Ideas to Creations

Creating an RGB-Split & Distort Effect

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 20:19:00 +0000

In this tutorial, we'll create an effect that's great for HUDs and tech animation.

Notes

There's many ways to further manipulate this effect to get different looks out of it. Consider:

Adding a subtle wiggle() to the distort amount slider.
Instead of tweaking the distortion for the RGB, try messing with the expression multipliers only in the Wave Height.
Use valueAtTime() in the expressions to vary their timings.

What about other effects?

There's some more effects you could use by connecting them to the distort amount slider in the Null. We can use the linear() expression to remap the null to any other control. Here's some interesting effects to try:

Color Offset
Directional Blur
Transforms

A note on RGB interaction:

You might notice that the method of using Arithmetic doesn't always work, especially on layers with dark areas. You can change the interaction by setting the operation to XOR and changing the blend modes to Multiply.

Hope this helps. Leave a comment on the video or below with any questions and suggestions on what else you'd like to see.

Basics: Layout

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Aug 2020 05:52:00 +0000

Layout is how we arrange elements on the canvas. This can also be referred to as composition. With a good understanding of layout, you can guide your viewer's eye and tell stories effectively.Read More >>

Basics: Color Theory

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:35:00 +0000

The first part of getting into the basics of design is Color Theory. Color has a language of its own in everyone, so first need to learn what each color can mean, and then work on combining them to make our designs.

Whether you're beginning or advancing your skill, check out the videos below to get a better understanding of working with color:

Activity:

Create your own color scheme for different themes: money, anger, happiness, alerts.
Explore colors in the real world! Use your camera to capture interesting colors in the world.

HANGOUT | HUD Animation with Text and Shape Layers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 16:00:00 +0000

Thanks everyone who came through for the Hangout! I think we all had a great time and learned A LOT from the process.

Part 1: PRESENTATION

Part 2: DEMO

The presentation can be viewed here.

Remember, hangouts are a fun interactive way to learn new concepts, and they're free!
I look forward to seeing you at the next one!

HANGOUT | Onward Trailer Animation Study

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 13:16:00 +0000

A few days ago I hosted an Animation Study stream for the animators in my community.

It's a long one, so strap in for some info on Gestures, Principles of Animation and studying existing animation.

AE: Expressions Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 07:19:00 +0000

Get started working with expressions in After Effects. No prior experience with code required, and in a few minutes you'll be ready to work on your own to create new expressions and learn how to use functions you need as you go along.

AE: Using Text Animators

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 16:22:00 +0000

The expression mentioned:
if(textIndex % 2 > 0){selectorValue}else{-selectorValue}

AE: Building a Selection Box shaped by 2 Nulls with Expressions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 15:04:00 +0000

We'll have 2 null objects in the scene that will define the corners of a box. Just like the clicks in creating a rectangle with the marquee tool, the first null defines the origin, and the other is the direction the box goes in. Take this as an exercise in understanding how expressions work with different properties, and hey, you could learn something useful.

So, let's figure this out.

Expressions Library

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 22:45:00 +0000

Welcome! Here you'll find pre-written expressions that you can copy into your projects. I've done my best to explain how they work! I'll update this post as often as I find new and useful expressions.

And remember to Save before applying.

You have been warned!

AE | Build a Monuments Timeline with Shape Layers and Expressions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:47:00 +0000

Hopefully this has had enough time to load

We'll look at how to build a never ending timeline (or scale) that you can move around to any amount without hitting the edges using Expressions and a built-in effect, how to create the counting time, fast and easy method to extract the monuments and some tips on positioning comps while animating.

AE | 7 Useful Functions in the Render Queue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 May 2014 17:53:00 +0000

Ah, the Render Queue. After Effects' method of pushing out your compositions to movies.

It's pretty straight forward to use, but it also has some powerful and very useful features tucked into it. So, let's take a look at the Render Queue.

All About Expression Controls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 09:54:00 +0000

Expression Controls are effects that don't seem to do anything to our compositions! But they work as UIs for expressions we create. In this post, we'll take a look at each individual control and see what it can do and how to make use of it.

Change Multiple Comps from a Single Master Composition with Expressions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 10:25:00 +0000

Okay, here's the scenario, an editor has created promotional material for a few shows. The channel he's working on has specific graphics that I need to make. So, I need to make, for each show, a graphic that shows the name of the show and different versions that say "Tonight at [specific time]", "Next Week", "This Week", "Coming Soon" and so on. Here's how one of them looks:

The problem is there's 6 versions and 4 shows, 24 comps in total. I can't keep rendering, changing text, rendering; it is kinda tiresome and is more prone to mistakes!

This tutorial will take a look at how to set-up your project so all you have to do is change ONE composition and create all 6 variations per show in one go. So technically, I only have to change and render 4 times, as compared to 24.
As always, this technique can be used for anything that requires batch editing and rendering, so adjust it for your specific uses.

