Workbench

Tutorial 64: Faux Text

This week’s tutorial looks at a cool way to make fake text from text in After Effects. A preset is available on our site: http://workbench.tv/tutorials/2017-03-31_FauxText/

Tutorial 63: Specific Transparency

With specific transparency, we can have layers that are transparent when they cross other layers, and opaque otherwise. This way you can keep a client’s color palette accurate, or you can have layers be selectively transparent so only certain layers below show through.

I also made a new intro and recorded a quick riff for it. Let me know what you think and I’ll see you guys next week.

Tutorial 62: Slice Like a Ninja

This week, we take a quick look at using the Set Matte effect to save us from having a bunch of track mattes littering our comp!

Tutorial 61: Seamless Patterns

Thank you patrons, for supporting my tutorials. :)

This week we check out a quick technique to set up seamless patterns for ribbon boards or anything else you need tiled.

Code

x = thisComp.width;

[x,0];

You can divide the comp width to increase the amount of copies. Just make sure to add more copies to the repeater and change the offset. ;)

Tutorial 60: Advanced Text Animator Attributes

I hope you enjoy the alliterative title. :)

This week we explore the advanced attributes of text animators so that we can understand what the hell things like ease high means.

Tutorial 59: Shape Expressions

This week, we take a look at some advanced expression concepts that can be applied to all sorts of expressions, and especially to those for paths in shape layers.

Tapering a Stroke with Expressions Part 1

http://www.schoolofmotion.com/tapering-stroke-expressions-part-1/

Project

2017-02-24 22:19:25 +0000 UTC View Post

Tutorial 58: Speed Lines

So I'm a glutton for punishment apparently, but I figured out how to both make make a preset to add speed lines to your shapes and save a preset with named shape elements. This tutorial shows you how to do both of those things.

I'm kind of proud of this one. I'm sure I'll use it a bunch, so hopefully you will too!

More Bloopers

I am dumb. :)

Tutorial 57: Quick Particles

This week we'll explore a way to make semi-randomized circular particles by drawing a quick path with a dashed stroke and using wiggle paths. Using this technique you can make cells, an alternative vegas effect, fake bokeh, and really whatever you can think up.

Combine giant strokes with smaller ones and perhaps a repeater, and you might even be able to make the main cells as well. Thanks for watching!

Tutorial 56: Curled Paper

Andrew Embury sent me a great idea for a preset. So I built it. Here are a few options for building a simple curled paper rig. Make sure you check out the project file and presets available on our site. Links below.

Project File

http://workbench.tv/tutorials/2017-02-03_CurledPaper/

Andrew Embury

http://aemb...

Curled Pages

Tomorrow's tutorial is going to be this. There will be a preset file thanks to Andrew Embury suggesting this. :)

Quick Tip

In my last quick tips video I showed a tip for making a super fast square (or circle). Well, it turns out when I said that anyone who knows of a faster way should tell me. And vimeo user Jorge Sorbara  did. So double click the tool to make a shape and then hold option and double click the chain link next to size. This will set the y value...

Tutorial 55: Mo Better Blobs

So I posted this last night, and YouTube user os cand sent me a link to a tutorial by Motion Café (a French tutorial channel) that has even *Better* Mo Better Blobs. :) The video doesn't include that information, but I've added it to my project file download. Check the site  for links to the project file and more information about the technique. Or if you're a Francophone, go check out 2017-01-27 14:34:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Guide Layers

You probably know about guide layers. If you don't, there's a check you can put on a layer to make it a guide that is only visible in it's comp, but it doesn't render. This way you can have a background image or composition, that doesn't show in  it's parent comp.

But I just figured out that it also works for audio too! So, if you work like me, you can put the audio in your precomps and set it to be a guide layer (by right clicking on the layer) so that in your main comp, the audio doesn'...

Tutorial 54: Easy Looping

If you ever need to make a loop for a GIF, animation, or whatever, this technique is quite easy, yet it allows for very complex loops. Check it out. If you don't already know how to do it, you'll love it.

This tutorial marks a year of tutorials. Thanks for joining me on this ride!

