After Effects For Designers

After Effects for Designers teaches design students, artists, and web, graphic, and interactive designers how to design, develop, and deploy motion design projects using Adobe After Effects. Author Chris Jackson balances fundamental aspects of time-based design with related techniques, and explores the principles of animation; composition and layout; visual hierarchy; typography; cinematic storytelling; 3D modelling; compositing, and more. Each chapter contains unique, step-by-step project exercises that offer timesaving practical tips and hands-on design techniques, teaching readers how to effectively use the tools at their disposal in order to conceptualize and visualize creative solutions to their own motion design work. Readers will build professional-world examples in every chapter and, as a result, learn how to both design effectively using After Effects and practically apply these skills in client-based work. An accompanying companion website includes complete project files for the book's chapter exercises, and additional video tutorials.

Plumb the depths of core motion design fundamentals and harness the essential techniques of this diverse and innovative medium. Combine basic art and design principles with creative storytelling to create compelling style frames, design boards, and motion design projects. Here, in one volume, Austin Shaw covers all the principles any serious motion designer needs to know in order to make their artistic visions a reality and confidently produce compositions for clients, including: Illustration techniques Typography Compositing Cinematography Incorporating 3D elements Matte painting Concept development, and much more Lessons are augmented by illustrious full color imagery and practical exercises, allowing you to put the techniques covered into immediate practical context. Industry leaders and pioneers, including Karin Fong, Bradley G Munkowitz (GMUNK), Will Hyde, Erin Sarofsky, Danny Yount, and many more, contribute their professional perspectives, share personal stories, and provide visual examples of their work. Additionally, a robust companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/shaw) features project files, video tutorials, bonus PDFs, and rolling updates to keep you informed on the latest developments in the field.

One of the most exciting new features in After Effects is the integration of Cinema 4D using the CINEWARE plug-in and a free version of Cinema 4D Lite. Both provide a wide assortment of new 3D tools and options that are difficult or nearly impossible to achieve in After Effects alone. This book clearly demonstrates how the new 3D workflow bridges the two applications together to raise the design bar for motion graphics and broadcast design. Hands-on exercises teach you essential production skills including: Modeling in CINEMA 4D Lite Importing 3D models in After Effects Tracking 3D motion in After Effects Compositing with CINEWARE Using MoGraph features in CINEMA 4D Rendering and optimization techniques Additional online materials include project files and videos showcasing the techniques covered in the book. To access these materials, please see the 'eResources' tab.

Almost all motion graphics artists today use After Effects, Photoshop, or Illustrator to some degree in their projects. But how do they decide which tool is best for the job and how can they utilize the various components in the Creative Suite together for the most efficient and effective workflow? This book cuts to the chase and shows readers an in-depth view of the various components in the Creative Suite as best utilized in professional motion graphics projects. With 4-color artwork from real-life productions sprinkled throughout, this inspiring and practical guide will show intermediate to advanced readers what they need to know to incorporate CS5 in their own work. In the first half of the book, readers learn about design essentials as related to motion graphics, including typography, logo animation, repairing and retiming footage, stylizing footage, background design, 3D objects and cameras, audio design, and vector design. The second half of the book focuses on real-world design explorations including chapters on broadcast package design, title sequences, DVD menu design, motion control 3D, character animation techniques, and panoramic images.The accompanying DVD brings it all together by providing source footage and project files, allowing readers to experiment on their own. Note from the publisher: FREE Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 updates are available for this title. Simply register your product at www.peachpit.com/register and you will receive the updates when they become available.

WHAT IS AFTER EFFECTS? One of the most used software Adobe Creative Cloud is probably the most popular collection of softwares amongst creatives around the world. With millions and millions of users, Adobe After Effects might be one of their top programs, mostly used in the Media / Entertainment industry for Motion Graphics, Animation and Visual Effects, and with the ever expanding digital media demands, Adobe After Effects seems unbeatable and the number one go-to program for professionals and enthusiasts. WHO AM I? Everyone I am a motion graphics artist based in New York City, I have over a decade of experience working for major companies and brands such as Google, Amazon, Nike, Marvel, Paypal and WWE among them. My spectrum of expertise spans a wide range of digital/social media, broadcast, and studio design. But above all I'm a regular daily user of After Effects, which knows the concerns of the After Effects community and wants to help to add to the expansion of this huge, generous and super creative community. WHAT IS EXPRESSION? A simple language Expression is the language that allows to program or link the properties in Adobe After Effects. This coding language is written in ExtendScript, developed by Adobe, and based on the JavaScript coding language. Trying to learn Expression can proved to be a laborious journey for a regular user, not because of the difficulty of the language but because all of the materials to learn it are spread everywhere or just outdated, it can be even more frustrating when the After Effects user has to leave the community to learn coding for After Effects through other coding sources such as JavasScript websites. I experienced this firsthand and when it came to learning Expression, you just can't find a precise answer where to start or a global approach, this book is exactly what I wish I had found. WHY A BOOK? A missing piece Expression is known, even to the experienced users, as the dark and mysterious place within the After Effects world, animators mainly understand keyframes. When you don't know anything about coding in general, it can look scary and not accessible but believe me Expression is very logical and you just need to know a few terms to be able to write, read or decipher an expression; my goal is to lighten things up and what can seem complex, at the end is a very beautiful and simple tool that will bring harmony in creativity and boost the productivity, definitely a must for any After Effects user. Expression is still a written language so it's still easier to focus by learning it through reading rather than watching a video tutorial. The purpose of this book is to have a reference where to quickly search, learn, and review the terms necessary to use Expression in After Effects: Finally a real guide of how to learn Expression fast and easy, presented in a modern and minimalist way.

