There are actually several different ways of previewing the project you are working on in After Effects. The Preview window contains lots of options, which may be hidden until you expand the panel to its full dimensions. By default, there are three basic methods of previewing your composition, each of which can be further customized. Note that these may change slightly from version to version of After Effects, but they can always be customized in the Preview panel.
Fleischer Studio’s Superman
Before any live-action adaptations were created, the Superman character was adapted into a ground-breaking animation by Max Fleischer and his studio. Fleischer’s Superman was meticulously – and brilliantly – animated with a level of precision that we rarely see in hand-drawn animation. In addition to being an artistic achievement in its own right, Fleischer’s Superman cartoons also helped shape the iconic hero’s mythology – notably, Superman’s ability to fly. Check out this video essay by kaptainkristian as well as some of the original episodes below.
Week 9: Character Design and Creation
There isn’t really a right or wrong way to design a character; the kinds of characters you choose to make is ultimately a matter of artistic preference. We can, however, learn a lot by listening to the advice of other artists and animators. In his book Making Comics, Scott McCloud suggests that there are three qualities that a successful character must possess: an inner life, visual distinction, and expressive traits. Without these qualities, a character might be confusing, flat, or – worst of all – forgettable.
Project 8: Bring a Character to Life
Animate a pre-made character.
Final Project Details: Cause and Effect
At this point in the semester, you should be fairly comfortable using After Effects. There’s still a lot of new ground to cover, but you should have a good grasp of the basics. If you’re still struggling, send me an email at dan014@bucknell.edu and we can schedule a review session. Everything from this point forward is going to be building on the previous lessons and moving towards the final project.
Quick Review: Exporting Projects
The process of turning your After Effects composition into a finished video can be a little confusing. Let’s quickly review the process.
Retro Video Game-Inspired GIFs
Back to Bits is a collaborative animation project inspired by classic video games. They recently unveiled “Level 2,” based on games from the Super Nintendo.
Fox And The Whale
Here’s a really beautiful short film, written and directed by Robin Joseph. It features 3D animation, but it has a hand-painted look. The music, visuals, and pacing all combine to make a meditative, relaxing piece. The character animation is excellent as well – you might notice that the fox character moves more like a human than the rest of the animals, which helps the audience to identify with him/her.
Week 8: Introduction to Character Animation
Now that we know how to parent objects, pre-compose layers, and adjust anchor points, we can move on to actual character animation. A simple puppet might have the figure’s arms, legs, head, and body on different layers. Complex puppets will break down the figure more and more – you might have separate layers for parts of the face, finger segments, clothing, and more. Basically, any part of the figure that you want to animate should be on its own layer.
Project 7: Stock Footage Remix
Use effects to make stock footage into something new.
Animating Paint
If you think animating using keyframes is tedious, imagine creating an oil painting for every single frame. Loving Vincent is an animated feature about Vincent Van Gogh, created entirely using oil painting. Around 65,000 paintings were created by 125 artists to make the film. The film is currently in limited release in the US.
Week 7: Exploring the Effects
There are a lot of effects built into After Effects and countless more can be added using third-party plugins and scripts. While there are far too many to discuss them all individually, I thought it might be useful to take a look at a few of them more closely. Here are a few “must know” effects – and a couple that are just fun to play with.
Project 6: Lower Thirds
Animated name and title graphics.
Abstract Animation
Animation doesn’t have to be used for narrative films – there is a long tradition of animation being used to create fascinating pieces of abstract art. Here are a few relatively recent examples, courtesy of Cartoon Brew: koukou by Takashi Ohashi, Elements by Maxim Zhestkov, and Divisional Articulations by Max Hattler. In addition to the fascinating visuals, pay close attention to how each filmmaker uses sound in their work.
How Computers Transformed Animated Storytelling
Here’s a really interesting look at the evolving themes in animated films from the Just Write YouTube channel. Beyond the obvious technical differences that computer-based animation brought, this video looks at the ways those technical changes influenced the thematic elements of the films, moving from conservative fairy tales to progressive allegories.
Week 6: Link Things Up
Last week, we went over some of the ways that layers can interact with each other in After Effects, using track mattes and transfer modes. This week’s lesson has a similar theme, as we’ll be combining, affecting, and linking layers in new ways. These techniques will be essential as we begin to work on actual character animation, but they are also extremely helpful when creating motion graphics and text animation.
Creating Animation In Real-Time
In 2016, The Simpsons used animation software from Adobe to incorporate a live segment into an episode. During the segment, fans of the show called in and asked unscripted questions to Homer, who answered – while animated – in real-time.
Project 5: Word Mark
Text-based logo animation.
Behind the Scenes with He-Man
Here’s a fascinating look at one of the most iconic cartoons of the 1980s. Check out this behind-the-scenes video about the creation of a single shot from the classic action cartoon He-Man.
Project 4: The Bouncing Ball
Simulating physics with keyframes.