Tutorial 53: Quick Tips 03

This week we look at volume three of our quick tips. Here's timecode for the various tips:

+ 0:16 - Make a quick square/circle

+ 0:47 - Make a rectangle with a specific ratio

+ 1:16 - Convert parametric shapes to paths

+ 2:08 - Drawing non-parametric shapes

+ 2:22 - Shortcut to select shape paths

+ 3:09 - Using multiple artboards

+ 3:14 - Rotation and scale shortcuts

+ 4:44 - The Strobe Light effect

+ 5:55 - Separate dimensions

+...

Tutorial 52: Understanding Paths

In this quick tutorial we talk about how EPS style paths underlie how path merging works in After Effects (without even using merge paths).

Sorry for the late post on this. I'm still trying to integrate how I post all of my stuff, and frequently since Patreon is where I post after I get YouTube and our website updated, something happens in between. But that will not be the case in the future. Thanks for watching!

Site Changes

Hi! I'm just writing this post today to say that I've made some backend changes to the site that will allow me to bring you content a lot easier. So expect more cool stuff each week. But for now, have a great weekend!

Storytime

While I'm here posting up our latest tutorial, I realized this might be of interest to people so I thought I'd post it here.

Other than motion graphics, I really enjoy story and film (which you might be able to tell from my other work). And this was just an amazing piece of content about story. I've always understood this about the Dark Knight Joker on a subconscious level, but this really explains why he's the perfect antagonist.

Also, if you enjoy that, Every Frame a Painting is also a...

Tutorial 51: Flavor Text

I'm on point this week with my post, haha. We're coming up on a full year of tutorials. Severo did 2 so far, so when I hit 54 we'll be at a full year. Though I recorded some things earlier, the first tutorial's date was officially 1/13/16.

In this week's tutorial, we look at a cool way to use an expression to make "flavor text" or loading text, like when your computer is searching or installing something.

//Apply to position

t = time-inPoint;

offset = Math.floor((t/thisComp.f...

Tutorial 50: Fake Shadows

Hi! I was travelling last week, so I didn't get a chance to post this here, but if you're subscribed to me on YouTube, you've probably already seen this. But on the off chance you haven't, here it is!

Tutorial 49: Scrolling List

AE tutorial 49 is up. In this one, we show how to use expressions to make an iOS-style scrolling list.

Tutorial 48: Repeating Elements

Hi! This is a quick tutorial about creating a quick grid/line of repeated animated elements. It's a pretty simple technique using only default After Effects plugins.

Tutorial 47: Halftone

Hi! I'm very excited about this tutorial. I used to use this free plugin back in the day to make quick and easy halftones, but the developer abandoned it. He put out the source code, but I wasn't able to get it to compile. Perhaps one day I'll figure out how to write my own plugin. But until then, you have this technique and the preset available here: http://workbench.tv/tutorials/2016-12-02_Halftone/

Halftone!

Figured out a way to make a usable halftone in After Effects. I'll be making a preset for it too!

Storyboard Templates

I've put up my storyboard template that I use to quickly build my storyboards from drawn frames. Check it out: http://workbench.tv/freebies/2016-12-01_StoryboardTemplates/

Tutorial 45: Real Shadows

This week, I decided to mess around with After Effects' new C4D 3D renderer. And I made some shadows for my 2D graphics. Beat that. :)

Project File

http://workbench.tv/tutorials/2016-11-18_RealShadows/

Intro Bloopers

I told you there would be goofy stuff on here. Or perhaps more accurately, I warned you. :)

Quick Tips

I've got a couple of quick tips that I haven't yet put into a video.

The Quickest Way to Create a Square (or Circle)

You migh'tve seen this one mentioned in a Workbench tutorial already, but it's going to go in a Quick Tips video. The quickest way to create a square is to double click on the shape tool to add a new rectangle to the composition. It'll fit your comp perfectly. Twirl down to the rectangle's size and scale it until both values are 0. Then just scale it up. 2016-11-16 20:07:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Hi

Hi everyone. Thanks for checking out our Patreon page! I've already put in a couple of small posts for patrons. Thanks again!