We’re in between releases for After Effects, although NAB 2022 is only a few months away. The year begins with a small sample of what’s happening: some troubleshooting, Photoshop chops, maps in After Effects, keyboard shortcuts, various plug-in demoes and tips, and more.

The After Effects User Guide is now our main reference and contains links to New features, Keyboard shortcuts, and various FAQs, including How to fix common After Effects crashes?

Creative Dojo posted his roundup Free VFX Course, AI Depth Passes, and Free PBR Textures, as well as After Effects is Killing Your Hard Drive Space. And you were blaming it all on Premiere! Chris Zwar’s After Effects & Performance. Series Overview & Contents, especially Part 9: Cold, hard cache will provide background and additional recommendations.

How to Prep Photoshop Files for After Effects, a 20-minute dive, and How To Import Photoshop Layers into After Effects, were posted by Kyle Hamrick for School of Motion. You can follow along with the project file and assets. A bit earlier, Joey Korenman posted in a similar vein with The Ultimate Guide to Cutting Out Images in Photoshop. Hey, “did you know that with the new features in #Photoshop you can cut out most images in seconds???”

For his Map Monday series, Boone Loves Video posted Basic Compositing with Google Earth Studio + Adobe After Effects. I’m not sure how different it is from his earlier tutorials on the subject. He also recommends Earth Studio Tools for Blender – Free Add-on (w/ 3D KML import) by Imagiscope Tech. If your want to dig deeper, the AEP Roundup June 2021 had several sections on maps, including tutorials by Johnny Harris of Vox fame. Flat Pack FX, a travel video fan, adds to the fun with his Make 3D DYNAMIC Map Animations Like A Pro // Google Earth Studio + After Effects 2022.

Boone Loves Video also posted My Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts💻Adobe After Effects 2022 (30 of them) and 22 After Effects PLUGINS to Use in 2022.

Top 20 Free After Effects Plugins You Need in 2022, by Ben Marriott, follows up his recent tips video, Top 20 Actually Useful Effects in After Effects.

At the rate of 20-30 per month, Jake In Motion continued his long tutorial/demo series looking at all built-in effect filters in After Effects, with CC Light Rays | Effects of After Effects. For a deeper dive, check out Andrew Kramer’s Advanced 3D Light Rays in After Effects!

You can find an history of sorts for this effect in the AEP roundup Volumetric light rays in After Effects.

Jake In Motion also posted a nice long explanation of the built-in Foam effect as well as  CC Vector Blur | Effects of After Effects. Another useful explanation of Vector Blur is Chris and Trish Meyer’s After Effects Classic Course: CC Vector Blur. There’s a ton of other top shelf explanations on their Pro Video Coalition channel.

3D Shapes with Shape Layers | No Plugins | After Effects Tutorial by Michael Ponch answers the question, is it possible to create a 3D Cube, 3D Sphere or a 3D Pyramide just with Shape Layers in After Effects? It is, though built-in primitives from Adobe would be nice.

SonduckFilm regularly produces many tutorials. Check out Infinite Animation for World-Building in After Effects | Tutorial, which shows you how to create a spacey scene to with infinite seamless motion.

In How To Add EXPLOSION VFX Into Your Shot! | After Effects Tutorial, ActionVFX shows you how they composite a large scale gas explosion in After Effects. It’s not that easy to get realistic results. Unfortunately, my references (Bang! and Anatomy) have disappeared.

Premiere Gal shows us How to Create Animated Previews for MOGRTs (Motion Graphics Templates). I know I prefer visual cues.

Mograph.com has launched Mograph TV – LIVE 24/7. Perhaps you can find something on. Note: prehistoric people were modern humans and almost exactly like us!