Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a ® Book 2015 release The official training workbook from Adobe Brie Gyncild & Lisa Fridsma Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2015 release) © 2016 Adobe Systems Incorporated and its licensors. All rights reserved. If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement. 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Cover illustration: Ash Thorp (USA), behance.net/ashthorp Printed and bound in the United States of America ISBN-13: 978-0-134-30812-8 ISBN-10: 0-134-30812-3 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 How to Get Your Lesson Files Thank you for purchasing this digital version of: Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2015 release) In order to work through the projects in this book, you will need to download the lesson files from peachpit.com. Each download link gives you the files for a single lesson. You also have the option of downloading the entire set of lesson files as a single very large file. To access these files, follow the steps below: 1. On a Mac or PC, go to www.peachpit.com/redeem and enter this code: ACEFCFEB4EA3 2. If you do not have a Peachpit.com account, you will be prompted to create one. 3. The downloadable files will be listed under Lesson & Update Files tab on your Account page (see image below; your list of files may look a little different.) After you redeem the code, you’ll be able to access your lesson files anytime you want without entering the code again. 4. Click the lesson file links to download them to your computer. If you are unable to locate the files for this title by following the steps above, please email [email protected] and supply the code from step one. Our customer service representatives will assist you as soon as possible. What to do with the Lesson files once you’ve downloaded them The files are compressed into Zip archives to speed up download time and to protect the contents from damage during transfer. You must uncompress (or “unzip”) the files to restore them to their original size and format before you use them with the book. Modern Mac and Windows systems are set up to open Zip archives by simply double-clicking. After unzipping the files, create a new folder named “Lessons” in a convenient location on your computer. • If you’re running Windows, right-click and choose New > Folder. Then enter the new name for your folder. • If you’re using Mac OS, in the Finder, choose File > New Folder. Type the new name and drag the folder to the location you want to use. Drag the unzipped Lessons folders (Lesson01, Lesson02, etc.) to your new “Lessons” folder. When you begin each lesson, navigate to the folder with that lesson number to access all the assets you need to complete the lesson. Important! The lesson files are provided solely for your personal use. You are not authorized to use these files commercially, or to publish or distribute them in any form without written permission from Adobe Systems. Contents GETTING STARTED About Classroom in a Book Prerequisites Installing After Effects and Bridge Optimizing performance Restoring default preferences Accessing the Classroom in a Book files How to use these lessons Additional resources Adobe Authorized Training Centers 1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WORKFLOW About the After Effects work area Getting started Creating a project and importing footage Creating a composition and arranging layers About layers Adding effects and modifying layer properties About the Tools panel Animating the composition About the Timeline panel About timecode and duration Previewing your work Optimizing performance in After Effects Rendering and exporting your composition Customizing workspaces Controlling the brightness of the user interface Finding resources for using After Effects Review questions and answers 2 CREATING A BASIC ANIMATION USING EFFECTS AND PRESETS Getting started Importing footage using Adobe Bridge Creating a new composition Working with imported Illustrator layers Applying effects to a layer Applying and controlling effects Applying an animation preset Previewing the effects Adding transparency Rendering the composition Review questions and answers 3 ANIMATING TEXT Getting started About text layers Installing a font using Typekit Creating and formatting point text Using a text animation preset Animating with scale keyframes Animating using parenting About parent and child layers Animating imported Photoshop text Animating type tracking Animating text opacity Using a text animator group About text animator groups Animating a layer’s position Timing layer animations Adding motion blur Review questions and answers 4 WORKING WITH SHAPE LAYERS Getting started Adding a shape layer Creating custom shapes Duplicating shapes Duplicating and modifying a composition Positioning layers with snapping Adding compositions to a 3D project Adding the finishing touches Extra credit Review questions and answers 5 ANIMATING A MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION Getting started Using Creative Cloud Libraries in After Effects Adjusting anchor points Parenting layers Precomposing layers Keyframing a motion path Animating additional elements Applying an effect About solid-color layers Animating precomposed layers Animating the background Adding an audio track Supported audio file formats Editing audio files in Adobe Audition Review questions and answers 6 ANIMATING LAYERS Getting started Preparing layered Photoshop files About Photoshop layer styles Simulating lighting changes Duplicating an animation using the pick whip About expressions Animating movement in the scenery Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte About track mattes and traveling mattes Animating the shadows Adding a lens flare effect Adding a video animation Rendering the animation Retiming the composition Review questions and answers 7 WORKING WITH MASKS About masks Getting started Creating a mask with the Pen tool Editing a mask About mask modes Feathering the edges of a mask Creating a Bezier mask Replacing the content of the mask Zooming and panning by touch Adding a reflection Creating a vignette Adjusting the timing Using the Rectangle and Ellipse tools Tips for creating masks Trimming the work area Review questions and answers 8 DISTORTING OBJECTS WITH THE PUPPET TOOLS Getting started About the Puppet tools Adding Deform pins Defining areas of overlap Stiffening an area Animating pin positions Squash and stretch