Perhaps you know that we have several projects in different niches, one of which is the project videosmile.ru. It is devoted to the topic of video (installation, special effects, 3D, etc.) and develops by our team since 2011.

I know that among my audience there are people who are interested in, so I asked the guys with videosmile to prepare for my subscribers a series of lessons on the most popular video processing program - Adobe After Effects. This is a kind of "photoshop" in the world of video.

We decided that it should be practical lessons, after studying which a person can make some useful animated elements for his video. Such a series of lessons was successfully created, and today I am glad to present it to you.

Acquaintance S. After Effects.

In the first video, you will get acquainted with the features of After Effects and find out where it can be downloaded.

Creating 4 spectacular screensavers. Part 1

In this lesson, you will get acquainted with the program interface, configure the workspace, learn the main program panels. Also here you create your project and the first composition within this project.

Creating 4 spectacular screensavers. Part 2

Here you will continue the creation of several startup screensaver cream and in the process. Explore some more important After Effects program tools.

Transitions and interruption

In this video, you will learn how to make high-quality transitions from the starting screen saver to the video itself, and also implement several interruptions that will be great for you when installing. In addition, you will learn how to use standard transitions that are in the After Effects program initially.

Lower Thirds and Dish

Most likely, you have noticed that animated dies appear in various rollers involving people, in which the name and surname of a person and the name of its company and the type of activity are displayed. These dies are easily created in After Effects, and in this lesson you will learn to make them yourself.

Animated text elements

In the final lesson of this minibars, you will learn how to create text animated blocks with which you can add any important text information to your videos.

The first thing we will pass towards drawing will change the workspace on Paint.

Paint, Brushes and Layer panels appeared. The Paint panel is designed to specify the drawing parameters. We will choose the size and rigidity of the brush in the Brushes panel. Since it is impossible to draw directly in the Composition panel, for this we will use the Layer panel. It is best to draw at 100% scale. To do this, use the Maximize Frame / Restore Frame Size in the side menu panel, or by visiting the cursor. Press the key<~> on keyboard.
Create a solid white layer. It will be our canvas on which we will practice. Select the Brush Tool tool. Draw a small mug.

This effect means that we applied drawing to this layer. The hand-drawn element is displayed in the properties of the layer as the Brush sublayer 1. Dorisuing to our mug of petals and stem, so that the flower turned out.

Take a look at the properties of the layer.

As you can see for each drawing element, we have a separate sublayer. If we highlight one of the layers and draw something, the new element will replace the selected. It happens convenient if you are trying to draw something defined. You can give the name to each element to not confuse them. Select an element, press the Enter key, enter a new name, and again press ENTER.

The first feature of the drawing effect we see Paint of Transparent. It is common to all elements. If you put it in the "ON" position, the background layer will disappear and only the background in the form of chess cells will remain (if they are not displayed with you, click on the Toggle Transparency Grid switch, it is both on the Composition pane and on the Layer panel).

Now we will send one of the elements. Here we see two groups of properties: transform (transformation properties), Stoke Options, as well as an animated PATH property. We will deploy Stoke Options. If you want to correct drawing parameters for an already drawn item, it should be done here, in the Paint panel you specify the parameters only for subsequent drawing elements.

Animize the Start property. Move the editing line to 2 seconds, and click on the stopwatch icon. Created first key. Press the Home key Create a second key. But change its value by 100%. Perform preview In the View Composition panel. The element is gradually drawn, but in the opposite direction. So that he drawn up as you painted it, animate the END property on your own (do not forget to cancel the animation of the Start property).
In the Stoke Options group, we can change the color of the brush (Color), diameter (Diameter), rigidity (hardness), roundness, interval, opacity (opacity) and flow (FLOW). As you might notice, all these properties can be animated. Now changing the color for each element to color our flower.

Another drawing tool is an eraser (Eraser). Semit this elementThe Paint panel becomes available item Erase, which specifies the erase item.

You can use eraser not only to erase drawn items, but also to remove the background.
Finally, I would like to describe the method, allowing you to draw a perfectly straight line. For this we need a ruler. Run the View-\u003e Show Ruler menu command. Two scales appeared in the Layer panel: vertically and horizontally.
Now we carry the cursor on one of the line. The cursor must take the type of two-way arrows. Clamp left button Mice and move the cursor to the place where we want to locate the line.

Sometimes there is a need to draw something over video file, it is possible to simply create a funny video, or for some serious project. In this small "manual", this is what I will tell you.

So, let's begin:

1. Create a new composition (if you are not familiar with the basics of robots in Adobe After Effects, then you can read about the creation of a new composition).

