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Creating Contrasting Animations with Solid Shapes in After Effects

by Laura Hawk

In this series of After Effects tutorials, we will talk about the steps you take to create an animated tablet commercial while learning tips and concepts you can use in your own projects. Software required: After Effects CS6.

What you'll learn

In this series of After Effects tutorials, we will talk about the steps you take to create an animated tablet commercial while learning tips and concepts you can use in your own projects. We'll start by discussing the thinking behind what shapes and animation types we will use in the process, and establish that none of these decisions are arbitrary or based on something just looking cool. There are reasons behind all of the choices we make as we progress through the project. We also talk about using masks and custom alphas and when we would use one over the other. You'll learn a lot of tips for speeding up your workflows when creating a project that has lots of similar elements. This training is full of workflows that not only cover how to quickly create complex shape animations, but also how to approach the thinking behind what shapes to use when you want to create something that is abstract. By the end of this tutorial, you will have created your very own animated tablet commercial, and you will also have picked up the skills and thought process you will need to implement the next time you want to tackle a project that uses abstract imagery and animation. Software required: After Effects CS6.

About the author

Laura is a passionate visual effects and motion graphics author at Pluralsight. Ever since her first exposure to After Effects in college, Laura has had an eternal drive to learn more about motion graphics, and teach others what she has discovered. Laura began working at Digital-Tutors (now a Pluralsight company) as a motion graphics artist, creating visually-appealing advertisements and informative art for the site. Throughout her time at Digital-Tutors, Laura contributed greatly to both the ... more

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