Recently in the world of After Effects, there’s been continued discussion of mograph as a tween, counterparts, OS requirements for upcoming Creative Cloud revisions, renaming tools, expressions, motion graphics templates, weekly tips and more.
Eran Stern apparently has a new podcast of sorts, After Effects Weekly, on Lynda-LinkedIn. Tune in each Friday for a new tip, and “learn how to reset tools, control animations, create effects, control layers, fix issues, and integrate with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Cinema 4D.” It seems to be behind the paywall though.
Over at Medium, Andrew Embury posted Of Mice, men and Motionographers…“We need more honesty about the reality of animation work today. As animators, we are all responsible for the people that we work with and the health and success of the community… I love that a comprehensive article on the topic… was recently published; I don’t love that it’s highly biased. Joey’s article [Mograph Goes through Puberty] reflects neither my own path to success nor the reality most common within the industry.”
The Motionographer article mentioned noted here in the first August news roundup, which also noted some Twitter responses to that article. Now there are several more really long threads with many arms that are difficult to link.
The School of Motion (or other) experience is one among many; after all motion graphics has existed since John Whitney used the phrase as the moniker for his company in the early 1960s. We might add that AE users are varied not just in the mograph-only crowd but also in age, geography, and specialty (mograph, video editing, FX, 3D, character animation, web, game dev, art, etc), so we will have different experiences. To be sure though we had to surf miles through digital snow, but there were tutorials before the year 2005, ones that even Andrew Kramer learned from.
AoT: And lastly, as a creative director, how do you view strategy and building teams?
Karin: I mean, the number one thing of course is to work with people better than you are. That’s the way your work is going to get better. I always like to work with people I admire, try to learn from them. A long time ago I used to animate. My mentor, Kyle Cooper, said, “Don’t. You can work with people better than you on that,” and it’s true. I was fine at it when I did it but when I see the beautiful work that Jake and Kiyoon and Nathan can do with CG, I could never match that. Working with people that will elevate ideas and that you can have a dialogue with is really important to me. Every project needs a leader but that means taking ideas from wherever the best ones come from. That’s a real way forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlAT_5GHgTM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-i9yPcEW28
And, in Support Changes for GPU Acceleration Coming to Premiere Pro, PremiereBro added reference to these notices with comments by Puget Systems on the announcement and what the practical implications are for Premiere Pro users.
Ars Technica reviews of MacOS updates are always useful. See macOS 10.14 Mojave: The Ars Technica review by Andrew Cunningham, who says “Dark Mode and iOS apps make this desert-themed release feel surprisingly verdant.” See also The Editor’s Guide to macOS Mojave coming soon here at PVC.
You can learn more about new features coming soon to After Effects CC in AEP’s After Effects + Creative Cloud Next at IBC 2018 here on PVC.
During the preview of Creative Cloud 2019 at IBC 2018, After Effect product manager Victoria Nece demonstrated how motion graphics templates can streamline workflows in After Effects and make for efficient collaboration with designers and editors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APkqQX8UYQE
Mikey Borup shows you How to keep the mosaic effect always square in After Effects. If you’ve ever used the mosaic effect in after effects, you’ve probably encountered this problem: you want it square, but it’s not. This quick tutorial will show you how, using some simple expressions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0ncI0sGUlw
In Sign and callout rigging in After Effects, a longer tutorial, Mikey Borup goes over preparing/creating/and rigging up a shape layer preset, specifically a sign or a callout, that can be used again and again later. He uses Pseudo Effect Maker from AEScripts.com to speed things along.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMAyPLDh4bU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byqds4fMFcU
In QUICK TIP | After Effects | SEAMLESS CARTOON JOINTS, LeeDanielsART demonstrates two simple methods for creating seamless joint in arms and legs for 2D animated characters, using processes directly within After Effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLiii7fCau0
Lee has many more in his QUICK TIPS for After Effects Playlist: including this one, QUICK TIP | After Effects | Colorama Rainbow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU6l9vumf-k
There’s a related tip and a wish to make Colorama 32 bpc (with update UI).
Plugin Everything wants you to check out their latest plug-in, OCD Renamer for After Effects, which intelligently renames layers based on customizable settings. You can rename layers based on effects, children based on parents, parents based on children, mattes based on which type of matte they are, and which layer is matted to them. There is apparently an earlier similar tool, AE Global Renamer 2, which let you bulk rename anything in After Effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32vFH3_bvZA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql0g7nelaNI
Plugin Everything also added Tutorial: After Effects – Plugin Development, if you might be into that.
WorkbenchTV added Tutorial 98: Flocking on how to simulate flocking in After Effects with expressions; you can get the project too:
“After talking with Paul Conigliaro (aka @conigs) about how Tutorial 95: Fluid Motion was similar to flocking, I decided to go a little bit more in depth on the subject because it’s a pretty interesting subject—and one I’ve been interested in since Processing first came out and I discovered the amazing work of Robert Hodgin (aka Flight 404 back in the day). Sadly, it no longer looks like his blog is up, but it used to have a bunch of great stuff on it. I might have to archive.org that one.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRuN9WlbnLA
If you’ve avoided expressions in After Effects, check out a short intro series from Mamoworld, with First Steps, Wiggle and Explosions, and a Pocket Calculator and Rotating Wheels Rig. There are similar offerings from Surfaced Studio, School of Motion, Ukramedia (especially), Motionisland, and many others of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7Fo7Hm_WNs
https://youtu.be/XAoYA0pwfyI
https://youtu.be/5JiXHopUIA0
https://youtu.be/B4e-StbPzdk
https://youtu.be/WNmwIbscmm0
https://youtu.be/O3iP-uOMW1E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRASEWvhItg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQzVmae72wM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK1Ejt7qND0&list=PL1gEYuY5m72bYvZS7iNRXDWtMT2-2-5bI
Motion Array shows How to Create the Impossible Penrose Triangle in After Effects, in Under Ten Minutes. A Penrose Triangle is an “impossible object” because it has a combination of properties cannot be realized by any 3D object in Euclidean space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvpwos1QXBc
Probably worth the time even if you no longer have a working copy of worth of Colorista is A Color Correction Session with Stu Maschwitz, from Red Giant Software. “Sit down with Stu Maschwitz, the creative mind behind Magic Bullet Suite, as he walks you through a professional color correction session. You’ll learn how to use Colorista IV to balance footage, to relight your foreground elements, to match footage across a timeline, and much more.” Colorista Free is no longer supported, but you can use a demo of Colorista 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHCTNaeY8a8
xponentialdesign shared Let’s create circle rays with Stardust in After Effects, which looks at the work of David Mrugala (thedotisblack), to re-create a looping animated version of one of his generative artwork pieces using Stardust 3D particle plug-in in After effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMtRknryBY4
Here’s some videos from BorisFX:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQX5j_Zohs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMgte5kPCfw
Brian Behm helped a friend at this year’s @fantasticfest, then wrote up the experience of building a game show application in Building a Game Show in Adobe Character Animator. Unrelated, but as unexpected back in the day was Tanx-AE: A Game for After Effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXFePT8y2c8
Please note that these roundups are for quick review and comparison. There is almost always vital information from the originating authors at the links provided — and often free presets, projects, or stock footage too.
@aerich