Skills you need to master:

This is the list of recommended skills you need to help you create your After Effects project. If animation is your media of choice to be assessed on then you will also need to master the complex procedures.

TASK: Use the tutorials below to demonstrate you have learnt each of the techniques. Save your animations/ videos and upload them to a private playlist on Youtube to present what you have learnt.

BE CREATIVE, ADD YOUR OWN TWIST TO THE TASKS

Complex techniques include:

● non-core functionality

● sophisticated digital effects

● applying industry standards or guidelines

● responsive design for use on multiple devices

● integration of original media assets

● dynamic data handling and interactivity

● automation through scripts.

12 Principles of Animation

The 12 principles can be found at the root of all motion-based media, they are a group of key teachings for the professional animator. The list has served Disney animators since the 1930s and was outlined by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in the 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation.

TASK ONE: USE SHAPES TO CREATE A BASIC ANIMATION

In this exercise you will learn:

• Transform the shape

• draw shapes

• animate the position, rotation, opacity & scale of an object

• Use layering

• Use key frames

• Preview & render an animation

TASK TWO: PARENTING

In this exercise you will recreate a version of this animation using the parenting technique. AfterEffects allows you to "parent" one layer to another. When you tell layer B, that layer A is its parent, then layer B becomes the child layer. The child inherits transforms from the parent. This means that if you move, rotate, or scale the parent the child goes with it.

TASK FOUR: MORPH SHAPES/ IMAGES

In these two exercises you are going to learn how to morph shapes and text.

When you are finished upload your compositions into youtube.

TASK SEVEN: PUPPET TOOL

You can use the puppet tool to move parts of an image or vector graphic as if it was a puppet on a string. Have a go at using the puppet tool to animation either a fish swimming around or something of your choice. Note, you will need to find an image or graphic with a transparent background.

TASK EIGHT: Alpha Matte

An alpha matte allow you to hide, show or reveal text and other assets in interesting ways. Have a look at the examples and then have a go at it yourself and using the tutorial below. Once you have it working extend the animation by using some of your knowledge from previous activities.

TASK NINE: MASKING AND PRE-COMPOSING

Create a new composition that uses masking, it may use a combination from the previous text reveal tutorial above and the one below that uses the pentool and the blur effect. Be creative!

Once you have the animation how you want it, have a look at how to use pre-composing to nest layers together to make your animating more efficient.

TASK ELEVEN: PARALLAX EFFECT

1) Find two images one of a person or object for the foreground and a background image. Take the image of the person into Photoshop and learn how to create a selection using the pen and path tool (see the Photoshop complex procedure page)

2) Have a go at the tutorial below (note it will be slightly different as you won't need to select the image in After Effects).

3) Extension - try the 3D tutorial - click here for chameleon

Motion Design School - AE Fundamentals

6 lessons are enough to make you comfortable with AE and help you animate your own artwork have the FUNdamentals.

• 6 video lessons (2.5 hours in total);

• Our own studio plugin — Motion Tools.

• Sign-up for FREE: https://motiondesign.school/products/fundamentals-course-on-after-effects