DESIGN.
16hrs
Complex 3D Animations
More complex 3D effects and animations. These use plug-ins and apply current knowledge to accomplish the result wanted.
Basic Animations
Learning to create basic animations using moving parts in Adobe After Effects. This links with Adobe Illustrator which is used for creating the drawings.
Application to Ideation
Using the skills learnt to apply it into my project. This involves applying the animations on top of websites and apps to show application.
Main Learning Objectives
Adobe After Effects
Skillshare
Skill share was useful to gain some inspiration for what could be done. I found some advanced tutorials from professional animators that gave a useful insight into what could be done.
Youtube Tutorials
YouTube was the best method for learning parts of After Effects. It is free and gave the widest variety of skills to choose from that were very close to the effects I wanted to achieve.
Learning Strategy
Importing to AE
Drawing the vectors was not too complicated. However to import them into After Effects it became more complex. Each moving part needed a separate layer and it had to be imported as one object, then expanded our into a separate source, to then be copied back to the main timeline.
Creating Vector Art
The drawings were created in Illustrator (Shown in the Illustrator section). Initially I wanted to create a working person at a desk and be able to move certain parts of it in a 10 second clip.
Animating
Animating was done using key frames. One challenge was creating the pen to animate down on the axis of the arm, while also animating separately on it's own axis to create the writing effect.
My Learning Journey
Moving Vector Art (basic animations)
1.
Aim: Create a working person animation to be used in my project as a plug-in idea
Learning Method: Skillshare & Youtube
Learning Sources
Goal Achieved?
Yes. The goal of this animation was achieved. From watching tutorials and using some prior knowledge I was able to create a convincing and fluid animation.
Final Results
The final result was a fluid animation with a transparent background so it could be overlayed onto any foreground part. It clearly conveyed the message of someone working.
Key Insights/findings
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More time consuming than I initially thought but satisfying to make
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Organising layers initially in illustrator is key
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Easy ease to create smoother looking animations
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Using center point to create a point of axis
Learning Sources
Trial & Error
Creating Image
The image I used was created in Photoshop (shown in Photoshop section). This was a Microplanet inspired by 'BennyProductions Youtube channel.
Getting Plug-in
This was a more advanced tutorial and required plugins for After Effects which were a bit harder to get. It was called Trapcode and the specific effect was Particular.
Animating Particles
The tutorial I used guided me through each step for creating a reveal effect with the particle generator.
It was alot of fun to use and made me realise the amount of potential with plugins such as this.
Particle Simulator (advanced)
3.
Aim: A way to reveal a photo I had made and attract attention to it.
Learning Method: Youtube
Learning Sources
Goal Achieved?
Yes. I ended up with clear animations for my initial ideas in my distributed design project.
Final Results
This worked really well for what I wanted. I ended up creating smooth timer animations that were clearer for the viewer.
These were applied to both the working animation from before, as well as a betting site for an alternative idea I had.
Key Insights/findings
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Using the pen tool was quick to adopt due to similarities with illustrator
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The slider counting effect could be useful for many applications
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The animations would be exported using the RGB + Alpha channel to create a transparent background. This could then be overlayed on any screen recordings
Goal Achieved?
Yes. I managed to create the animation almost exactly how I imagined. However it took a lot longer than expected to get the plug-in and activate it on After Effects, however this was all part of the learning process.
Final Results
The effect worked really well, especially after adding sound effects. The animation looked realistic and gave the image a sense of movement.
Key Insights/findings
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The plug-in installed called Trapcode has many other effects I can experiment with in the future
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This would work great for video intros and more
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Sound effects play a big role in making something feel more real
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Setting Start/end Points
The ring needed to be animated in a circle motion. This was done using its start and endpoints. They could be adjusted and keyframed to create motion. This made the effect completely customizable which was really useful.
Drawing Shapes
Creating shapes in After Effects was new to me, but very similar to the Illustrator methods so I picked it up quickly.
Count Effect
To make the numbers count up required a count effect called Slider. This could be dragged on top of a number and then keyframed to animate it to any number you like. In this case, it was just to 2.
My Learning Journey