Congratulations to everyone who undertook After Effects Assignment 4. Who’d have thought that the Fractal Effect could be so versatile!

For assignment 5 we’re using Beam, Find Edges and Curves. On first inspection Beam appears to be a one-trick-pony – lasers or light sabres anyone? But with a little experimentation you’ll discover just how diverse it can be.  Here’s my experiment, which took me an hour!

Remember the guidelines: Use only those three effects applied to a single Solid Layer and don’t use the Brainstorm Tool! Take at least 30 minutes to explore the effects and post a JPG (please compress) in the comments. Beam me up!

My favourite Polish After Effects wizard is back with a new Camera Rig.

This look, inspired by the opening titles for Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, was created using Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects with plug-ins from Borisfx,  GenArts, and Red Giant Software. Check out the breakdown below: 

The look started in After Effects with a red 2D solid, placed at the bottom of the layer stack.

A Shape Layer with an orange red to black gradient and Exclusion blend mode was positioned in z-space.

A dark solid with soft feathered mask was placed at the lower third of the frame.

Trees, grass and bushes were drawn in Illustrator, using the opening titles as a loose reference.

One tuft of grass was saved as a Symbol in Illustrator and easily duplicated using the Symbol Sprayer.

The fur trees were placed in z-space behind the gradient layer. The gradient layer both colorises the trees and acts as fog.

Taller trees and branches were placed in front of the fur trees. Creating the branches individually allowed for more flexibility when fine tuning the look of the trees in After Effects.

More tall trees and  branches were place in front of the gradient layer in z-space.

The grass was warped into place using the Bezier Warp effect.

More grass was layered in z-space with varying opacity and different Bezier Warp settings.

The bushes were created using Ilustrator’s Blob brush, then roughened with the Roughen filter to give them a thorny look.

They were then layered in z-space in After Effects with various opacity settings.

The foreground and hero tree texturised using masked stock images of trees. Soft feathered masks fade the bark off to blackness, giving the trees the illusion of depth.

The foreground trees were comped in front of the grass and the hero tree just behind the first layer of grass in z-space.

A custom camera view showing the layer placement in z-space.

BCC Stage Light was placed behind the hero tree. The volumetric light with built-in smoke in Stage Light makes it perfect for this spooky, atmospheric look.

A black solid with soft feathered mask adds darkness to the top and bottom of the frame.

A stock image of a forest was used to add detail. The image was desaturated and comped behind the main trees.

A layer of smoke created using the After Effects Turbulent Noise effect was comped behind the hero tree.

The stock image used to add the main bark was fairly low resolution, so a larger resolution patch of bark was added for the close up view of the poster.

The patch was masked and colour corrected to match the existing bark more closely.

A stock image of old parchment was colour corrected with Curves, masked to remove corners and a hole for the crossbow bolt. The Roughen Edges effect was used to remove the sharp edges, with Edge Color set to a deep orange to mimic burned edges. This looks quite effective when the flames are added.

Another slightly different parchment with the Multiply blend mode was used to add variation and texture to the paper.

The parchment was then duplicated and darkened with the Levels effect, then masked to add darker, scorched areas.

The title logo was blurred using Fast Blur and comped onto the paper using the Overlay blend mode.

The Gradient Wipe effect – using the first parchment image as the Gradient Layer – was used to give the title logo texture and combined with the parchment using the Multiply blend mode.

The key art was treated in Photoshop using the Chalk & Charcoal style combined with the Photocopy Style to give it a hand sketched look.

As with the title, this was then blurred using Fast Blur and comped onto the paper using the Overlay blend mode.

The Gradient Wipe effect  was also used on the key art which was combined using the Multiply blend mode.

The title logo and key art composite.

Coffee Stains from Rampant Design Tools – comped using the Multiply blend mode – add subtle stains to the paper.

The flames were shot hand-held on an iPhone 4S, stabilised using the After Effects 2D Tracker.

These were then positioned around the poster and masked.

Luma Key was used to pull remove the black areas around the flame. Simple hold out masks were used to protect the ash from being keyed out.

Once the flames were positioned they were precomposed. The precomp was then duplicated, colorised and blurred using Sapphire’s S_Blur effect.

The flames and glow comped with the poster.

A copy of the parchment was darkened using Curves, with animated masks used to create the growing area of carbon around the flames.

The crossbow bolt was created in Cinema 4D using a cylinder object and polygon object duplicated using the MoGraph cloner. The material is one of Video CoPilot’s Pro Shaders included with Element 3D.

The After Effects camera was animated in z-space towards the trees and poster. The project was then exported to Cinema 4D, where the bolt was positioned in z-space using the imported After Effects camera.

