Book Image

Creative Motion Mastery with Adobe After Effects

By : Vishu Aggarwal
Book Image

Creative Motion Mastery with Adobe After Effects

By: Vishu Aggarwal

Overview of this book

Visual effects and motion graphics are everywhere, shaping the film, TV, games, websites, and application landscape. Navigating a field this complex and ever-expanding demands more than mere familiarity with tools; you need to stand out to get ahead. Creative Motion Mastery with Adobe After Effects is the definitive guide that not only equips you with the essential skills to distinguish yourself, but also takes you through real projects that you can add to your portfolio. Guided by a hands-on learning approach, you'll master the UI, workflow, and diverse projects such as text animation, shape layers, and rotoscoping. With this newfound knowledge, you’ll take your graphic design and post-production skills to the next level using chroma keying, particle simulations, and 2D and 3D tracking. You’ll progress faster than someone taking a formal course in Adobe After Effects! And it’s not all about creating; you’ll import graphics from Illustrator and Photoshop and apply post-production effects to give them a new life. Finally, you’ll discover how seamlessly you can export and manage your projects, ensuring end-to-end coverage of all you need. By the end of the book, you’ll have a thorough understanding of Adobe After Effects, equipped with the skills and practice you need to propel your career in graphic design.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1: Working with Motion Graphics
8
Part 2: Post-Production and Visual Effects
13
Part 3: 2D and 3D Tracking, and Rendering

Changing the background

Now, we will improve the composition using the CC Light Rays and 4-Color Gradient effects.

Improving the composite by using CC Light Rays

CC Light Rays is an After Effects plugin that creates stunning light ray effects, simulating the natural interplay of light in a scene. It will enhance visual impact by adding dynamic and realistic light beams and cinematic visuals to our composite.

Follow these steps to improve the composite by using the CC Light Rays effect:

  1. Duplicate the Background.mp4 layer in the Chroma Keying composition using the shortcut Ctrl + D or Cmd + D.
  2. Rename the duplicated Background.mp4 layer to Background_Light.mp4 by right-clicking on the layer and selecting Rename.
  3. Move Background_Light.mp4 to the layer above the Women_Working.mp4 layer.
Figure 9.8: The Background_Light.mp4 layer moved above the Women_Working.mp4 layer

Figure 9.8: The Background_Light.mp4 layer moved above the Women_Working.mp4 layer

  1. Select the Background_Light.mp4 layer.
  2. Go to the Effect...