Read More >>

AE | Expression Driven Gauge - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 06:31:00 +0000

In the first post, we looked at building the base and setting up the numbers, now we're gonna make the Master control and get the bar to change colors.

AE | Expression Driven Gauge - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 07:22:00 +0000

Expressions!! Expressions can be used to control various properties of a layer but their use if quite situational. It really depends on how you intend to use your composition. This will affect the approach you take as well as whether it's necessary to use an expression at all. I think the best way to illustrate this is to use a real-world example: a gauge!

So, we're going to make a "Core Temp" gauge as in the header above. It's pretty simple, right, but we're mainly going to focus on the decisions we make about the expressions driving the different elements that make up the gauge, and how we're going to set up the entire composition to be 'expression-friendly'.

PHOTOSHOP | Road to Home Photo Manipulation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:57:00 +0000

We're gonna be using Photoshop and 4 images to create a the below photo manipulation. We'll mainly focus on blending the colors and the contrast of the different images to get the final result, the most important step. Click the title to see the tut. You can click the image to view it larger.

Multipass Compositing with Cinema 4D and After Effects 04

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:06:00 +0000

Check Previous Posts

Okay, so we brought everything into AE and set up our workspace. Now, what do we gain from using multipass? Let's take a look:

AE Quick Tip 04 | Isolate Layers for Masking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:35:00 +0000

Here's a quick tip on isolating layers that have effects and have been transformed so you can mask them without obstruction:

More on Youtube
AE and C4D Tips on Twitter and Facebook

AE Quick Tip 03 | Comp and Layer Markers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:34:00 +0000

Here's another quick tip on adding markers to compositions and layers. Very useful for future reference.

AE Tip 02 | Change Default Render Queue Output Module

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:53:00 +0000

The Lossless output module that's default in After Effects leads to some REALLY huge files. Here's a quick tip on how to change that default to your own preset. I personally prefer Quicktime or High-bitrate FLV as my default render setting.

Hey, if you enjoyed, consider subscribing and sharing!

AE TIP 01 | Using Dingbat Characters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:35:00 +0000

Hey!
Welcome to AE Tips. In this series I'll be explaining some very useful techniques when working with After Effects. You guys liked them on Twitter, now they come in quick videos.
In this episode, we'll look at how to use dingbat fonts like Wingdings and Webdings to get the vector characters you're looking for.

Let me know what you think.
Lots more to come, so subscribe to the channel for updates on new episodes!

TUTORIAL | Jump Out of the Frame

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:52:00 +0000

Hello!

In this video tutorial I demonstrate how to make someone jump out of the frame. This technique can be used for pretty much anything. Here's the final product:

Young girl dancing happy in a field by african_fi: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1386581

TUTORIAL | Fix Canon EOS Utility Issue in Windows 8

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 10:34:00 +0000

Having issues using your EOS Utility application on Windows 8? Here's the solution.

I use a Canon EOS 650D and whenever I connected it to my Windows 8 PC (x64), EOS Utility would not pick up on it and all options would remain grayed out and disabled. This problem is also reported on the EOS 7D and 5D.

To fix this problem is pretty simple.

Go to the Canon Support Page here.

Select your camera. I'm going to select the 650D.

On the next page, check out the numbered links below for news on your camera. Might find something important. I just learnt there's a problem with 650D's producing a white irritating substance on the grip over time, luckily their check system said my camera is not affected.
Click on "Downloads" at the top.

Select "Software (drivers and applications)", your operating system and select a language.

Down below, you'll find "EOS Utility 2.12.3" (at least, at the time of this post, it may be higher).

Read the disclaimer, then click "Accept & Download" if you accept. The download will begin.
Install the program as you would any other program. If you already have a previous version of EOS Utility, you can proceed with installing and it will update.
Enjoy using your EOS Utility!
Remember to check back every few months for new updates to the software.

The real problem was that the previous versions of EOS Utility are not compatible with Windows 8. Since the software on the disk was written before Windows 8 came out, you'll have to download directly from Canon.

Enjoy :-D

TUTORIAL | Using INTERFERE on Holographic UIs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:18:00 +0000

In the first of many video tutorials, I explain how to setup i2c_INTERFERE for a quick RGB-split and distort effect for this holographic UI panel.

Get i2c_INTERFERE in the Presets Pack here.

Your feedback is appreciated.

TUTORIAL | Snowflakes with Shape Layers and Stacked Modifiers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:09:00 +0000

The festive season is upon us and the Christmas work begins.

As a little helper, I thought I'd share this video on how to use Shape Layers and their modifiers to create fancy shapes and snowflakes. There's also lots more you can do with this technique, but I'll leave that up to you :-D

Wait a second! Tip 32?

I've been posting plenty of tips on Facebook and Twitter! If you'd like to stay up to date, follow @i2cblog or join Ideas to Creations page. There's plenty of useful info, and feel free to share your own discoveries!!

Enjoy!