Adding 3D to Flash projects using After Effect ...

Adding 3D to Flash projects using After Effects
When I started learning Adobe After Effects, I realized that it includes a number of fe …

Exporting your work from Flash

Exporting your work from Flash
Let’s start out by first creating a simple 2D star in Flash:

Launch Flash Professional 8, create …

Importing your work into After Effects

Importing your work into After Effects
After Effects saves links to the project resources as footage items in the Project panel. Footag …

Converting a 2D layer into a 3D layer

Converting a 2D layer into a 3D layer
After Effects uses two dimensions (x, y) to display the 2D layer. When you convert the layer to a …

Animating the 3D layer

Animating the 3D layer
To give you a greater understanding of the 3D layer option, give your star some dimensionality by animating it i …

Exporting your animation

Exporting your animation
After Effects provides a variety of options for integrating an animation with Flash, such as video output, Fla …

3D layers in motion

3D layers in motion
Excerpted from “After Effects and Photoshop, Animation and Production Effects for DV and Film” by Jeff Foster.
…

Parent the layers and add text

Parent the layers and add text
Now we will connect the two halves of the film reel so they will move in sync with each other.

Select …

Position lights and layers

Position lights and layers
From this point, we will be working in several views on our scene to help us position our lights and layers: …

Casting Shadows in After Effects 6.5

Casting Shadows in After Effects 6.5 Different types of shadows in 3D space
To make a truly believable 3D space in Adobe After Effects, …

The 'Pan Behind' Tool in Adobe After E ...

The ‘Pan Behind’ Tool in Adobe After Effects Keyframing content beneath a mask to create a magnify effect This is a somewha …

The 'Pan Behind' Tool – Basic pr ...

Basic project setupFor our sample project, we’ll create a composition that simulates a magnify on a layer, in this case magnifyin …

The 'Pan Behind' Tool – Adding a ...

Adding an expression to the backgroundThat’s the basic setup. But I’m going to be panning the foreground layer while leavin …

The 'Pan Behind' Tool – Keyframi ...

Keyframing the pan behindSo now everything should be set up in your project, and it’s time to perform the pan behind. So, to begi …

Text Tool in After Effects 6.0 – Page 2

In the Tool Palette, click on the Text Tool. If you have Auto Open Palettes option checked, the Character Palette will open. If it does …

Text Tool in After Effects 6.0 – Page 3

Twirl down the arrow next to the Text Layer in the Timeline to reveal the properties for layer. As with all other layers created in Aft …

Text Tool in After Effects 6.0 – Page 4

So we don’t get lost, click on Animator 1 so it is the only thing highlighted in the Timeline. Press the Enter key and rename the …

Text Tool in After Effects 6.0 – Page 5

Reset the Start, End, and Offset values (0, 3, 0). With our range selected (all of the letters), we can make an adjustment to our Scale …

Text Tool in After Effects 6.0 – Page 6

This is all well and good, but we can still see the giant letters at the beginning of our animation and it doesn’t look very good …

Text Tool in After Effects 6.0 – Page 7

Twirl down the Advanced controls. Change the Shape to Ramp Up. The Shape controls how the characters are selected between the Start and …