This was then rendered out of Cinema 4D with an alpha channel and graded in After Effects using the Curves effect.

The bolt comped with the trees and poster.

Shading was added around the entry point using black solids and masks.

The Curves effects on an adjustment layer to adds contrast.

Trapcode Particular and Shine were used to create embers. The original ember setup was created by Tristan Brittaine, a talented motion designer now working for Foxtel.

Rampant Design Tools Smoke FX stock footage was used to add smoke. This set includes 55, 3K smoke clips.

The spark and smoke composite.

Magic Bullet Mojo on an adjustment layer adds a subtle overall colour grade with added contrast.

BCC Film Glow on an adjustment layer was used for a soft overall glow.

A final layer of sparks from Rampant Design Tools Dust FX collection adds subtle, out-of-focus particles to the foreground.

In this short Photoshop walkthrough I demonstrate how I used Photoshop Oil Paint and Filters to create a woodblock print style.

Terrific results in After Effects Assignment 3 and wonderful to hear you’re enjoying these assignments and pushing your skills into new areas! It’s blowing my mind just how creative everyone can be. If you haven’t completed the previous assignments it’s never too late to join in and have a go.

For assignment 4 we’re still exploring After Effects’ Generate category, this time focussing on Fractal and CC Light Burst but adding CC Flo Motion from the Distort category. Fractal is one of those effects that gathers dust at the bottom of the effects draw because no one really knows what to do with it! So dust it off, mix in some Light Burst and Flo Motion and see what comes out! Here’s my experiment.

Remember the guidelines: Use only those three effects applied to a Solid Layer and don’t use the Brainstorm Tool! Take 30 minutes to explore the effects and post a JPG (please compress) in the comments. Don’t let Fractal defeat you!

Congratulations again to everyone who completed After Effects Assignment 2, the results are outstanding. The variety of styles that can be created from just two effects is staggering, and most importantly every one of them is unique and fresh, well done!

For assignment 3 we are going to stick with After Effects’ Generate category, this time focussing on Cell Pattern, CC Glue Gun and CC Light Rays. Here’s my experiment.

Remember the guidelines: Use only those three effects applied to a Solid Layer and don’t use the Brainstorm Tool! Take 30 minutes to explore the effects and post a JPG (please compress) in the comments. I can’t wait to see your experiments!

Rob Redman has released a new set of 25 classroom related models for Cinema 4D.

Well done to those of you who took the time to complete Assignment 1, the results were really terrific. By your comments it sounds like you really found some value in the exercise too which is great. For the next assignment, rather than choosing an entire effect category, we’ll be using only two effects from the Generate category — Radio waves and 4-Color Gradient. Here’s my result.

So, take 30 minutes using a Solid Layer and the Radio Waves and 4-Color Gradient effect, and see what you can create. Avoid using the Brainstorm Tool and remember, there’s no right or wrong result, the idea here is to explore and experiment without the pressure of clients and deadlines. Regular experimentation sharpens your skills and often results in fresh and unique styles. Post your result in the Comments (jpg format only).

Learn how to bend 2D layers along paths using Cinema 4D and After Effects in this 3 part tutorial by EJ Hassenfratz (@eyedsyn).

The announcement that future versions of most Adobe products are only available via subscription to Creative Cloud has been greeted with mixed feelings. I’ve been using Creative Cloud for a year now and really like it, so for me this is not a problem. Creative Cloud is easy to use, gives me access to all of my tools where ever I am and ensures I’m always up-to-date with the latest versions. But what about you? How do  you feel about Adobe’s announcement? Are you using Creative Cloud? Will you upgrade?

The Pixel Lab has released Image 2 Plane, a plug-in for Cinema 4D that makes working with multiple images easy.

If you’ve been following Motionworks for a while you’ll know I’m a big believer in experimentation. Experimenting in After Effects helps you develop a deeper understanding of the tools, giving you more creative options and preventing you becoming stale by relying on only what you know. Plus it’s fun and often results in some truly unique looks.

Last night I spent 30 minutes experimenting with only the effects in After Effects’ Stylize category and came up with this look. This is simply the result of applying effects and playing with the parameters and order in the Effects panel.

So here’s your assignment should you choose to accept it. In 30 MINUTES ONLY using a SOLID LAYER and effects in the STYLIZE CATEGORY ONLY, see what you can create. Keyframing is okay too but avoid using BRAINSTORM.

There’s no right or wrong result, the idea here is to explore and stretch your After Effects muscles. Post your results in the Comments, I’m keen to see what you come up with!

Tinka Tinka’s Render Booster can dramatically improve After Effects render speeds.