After Effects CC 2019: Character Animation Essential Training

Bring your characters to life with Adobe After Effects. Explore the essential tools and techniques for character animation in After Effects CC.

Bring your characters to life with Adobe After Effects. Explore the essential tools and techniques for character animation in After Effects by working through examples that examine each feature as it applies to an animator’s workflow. Discover how to rig characters with the Puppet tools and expressions, animate keyframes in the Graph Editor, and animate on the fly—with your mouse—using motion sketching. Plus, discover how to add 3D layers and cameras to your scenes for a multidimensional perspective on your characters. Instructor Alan Demafiles is an expert motion designer who provides tips and tricks to maximize your efficiency and your creativity, so you get the most out of the After Effects animation toolset.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Before you start
• After Effects for animation
• Big picture concepts

1. Working with Layers and Shapes

• What art assets can I use?
• Prepare and import Photoshop files
• Prepare and import Illustrator files
• Shape layer intro
• Shape layer vs. masks
• Track mattes
• Precomposing
• Artwork tips and tricks

2. Rigging Character Controls

• What is rigging?
• Anchor points
• Parenting character parts
• The Puppet tool
• Fine-tune the Puppet tool
• Introduction to expressions
• Set up a slider controller
• Version master properties
• Useful effects for rigging

3. Working with Animation

• Principles of animation
• Add and adjust keys
• Use the graph editor: Speed
• Use the graph editor: Value
• Looping animation
• Motion paths
• Work with audio tracks
• Switch art for lip sync
• Animate with motion sketch

4. Creating Multiplane Environments

• Use 3D layers for multiplane parallax
• Add cameras
• Create a mood with lights
• Rendering

Conclusion

• Next steps