You can check out the first part of this blog series clicking here, or the blog post that directly precedes this one clicking here
So, let’s continue from where we stopped. In the last blog, I explained why Illustrator is one of the applications you need to learn first as a beginner, to start your journey into creative art.
Next on my list is Adobe After Effects.
ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS
Adobe After Effects is a versatile computer application and an industry standard in the creative arts industry. It is owned Adobe Inc., the same company that owns the famous Photoshop. It’s very popular for doing tasks like chroma-keying (replacing the initial green or blue background on which a character is shot with another background), motion graphics, rotoscoping (making changes to a video, frame frame) character animation, compositing, special effects, etc.
After Effects is widely used in the advertising industry motion graphics artists, 3d artists, and post-production special effects artists. However, these three jobs are interwoven, so we have many artists or generalists who are good at the three of them. Motion graphics artists use After Effects for text animation, whiteboard animation, creation of explainer videos, animatics, logo animation, lower thirds, and more. 3d artists use it for compositing, i.e., adding other elements to their 3d models. Special effects artists use After Effects for both compositing and special effects. There are endless possibilities for what you can do with After Effects when it comes to video creation. After Effects is used for enhancing videos visually, this is important when creating video courses for learning or YouTube videos generally. It’s also being used to visually accompany stories combining the storytellers’ audio with animated characters and props to showcase the story visually. Videos made like this are called explainer videos. Its seamless cross-platform connection with apps such as Cinema 4d and Maya makes it even more attractive for motion graphics artists who are experienced with both 3d modeling applications.
After Effects is very much capable of doing a lot of the special effects you see in movies, though many VFX artists place Nuke ahead of it, that doesn’t take the shine off it. After Effects has more documentation and more following than Nuke, probably because it has a layer-based workflow like that of popular applications like Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. People who are used to the workflow of Illustrator and Photoshop are likely to prefer using After Effects over Nuke, a similar application with a node-based workflow. Adobe After Effects is also very relevant for doing color correction and don’t be deceived, despite its versatility, Adobe After Effects still manages to come out at the top for video color correction just like Adobe Premiere Pro.
One thing that makes Adobe After Effects stand ahead of other applications like Nuke that do similar tasks is its seamless interaction with other relatively important and popular Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, etc.
Adobe After Effects enjoys having a large pool of online resources that promote self-development. There are lots of YouTube channels dedicated to different aspects of the tasks Adobe After Effects does. We have channels strictly dedicated to After Effects’ special effects tutorials, some focus on its motion graphics tutorials, etc.
The existence of loads of third-party plugins that extend the functionality of Adobe After Effects further makes it a very powerful creative art tool. Adobe After Effects also supports the use of downloadable scripts. Scripting further expands After Effects’ ability to perform many tasks effortlessly, they are a bit different from plugins because they can only access the core functionality of After Effects, while plugins extend the functionality of After Effects. If you are into computer programming, you can write and edit scripts using Adobe’s ExtendScript tool kit. ExtendScript is an extension of the popular JavaScript. So, JavaScript developers who care can easily learn how to use ExtendScript to make difficult and repetitive tasks easier.
Concerning After Effect’s learning curve, I’ll say it falls in the middle of the scale. It takes only a few hours to get up and running with its basics such as understanding its interface, typing, simple text animations, etc. To learn advanced functions and how to use advanced tools, or expressions (in-app commands used to change the property of objects in After Effects), you may have to spend a month to get familiar with the interface, and over six months to be able to do complex things and get versatile, creative, and swift with the application. Remember, the more projects you do, the better you become.
So, why not hit the ground running in learning this wonderful application today? Get on YouTube, search for beginner tutorials, and start from there.