Mograph Techniques: Shape Animation in After Effects

2h 57mIntermediate2014-04-02

Authors

Eran Stern

Teacher and Motion Designer, 20+ years of post-production experience

Course details

There are some big advantages to using shape layers in After Effects: precise, fast rendering; compatibility with Illustrator; and smaller file sizes. Their vector quality means the artwork can be scaled to any size while remaining crisp and sharp. And they work with third-party effects and support layer styles. Take a deep dive and explore how to use the shape tools to communicate ideas in an uncluttered way and make complex animations simple. Eran Stern shows how to create custom wipe animations, use mathematical operations to animate shapes and paint them in over time, and morph between vector shapes.

Learning objectives
Creating a basic circle animation reveal
Cascading animation with masks and modes
Dividing shapes and painting them in over time
Revealing text
Building a repetitive shape animation
Morphing between shapes

Skills covered

2D AnimationMotion GraphicsAfter EffectsRenderingMotion Graphics and VFXVisualization and Real-TimeAdobeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and IllustrationDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - What you should know before watching this course
03 - Using the exercise files
04 - Overview of the project

1. Custom Wipe

05 - Why use shape layers
06 - Basic circle animation reveal
07 - Stylize the wipe using expansion masks and layer styles
08 - Creating a cascade animation using masks and modes

2. Monkey Head Animation

09 - Preparation of artwork in Illustrator
10 - Dividing to separate shapes and paint over time
11 - Create a digital squirt
12 - Composite the final shot

3. Text Reveal

13 - Preparing instances of text
14 - Create animated shape layers to reveal each letter
15 - Revealing text automatically

4. Repetitive Shapes

16 - Overview of the composition
17 - Design a cascade sunshine animation using shapes and Trapcode Echospace
18 - Integrating the animation into the main comp

5. Hourglass Morph

19 - Convert artwork to shapes
20 - Animating the hourglass
21 - Adding motion to the elements
22 - Morphing to the glass and the bottle

6. Shape Madness Animation

23 - Converting to shapes and cleaning duplicates
24 - Working with automatic rotation animation
25 - Shape duplication and animation

Conclusion

26 - What's next