2D Animation

Using Expression Effects to Connect Effects in After Effects

In this After Effects CC 2017 Tutorial, learn how to use expressions to connect effects and effect parameters. By using expression linking in After Effects CC 2017, you can easily update multiple layers of animation and effects with one simple change. This technique builds on using the expresions pickwhip to enable connection of effects and parameters, as well as covers using the wiggle expression and other expression techniques.

Get the Element 3D products used in tutorials:

Want learn more about 3D animation in After Effects? Check out these other tutorials

Use Element 3D V2 in After Effects to create a 3D Logo

Create a 3D extruded logo in After Effects with Cinema 4D Lite


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Looking for the next Tutorial to watch?

Check out the Top 5 Features of Element 3D V2 for After Effects!

Learn about the new 3D Character Creator app, Adobe Fuse!

Learn about the Top 5 new features of Cinema 4D R17!

Learn the Top 5 After Effects Expressions!

Learn how to Recreate the Agengers: Age of Ultron 3D Title Animation!

See how to Combine Element 3D with the new Saber Plug-in!

Learn about the Top 5 Hidden Features of Illustrator CC!

See how to bring Animated 3D Characters into Element 3D!

To check out new features added to Cinema 4D R16!

Check out the Top 5 Tips for Better Camera Animation in After Effects!

Live Text Templates with After Effects & Premiere Pro CC 2017

With the update to Creative Cloud 2017 comes a really cool new feature for After Effects and Premiere Pro: Live Text Templates. With live text templates, you can create text animations in After Effects, and then import the project as a template in Premiere Pro, where you can easily replace text fields. This allows you to create re-useable templates for an entire editing project, without needing to re-render each text animation separately. Check out the video above to learn how this new feature for After Effects CC 2017 works!

In the After Effects Project window, right-click a composition and selection "Export Composition as Text Template."

In the After Effects Project window, right-click a composition and selection "Export Composition as Text Template."

In the Source Monitor within Premiere Pro, select "Master" under the Effects Controls tab, and you can replace editable text fields.

In the Source Monitor within Premiere Pro, select "Master" under the Effects Controls tab, and you can replace editable text fields.


Check out more new features for Creative Cloud 2017

3D Titles in After Effects CC 2017 with the Cinema 4D Renderer

Create a 3D Logo in After Effects CC 2017 with the Cinema 4D Renderer

Speed up your Motion Graphics work with these After Effects 3D Products!


Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!

Looking for the next Tutorial to watch?

Check out the Top 5 Features of Element 3D V2 for After Effects!

Learn about the new 3D Character Creator app, Adobe Fuse!

Learn about the Top 5 new features of Cinema 4D R17!

Learn the Top 5 After Effects Expressions!

Learn how to Recreate the Agengers: Age of Ultron 3D Title Animation!

See how to Combine Element 3D with the new Saber Plug-in!

Learn about the Top 5 Hidden Features of Illustrator CC!

See how to bring Animated 3D Characters into Element 3D!

To check out new features added to Cinema 4D R16!

Check out the Top 5 Tips for Better Camera Animation in After Effects!

Using Type Animators to Create Kinetic Typography Animations in After Effects CC

Animating a bunch of letters one letter at a time? No way! In After Effects CC, you can use type animators to animate properties like position, rotation, opacity, and more, and then animate only the offset to run the animation through a full word. This technique can also be applied to words, lines, or paragraphs,

Using type animators is a great way to create create kinetic typography animations quickly and easily. The great part about this workflow is that you can continue to add additional properties to the type animator, and you only have to worry about the one set of keyframes! Type animators can also be used in 3D space, where you can animate X,Y, and Z position or rotation, so the possibilities are endless! 

Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


How to Recreate the "Mad Max: Fury Road" Title Sequence in After Effects

I think the design and animation for the titles using to promote Mad Max: Fury Road fit perfectly with the grittiness and edge of the film. The textures work nicely, and there is some really nice details with the blood particles animating inside the letters as the camera pulls closer. For this video, I wanted to see how closely I could recreate it using After Effects, and some Trapcode Particular Tricks for the blood and dust animating inside the letters.

This also includes working in Adobe After Effects CC 2015, and creating 3D particle effects to recreate the Mad Max Title.

Want to get the project file for this tutorial? You can purchase it in the online store for just a couple dollars!

Want a quick idea of what this tutorial is all about? Check out a time lapse video of this project:

Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


Recreate the "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" Logo in After Effects, Part 2

In Part 2 of my two-part tutorial on how to recreate the Call of Duty: Black Ops III logo in After Effects CC, I get into the fine details of how to use Trapcode Particular to create the fiery effect. Usually you'd thing of using Trapcode Particular to have particles bouncing all of the place, but by adjusting a couple switches, you can have the stick to a moving animation, and have some subtle movement that will glow like fire. Check it out in the video to learn how to do it!

Want to get the project file for this tutorial? You can purchase it in the online store for just a couple dollars!

