I’ve mentioned previously that Todd Kopriva’s Region of Interest blog is one of the best sources of essential After Effects information. And it still is. But a few additional sources have really blossomed as constant fountains of After Effects goodness:

After Effects Facebook Page: One of the best reasons to join Facebook (if you’ve been holding out) is to subscribe to the AE FB page. It’s usually updated several times a day by Todd and others at Adobe with links to tutorials, essential but overlooked information from the online help, interesting uses, and resources such as presets, free book chapters, and training videos. It’s mostly technie with a nice dose of creative thrown in, plus goes out of its way to help bring beginners up to a higher level rather than just teach current users new tricks – welcome deviations from the norm on both counts.

(Of course, Adobe has Facebook pages for their other products as well, such as Premiere Pro and Photoshop. The Photoshop page also has a few interesting videos.)

AE Portal: Rich Young has long maintained a very useful blog that contains “a smattering of news on After Effects” that he finds across the web. Over the past year or two, he’s amped up his efforts, posting on average twice as day – as well as compiling multiple links into comprehensive resources on a given subject. He also has a Twitter feed, plus regularly contributes to:

Aetuts+: Another active source of information, including their own reviews, tutorials, and contests. This site includes the contributions of several writers; if you have something to share with the After Effects community, contact them – you might get paid for your goodwill.

I’ve long contended that in an information society, it’s not lack of information that’s the problem; what’s needed are high-quality curators (information DJs, if you will) who can find the best of what’s available and present it in an appealing manner. In the After Effects world, I think the above are three of the best.