the different panels in the interface. I'll click once on the Open & Save Projects file and then go to the lower right-hand corner and click the Open button to open that file. Now the Project panel is where you will import and organize all the elements you will be using to build your After Effects projects. In a course designed to inform and inspire beginners, instructor Mark Christiansen covers the basics of Adobe After Effects 2021. With this tutorial, you’ll have a complete understanding of how to use After Effects and start improving your own videos in no time. When first getting started in the world of video editing, NLE editors like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro can seem like the be-all-end-all of video editing knowledge. and do your research into how to master the programs, Tutorial: Getting Started with Content-Aware Fill in After Effects, How to Animate via Audio Frequencies in Adobe After Effects, 7 Useful Ctrl and Cmd Key Shortcuts in Adobe After Effects, How to Create a Mid-’90s DV Camcorder Look in After Effects, Exporting Video With An Alpha Channel for Transparency in After Effects, 5 Tips for Starting Your Own TikTok Channel in 2021, Documentary Tips for Filming Undercover and Undetected, Breaking Down Quentin Tarantino’s Iconic Trunk Shot, An Interview with “Assassins” Cinematographer John Benam, Installing the After Effects 8-Bit Game Preset. 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