After Effects Guru: Animating Typography

1h 53mIntermediate2014-06-09

Authors

Ian Robinson

Motion Graphics Designer and Educator

Course details

Many designers get their start in animation with the simple desire to create interesting type animation, but they don't know where to begin. Let an After Effects guru show you the path. Join Ian Robinson for an in-depth look at all of the different ways you can animate type in After Effects, from animation presets to animated cameras. Rather than focusing just on the buttons, Ian focuses on creating and adding movement that matches the meaning of the words. Follow along as he dives into the process for deciding which tool is best to use for each effect.

Learning objectives
Exploring the emotions of animation
Choosing type for legibility
Creating a visual hierarchy
Working with text animation presets
Animating cameras
Creating high-energy animations vs. subtle, smooth animations
Animating multiple lines of type

Skills covered

Motion GraphicsAfter EffectsRenderingMotion Graphics and VFXVisualization and Real-TimeLimited SeriesAdobeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and Illustration

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - What you should know before watching this course
03 - Using the exercise files

1. Understanding the Emotions of Animation

04 - Dissecting high-energy animation
05 - Exploring clean animation techniques
06 - Understanding the anatomy of accents and highlights

2. Essential Aesthetic and Technical Principles

07 - Choosing type for legibility
08 - Understanding read times and screen position
09 - Creating visual hierarchy for faster understanding
10 - Cleaning up type-heavy graphics
11 - Animating colors for legibility

3. Working with Text Animation Presets

12 - Working with existing presets (and visually browsing)
13 - Customizing and retiming an animation
14 - Building animation properties from scratch
15 - Refining the animation

4. Creating High-Energy Animation

16 - Creating controlled chaos with type animators
17 - Animating cameras for dynamic simulation
18 - Building glows, blurs, and highlights
19 - Building tension

5. Creating Clean, Simple, and Smooth animation

20 - Creating subtle accents with duplicate layers
21 - Creating smooth camera animation
22 - Enhancing with textures and CINEMA 4D Lite

6. Animating Multiple Lines of Type

23 - Building a detailed credit roll
24 - Accenting key words
25 - Multiline dynamic moves with cameras and type animators
26 - Using multiple animators and refining your animation

Conclusion

27 - Wrapping up