Be sure to check out Part 1 where we'll talk about creating the base Logo Animation.

Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


Learn to Recreate the "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" Logo in After Effects using Trapcode Particular

When I first saw the Call of Duty: Black Ops III logo in a teaser trailer, I was a big fan of what was done for the logo animation. It has some very subtle animation, and yet there is a lot of detail in there. I wanted to see how closely I could recreate it using After Effects CC, and some Trapcode Particular techniques. To get the job done I also developed some techniques using track mattes in After Effects. Check out the video to see how it is done!

In part 1 of this tutorial, learn to create the Black Ops 3 logo in After Effects and Adobe Illustrator.

Want to get the project file for this tutorial? You can purchase it in the online store for just a couple dollars!

In this 2 part After Effects tutorial, we'll use Trapcode Particular to create the fire effects for the Black Ops 3 Logo. Be sure to check out Part 2 at this video!

Get Trapcode Particular through my Amazon Affiliate link here:
http://amzn.to/1L20sE3

Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


How to use Expression Effects in After Effects to create Number Counters, control a Wiggle, and MORE!

Whenever I first teach about expressions like the Wiggle Expression in Adobe After Effects, one of the first questions I always seem to get is "ok that's great, but how the hell do you shut it off?" Animating the strength of a wiggle expression can be done using expression effects, and some expression-parenting trickery. This technique can also be used to create number counts in After Effects, and more.

In this After Effects Expressions tutorial, learn to use expression effects such as slider controls to create counters, and automate other animations. Also included is using other expressions with expression control effects, such as the wiggle expression, time expression, rounding, and random seed expressions.

Want to learn the basics of After Effects Expressions? Check out my Top 5 Expressions of Adobe After Effects.


Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


Top 5 Adobe After Effects 3D Camera Tip & Tricks

Once you start working in 3D space with 3D layers in After Effects, getting the camera to do what you want and stop darting all over the place can be tricky. In this video, I go over my Top 5 Camera Tips for creating better camera animation in After Effects CC, including tips on camera animation as well as animating and linking Depth of Field! 

My Top 5 After Effects Camera Tips are:
• Changing the default Focal Length
• Parenting the camera to a null object
• Cutting between multiple cameras
• Using and understanding Roving Keyframes
• Setting and Linking Depth of Field

Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


Top 5 Adobe After Effects CC Expressions

When you're an art person, computer programming can make you want to run away as fast as possible. Working with Expressions in After Effects can seem daunting at first, but by learning about some of the top After Effects CC Expressions, you can start working with Expressions to make your animations better and built smarter in no time!

Want to learn more about After Effects Expressions? Check out this tutorial on Using Expression Effects and animating the Wiggle Effect!

My Top 5 After Effects Expressions are:
• Wiggle(0,0)
• Time
• loopOut()
• seedRandom(0)
•Math.round()


Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


How to use Masks on Effects in Adobe After Effects CC

A really cool update that came out in After Effects CC 2014 is the ability to mask effects, and have different masks on different effects, without having to separate everything out using adjustment layers. That's a hard sentence even to type out, so in this video I break down how to use this new technique for masking effects in a variety of ways. 

In this Adobe After Effects tutorial, learn how to use masks on effects. This new After Effects Creative Cloud technique includes the new masking effects workflow, which is a new feature in Adobe After Effects Creative Cloud. This tutorial covers adding masks to effects, animating masks that are linked to effects, adding multiple masked effects, and adding adjustment layers with multiple masked effects in After Effects CC 2015


Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!


How to use 3D Stroke to Generate particles using Trapcode Particular

In this After Effects and Trapcode Particular tutorial, learn how to use Trapcode 3D Stroke to emit particles from Trapcode Particular, as well as combining other Red Giant Trapcode plug-ins in Adobe After Effects. This Trapcode Particular tutorial also includes a general overview of Trapcode 3D Stroke, Particular, Shine, and Starglow effects for After Effects CC.

You can do a lot with Trapcode Particular, whether it is emitting custom particle shapes, images, or videos, or emitting particles from custom shapes, objects, or videos. I had the question of how to emit particles from another Red Giant plug-in - 3D Stroke - and have the particles animating while the 3D stroke is animating. This one stumped me for a bit, so I got to work to try to figure out how it could be done. This tutorial goes over my technique for solving this problem of how to emit particles from animating 3D stroke lines.

In this After Effects and Trapcode Particular tutorial, learn how to use Trapcode 3D Stroke to emit particles from Trapcode Particular, as well as combining other Red Giant Trapcode plug-ins in Adobe After Effects.

This Trapcode Particular tutorial also includes a general overview of Trapcode 3D Stroke, Particular, Shine, and Starglow effects for After Effects CC. I also cover basic expressions and After Effects animation tips.


Like this tutorial? Consider becoming a Patron at Patreon.com/SeanFrangella to get additional benefits such as project files and more! 

To get weekly Motion Graphics, VFX, and 3D animation tutorials be sure to subscribe to the show on YouTube!