After Effects for Designers teaches design students, artists, and web, graphic, and interactive designers how to design, develop, and deploy motion design projects using Adobe After Effects. Author Chris Jackson balances fundamental aspects of time-based design with related techniques, and explores the principles of animation; composition and layout; visual hierarchy; typography; cinematic storytelling; 3D modelling; compositing, and more. Each chapter contains unique, step-by-step project exercises that offer timesaving practical tips and hands-on design techniques, teaching readers how to effectively use the tools at their disposal in order to conceptualize and visualize creative solutions to their own motion design work. Readers will build professional-world examples in every chapter and, as a result, learn how to both design effectively using After Effects and practically apply these skills in client-based work. An accompanying companion website includes complete project files for the book's chapter exercises, and additional video tutorials.

Plumb the depths of core motion design fundamentals and harness the essential techniques of this diverse and innovative medium. Combine basic art and design principles with creative storytelling to create compelling style frames, design boards, and motion design projects. Here, in one volume, Austin Shaw covers all the principles any serious motion designer needs to know in order to make their artistic visions a reality and confidently produce compositions for clients, including: Illustration techniques Typography Compositing Cinematography Incorporating 3D elements Matte painting Concept development, and much more Lessons are augmented by illustrious full color imagery and practical exercises, allowing you to put the techniques covered into immediate practical context. Industry leaders and pioneers, including Karin Fong, Bradley G Munkowitz (GMUNK), Will Hyde, Erin Sarofsky, Danny Yount, and many more, contribute their professional perspectives, share personal stories, and provide visual examples of their work. Additionally, a robust companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/shaw) features project files, video tutorials, bonus PDFs, and rolling updates to keep you informed on the latest developments in the field.

Covers the basics of Adobe After Effects, from color correction and keying to selection methods and motion tracking and provides tips and techniques to help readers become more productive with the program.

Realize your creative potential with a working knowledge of After Effects 7. Renowned artist and designer Angie Taylor demonstrates professional workflows and inspires with practical tutorial lessons that help put the theory (and you!) to work. You'll learn from a comprehensive survey of the new interface and features, with illustrated techniques for animation, visual effects and motion graphics. Practice exercises to reinforce essential techniques, and continuous projects challenge you with fantastically creative uses of the application. The companion DVD includes everything you'll need to complete the tutorials as well as an array of bonus plug-ins and demo software.

Take your After Effects skills to a new level! Twelve step-by-step tutorials, designed by industry professionals, explore a variety of creative approaches as they teach useful design concepts and production techniques. Updated for After Effects 6.5, this new edition covers the most significant Version 5 and 6 features including 3D space, cameras, lights, parenting, text, animation presets, paint, and expressions. Each carefully structured project presents the "why" behind the steps, so you can adapt these techniques to your own designs and motion graphics work. All contain timeless concepts that will be of use for many years to come. After Effects in Production also contains six case studies of commercial projects created by award-winning studios such as ATTIK, Belief, Curious Pictures, The Diecks Group, Fido, and the authors' own studio, CyberMotion. These detail the integration of After Effects, 3D programs, live action, and a variety of animation techniques, revealing the artistic concepts behind the spots as well as the inventive techniques used to execute them. The enclosed DVD contains QuickTime movies of each of the final animations, allowing you to step through them frame-by-frame so you can examine them in detail.

Put the power of Expressions to work in your animations with controls and efficiencies impossible to achieve with traditional keyframing techniques. No programming skills are required. Foundation concepts and skills orient the new designer and serve as a handy reference to the experienced one. Basics of creating expressions, variables, commands, and expression helpers precede the leap into javascript and math essentials for more advanced expressions that include randomness, physical simularions and 3D. Full color illustrations display the scripts and the resulting effects, pickwhip techniques, and sequential animations. Downloadable companion files include Quicktime movies of the demo animations, and AE project files that permit you to examine the Expressions. Extensive notes are provided to aid you in implementing the extensive library of Expressions available for your use on Adobe LiveDocs.

This ideal quick reference to Adobe's motion graphics and visual effects software package, After Effects, includes an easy-to-understand collection of instructive examples that are simple to understand and put into practice. Readers learn how to open and install After Effects and be up-and-running "out of the box" immediately.