After Effects for Designers teaches design students, artists, and web, graphic, and interactive designers how to design, develop, and deploy motion design projects using Adobe After Effects. Author Chris Jackson balances aspects of time-based design with related techniques and explores the principles of animation, composition and layout, visual hierarchy, typography, principles of motion, 3D modelling, compositing, and more. Each chapter contains unique, step-by-step project exercises that offer timesaving practical tips and hands-on design techniques, teaching readers to effectively use the tools at their disposal to conceptualize and visualize creative solutions to their own motion design work. Readers will build professional-world examples in every chapter and, as a result, learn how both how to design effectively using After Effects as well as practically apply these skills in client-based work. An accompanying companion website includes complete project files for each chapter exercise, video tutorials, and links to other After Effects and motion design resources around the web.

This is the only book to focus exclusively on the creation of visual effects for After Effects, and is a one-stop resource for anyone who wants in-depth explanations that demystify the realm of visual effects and how they were created, thanks to veteran author Mark Christiansen's friendly and accessible style. A thoroughly packed, informative read, this masterful guide focuses on explaining the essential concepts, features, and techniques that are key to creating seamless movie-quality visual effects. Users who are comfortable with After Effects will find a helpful review of the fundamentals—managing footage, viewing and editing layers, animating type, and more—so they can learn how to work smarter and more efficiently. Readers of all levels will learn core techniques for effects compositing including color matching, keying, rotoscoping, motion tracking, emulating the camera, and concluding with using expressions in After Effects. The final section of the book delves into creative explorations, demonstrating professional effects that readers might want to re-create. Readers will also find comprehensive coverage of all new features, including the new workflow between After Effects CC and CINEMA 4D, coverage on the 3D Camera Tracker, and examples of the Refine Edge tool for high-quality matting results. Included with the book are HD media files and After Effects project files used for many of the techniques in the book, as well as demos of plug-ins that you can use to experiment with in your own effects. To access these files goto www.peachpit.com/redeem and redeem the unique code provided inside this book. Information on where to locate the code can be found on page xxvi. Author Expertise: Mark Christiansen (christiansen.com) is a visual effects supervisor and creative director and has worked on features including Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, and has served as a director, producer, designer, and compositor/animator on commercials, music videos, live events, and television documentary productions. Mark has done work directly for the Adobe After Effects development and marketing teams, is a founder at provideocoalition.com, and has taught courses at fxphd.com and Academy of Art University. He has been a guest host of popular podcasts such as “The VFX Show” and has written all editions of this book and coauthored After Effects 5.5 Magic. Mark is also founder of New Scribbler Press.

Visual effects and motion graphics pros of all stripes - from broadcast professionals to VFX supervisors to Web designers who need to produce occasional video segments - will welcome the dramatically accelerated features provided in the brand-new After Effects CS4. This best-selling book has been revised to cover all that's new in this upgrade: the ability to import 3D layers from Photoshop; the Cartoon effect that converts live-action footage into stylized imagery; Adobe Device Central CS4, which lets you preview and test animations for mobile devices, and more. Designed around a single complex project that’s broken down into manageable lessons, this book mimics a real-world workflow - but one that readers tackle at their own pace. Contains all the lesson files and footage readers need to complete the lessons. All of Peachpit's eBooks contain the same content as the print edition. You will find a link in the last few pages of your eBook that directs you to the media files. Helpful tips: · If you are able to search the book, search for "Where are the lesson files?" · Go to the very last page of the book and scroll backwards. · You will need a web-enabled device or computer in order to access the media files that accompany this ebook. Entering the URL supplied into a computer with web access will allow you to get to the files. · Depending on your device, it is possible that your display settings will cut off part of the URL. To make sure this is not the case, try reducing your font size and turning your device to a landscape view. This should cause the full URL to appear.