After Effects CC 2021 : VFX Essential Training

Below are a few movies from my course After Effects CC 2021 : VFX Essential Training at Linkedin Learning. This course is aimed to get you started on your visual effects journey with After Effects.

Learn how to create stunning visual effects with one of the most widely-used and highly-regarded compositing applications on the market—Adobe After Effects CC.

In this course, we’ll into the fundamentals you need to start creating visual effects (VFX) with After Effects. Discover how to build accurate masks and keys, use rotoscoping to separate foreground from background, perform motion and camera tracking, and add your own 3D elements to a scene. Learn how to use effects such as particles and noise to create fire, replace the sky, and more. Then dive into the world of virtual reality as we explore the immersive VR and 360-degree video features In the final project-based chapter, you can reinforce your new skills by putting techniques into practice with a real-world challenge.

Topics include:

  • Creating transparency

  • Tracking masks in Motion

  • Utilizing the Roto Brush tool

  • Keying

  • Camera and motion tracking

  • Working with 3D layers

  • Using effects

  • Creating destruction with Shatter

  • Creating fire with particles

  • Distorting layers with the Puppet tool

  • Compositing 3D renders

  • Rendering

  • Creating virtual reality experiences

Big Picture Concepts

This movie covers the big picture concepts of After Effects for visual effects. You’ll briefly learn about compositions, layers animations, effects, 3d space and rendering.

Big-picture concepts from After Effects CC 2021 Essential Training: VFX by Alan Demafiles

Keyframing Masks

One aspect of visual effects involves creating masks to isolate areas of our footage.  Cutting out portions of our footage is called rotoscoping and in this movie we’ll see how we can use the pen tool to create animated masks.

Big-picture concepts from After Effects CC 2021 Essential Training: VFX by Alan Demafiles

What is a chroma key?

Another way to create transparency in After Effects from footage is thru use of chroma key. Here’s a brief look at how using a green or blue screen is used for visual effects

What is a chroma key? from After Effects CC 2021 Essential Training: VFX by Alan Demafiles

Types of tracking

Learn how to make one visual element follow the movements of another element in the footage through various methods of tracking in After Effects.

Types of tracking from After Effects CC 2021 Essential Training: VFX by Alan Demafiles