2. "Think" in the Adobe After Effects project window, and then in the composition itself, the video on which we will draw (in this case This is Nature.mp4):

3. Now two times "click" by layer video file and go to the window of this separate layer (in this case it is Layer: Nature.mp4), where we will draw:

4. When we switched to the above window, we simply choose the Brush Tool (Ctrl + B) tool. Also in the lower right corner we see the Paint toolbar where you can configure many different parameters.drawing:

5. Now you can try to draw something. I am skouring hand Drew the root sway :)

I would like to note the fact that each individual drawing line is created on the new"Substrators" inside a video file layer. You can flexiblycustomize each layer (Brush 1, Brush 2 ... Brush n) exhibiting, for example, the time of each of the parts of the drawing, as well as many other parameters.To do this, you should deploy a layer of video file \u003d\u003e effects \u003d\u003e paint.

I, in general, described the drawing process in adobe program After Effects, then everything depends on your imagination. By the way, if there are problems with saving (rendering) of the ready video in Adobe After Effects, I recommend you to familiarize yourself with that Material.

From August 2016, I study AE, I started working in the field of Moure-Design, in addition to the illustrations.

I prepared a blog lesson with simple animation of figures and lines. This lesson is designed for those who are more or less well oriented in After Effects, so if it seems difficult to you, I recommend to watch the basic lessons on the network. For example, this mini course: Illustrator + After Effects introductory.

Most recently, I finished and posted a project with animated climbing lines (callouts), and in my lesson I will tell you how I did at the very simple example.

1. Create B. Adobe Illustrator Vector file with pattern. We have Callout. All lines without fill, only stroke. Make as in the figure to make it clearer to perform animation. Save the file B. aI format.

2. Import in After Effects. There are several ways. Double click in the window Project. And select the file in the drop-down window. Either through the conductor - select the file and drag the mouse in the window Project.. You can still B. Menu File\u003e Import\u003e File, and choose our file. Note! Must stand footage. in field Import as. And we do not put any ticks.

3. Create a new composition in After Effects. Ctrl + N. or through the menu Composition\u003e New Composition. We specify the settings - write a name, we have 30 frames (Frame Rate) and 15 seconds (Duration) The duration of the animation, we also specify the size of the composition of the 1920x1080 composition itself. Click - OK.

4. Drag the imported vector file with the window from the window Project. on the time Line - Lower section of the workspace, where, in fact, we will animate our lines.

5. Select a layer with a file. Go to the menu Effect\u003e Generate\u003e Fill.

Color choose white.

6. The layer is highlighted. Next, click on the second account icon Rasterize. Next to the name of the layer (if you do not see the icons, then there is no linen Toggle Swiches / Modes - Press and layer look - the icons will appear on the right).

Now our lines are clearly visible. Need to ask them Scale scale. You can reveal the layer and in the parameters TRANSFORM\u003e SCALE. Enter the value, I put 450 per 450. or hot key S. - immediately displays only one scale from all parameters of the transformation of the object. Hot keys are on all functions and it is very convenient. Yes, each layer or object can be transformed and these settings are in each layer.

7. Then place our Callout in the center. As in the illustr: first arrogance Selection Tool (V), then move the object.

8. We allocate our layer, go to the menu Layer\u003e Create Shapes From Vector Layer.

And after this action, we will have 2 layers. Our first vector original layer we can delete. Select and key Delete.. Do not forget to keep the project - Ctrl + SHIFT + S. Tip - Periodically press Magic Ctrl + S..

9. Now we need to split one layer into a few - because we have several lines. You can manually, but it is long and boring. Better download and install free script Zi_explodeshapeslayers (Improved a new version). We highlight the layer and go as in the illustrator File\u003e scripts.. Click the button Explode.!

All layers crashed separately and you can again delete our original layer, it is the lowest. And manually would have to copy (copying the layer - Ctrl + D.) A layer so many times how many sublayers are lines, then remove extra sublayers from a new copied layer and rename.

For more details, who did not find or did not want to download the script:
We have 4 sublayers, then you need 3 more copies, make them. Then the first layer remove 2,3,4 groups. And then by analogy. Then renamed - select the layer - ENTER - enter the new name - ENTER or in an empty place click. There should be 4 layers with separate lines.

10. You can lay a layer in order of animation - first a circle, then lines, then the square. And you can leave so much, according to your desire. Well, all cookings are finished. Now the most interesting is the animation of the vector. Let's start with a circle - from the Callout marker.

By the way advice! Apply - Remove the Objects Objects in the Objects window (such a usual Ctrl + - does not work here, and Ctrl 0 too) or choosing the scale in the window Composition - Magnification Ratio Popup (That's where the numbers are with percent and arrogant down). And the composition can be navigated along the window, the same hand (as in the chandelier). Also when animating an object, pay attention to the central anchor point Anchor Point. It must be in the center of the object, otherwise the animation will occur from there, where it is a point, and in this case it is necessary from the center. How to fix - press hot key Y.And pull the point, put in the right place. Well, let's go.

11. Circle animation. Anime Scale.
You can turn on the solo on the layer, then only a circle will be visible (mug icon or point). Then put the keys - this will be our animation. Move the time indicator (this line with a blue tip - CURRENT TIME INDICATOR.) for 0 seconds 15 frames and put the key - click on the stopwatch next to Scale, I leave the value (I have 450).

Move to the beginning of the song on zero - and change the value to zero (immediately drive the size of the size and the new key is automatically affixed). Next, we go for 3 seconds - 450, for 3 seconds of 15 frames - 300, after another 5 frames - it will be 3 seconds of 20 frames - 450, and again we repeat on 6 seconds, 6.15 and 6.20 - we put the same meanings - 450/300/450. Then also on 9 and 12 seconds at about the same distance. Now we do attenuation at the end of the composition - 14 seconds of 15 frames - 450, for 15 seconds at the very end - 0. Then click F9. - smooth the keys.

You can add the key to another way - click on Rhombic next to the stopwatch and then change the value). You can move on the time scale with keys Page Up. and Page ON.. Move the indicator carefully! Do not shift the layer itself! If anything Ctrl + Z. To help you.

Well now, our circle came to life - appears at the beginning, smoothly flashes in the process and smoothly fades at the end of the composition. To view, press Zero 0 and to end the viewer also zero 0.

12. Animation of the main line.
We highlight the next layer with the main line. Click twice U. And all the contents of the layer are revealed. Used when you need to open the sublayers that have been changed. Very comfortably. Close - Once again U.. In the process of work, you will understand everything. Next, we highlight the sublaw GROUP 3 - Add - Trim Path.

Reveal the parameters Trim Path. and set the value of End.. I put 75%. This indicator is responsible for how much percent will be displayed in the animation line: 100% - completely, 0% - respectively, the line will not be displayed. Optimally from about 50 to 95%. The indicator is at the beginning of the composition. Next, animated. Clamp Alt. and click on the stopwatch of the parameter Offset. (right under End.) and enter the expression in the stroke appeared - time * N. (where n is a number indicating the number of revolutions or the speed of the animation).

Play the composition (zero) and see what happened. You can change the value End. And compare the animation, the expression does not need to be changed. Thus, achieve the most interesting and optimal result. Now add lines also appearance and attenuation. You can do this with the help of transparency. Opacity. Select a layer - press the key T. And for 1 second, set the value of 100, on zero at the beginning of the composition - 0. Next, we move to 14 seconds - 100 and at the end of the composition we put 0. F9. - smoothing. By the way, so that all the keys can immediately select them with the mouse gently and click F9. Or the easiest way to select the parameter itself Opacity And all the keys will allocate immediately.

13. Animation of the second line.
Now learn to work with the settings of the line itself. Let's make from the usual direct dotted line And animating it. Twice U. on the layer with the line, we find Stroke. And reveal its values \u200b\u200bby clicking on the arrow. Find a parameter Dashes. and click on the plus + twice. Values \u200b\u200bwill appear Dash (amount of points), Gap. (Distance between points), Offset. (Animate points). We introduce, suppose, values \u200b\u200b5 and 5. Now again Alt. + click on the stopwatch at the parameter Offset. And introduce time * N. (I have a value of 35).

Now select Contenses - Add - Trim Path And for 1 second on End. Key 100, on zero 0, for 14 seconds 100 and at the end of 0. And we highlight the keys and smoothing F9..

14. Animation of the square. Rotation.
Select a layer with a square, hot key R (Rotation). Allocate rotation and Alt. + Click in the stopwatch. In the line of entering expression write time * N. (I have a value of 250). It is possible and using the keys manually - at the beginning of the key with zero initial values \u200b\u200band at the end of the key (we introduce the number of revolutions of 0x and degrees +0.0) to allow 8 revolutions and 360 degrees. Expressions greatly make it easier and automate work. Well, by analogy, add transparency at the beginning of the appearance (for 1 second 100 and at zero 0) and at the end of the attenuation (for 14 seconds 100 and at the end 0) and F9.. Or do the appearance and attenuation through Trim Path..

Everything! Animation is ready! Our callout came to life! Now we persist. We do render.
Press hot keys Ctrl + M. (or go to the menu).

Click on the contrary Output Module. right on the arrow and choose the format MOV + PNG + Alpha (or MOV + PNG.). And click Render, we are waiting for rendering. Then we look the result. The video will be saved in the same folder where your project.

Oksana Shilova Especially for blog

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