Adobe After Effects Classroom in a Book (2023 Release)

Adobe After Effects Classroom in a Book (2023 Release)

by Lisa Fridsma
Released January 2023
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780137982691

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Book description

Learn video compositing, motion graphics design, and animation using Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects Classroom in a Book (2023 release) uses real-world, project-based learning to cover the basics and beyond, providing countless tips and techniques to help you become more productive with the program. For beginners and experienced users alike, you can follow the book from start to finish or choose only those lessons that interest you. Learn to:

  • Create, manipulate, and optimize motion graphics for film, video, the web, and mobile devices

  • Animate text and images, customize a wide range of effects, track and sync content, rotoscope, manipulate timing, correct color, and remove unwanted objects

  • Customize cameras and lighting to create compelling 3D content

  • Design Motion Graphics templates for editing in Adobe Premiere Pro

  • Deform and animate objects and video using robust Puppet tools

Classroom in a Book®, the best-selling series of hands-on software training workbooks, offers what no other book or training program doesan official training series from Adobe, developed with the support of Adobe product experts.

Purchasing this book includes valuable online extras. Follow the instructions in the book's "Getting Started" section to unlock access to:

  • Downloadable lesson files you need to work through the projects in the book

  • Web Edition containing the complete text of the book, interactive quizzes, and videos that walk you through the lessons step by step

What you need to use this book: Adobe After Effects (2023 release) software, for either Windows or macOS. (Software not included.)

Note: Classroom in a Book does not replace the documentation, support, updates, or any other benefits of being a registered owner of Adobe After Effects software.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Where are the Lesson Files?
  5. Contents
  6. Getting Started
    1. About Classroom in a Book
    2. Prerequisites
    3. Installing After Effects, Bridge, and Media Encoder
    4. Activating fonts
    5. Optimizing performance
    6. Restoring default preferences
    7. Online content
    8. How to use these lessons
    9. Additional resources
    10. Adobe Authorized Training Centers
  7. 1. Getting to Know the Workflow
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating a project and importing footage
    3. Creating a composition and arranging layers
    4. Adding effects and modifying layer properties
    5. Animating the composition
    6. Previewing your work
    7. Optimizing performance in After Effects
    8. Rendering and exporting your composition
    9. Customizing workspaces
    10. Controlling the brightness of the user interface
    11. Collaborating in After Effects
    12. Finding resources for using After Effects
    13. Review questions
    14. Review answers
  8. 2. Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating a new composition
    3. Working with imported Illustrator layers
    4. Applying effects to a layer
    5. Applying an animation preset
    6. Precomposing layers for a new animation
    7. Previewing the effects
    8. Adding transparency
    9. Rendering the composition
    10. Review questions
    11. Review answers
  9. 3. Animating Text
    1. Getting started
    2. About text layers
    3. Installing a font using Adobe Fonts
    4. Creating and formatting point text
    5. Animating with scale keyframes
    6. Using a text animation preset
    7. Animating imported Photoshop text
    8. Animating type tracking
    9. Animating text opacity
    10. Animating an image to replace text
    11. Using a text animator group
    12. Animating a layer’s position
    13. Adding motion blur
    14. Review questions
    15. Review answers
  10. 4. Working with Shape Layers
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating the composition
    3. Adding a shape layer
    4. Creating a self-animating shape
    5. Duplicating a shape
    6. Creating custom shapes with the Pen tool
    7. Positioning layers with snapping
    8. Animating a shape
    9. Animating using parenting
    10. Using nulls to connect points
    11. Previewing the composition
    12. Review questions
    13. Review answers
  11. 5. Animating a Multimedia Presentation
    1. Getting started
    2. Adjusting anchor points
    3. Parenting layers
    4. Precomposing layers
    5. Keyframing a motion path
    6. Animating additional elements
    7. Applying an effect
    8. Animating precomposed layers
    9. Animating the background
    10. Adding an audio track
    11. Review questions
    12. Review answers
  12. 6. Animating Layers
    1. Getting started
    2. Simulating lighting changes
    3. Duplicating an animation using the pick whip
    4. Using a track matte to confine animation
    5. Animating using the Corner Pin effect
    6. Simulating a darkening sky
    7. Viewing render times for layers
    8. Retiming the composition
    9. Review questions
    10. Review answers
  13. 7. Working with Masks
    1. About masks
    2. Getting started
    3. Creating a mask with the Pen tool
    4. Editing a mask
    5. Feathering the edges of a mask
    6. Replacing the content of the mask
    7. Adjusting the opacity
    8. Adding a shadow
    9. Creating a vignette
    10. Review questions
    11. Review answers
  14. 8. Distorting Objects with The Puppet Tools
    1. Getting started
    2. About the Puppet tools
    3. Adding Position pins
    4. Adding Advanced and Bend pins
    5. Stiffening an area
    6. Animating pin positions
    7. Using the Puppet tools to animate video
    8. Recording animation
    9. Review questions
    10. Review answers
  15. 9. Using the Roto Brush Tool
    1. About rotoscoping
    2. Getting started
    3. Creating a segmentation boundary
    4. Fine-tuning the matte
    5. Freezing your Roto Brush tool results
    6. Changing the background
    7. Adding animated text
    8. Outputting your project
    9. Review questions
    10. Review answers
  16. 10. Adjusting color and mood
    1. Getting started
    2. Detecting scenes in a composition
    3. Making color enhancements
    4. Adding a colorized effect
    5. Replacing a background
    6. Color-correcting using Auto Contrast
    7. Cloning an object in a scene
    8. Darkening a scene
    9. Freezing the action
    10. Adding transitions
    11. Review questions
    12. Review answers
  17. 11. Creating Motion Graphics Templates
    1. Getting started
    2. Preparing a master composition
    3. Setting up a template
    4. Adding properties to the Essential Graphics panel
    5. Protecting the timing of a section
    6. Exporting the template
    7. Review questions
    8. Review answers
  18. 12. Using 3D Features
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating 3D layers
    3. Animating 3D layers
    4. Adding ambient light
    5. Precomposing layers
    6. Creating 3D text
    7. Using 3D views
    8. Adding a camera
    9. Lighting a scene
    10. Review questions
    11. Review answers
  19. 13. Working with the 3D Camera Tracker
    1. About the 3D Camera Tracker effect
    2. Getting started
    3. Tracking the footage
    4. Creating a ground plane, a camera, and the initial text
    5. Creating additional text elements
    6. Locking an image to a plane with a solid layer
    7. Tidying the composition
    8. Adding a final object
    9. Creating realistic shadows
    10. Adding ambient light
    11. Adding an effect
    12. Previewing the composition
    13. Review questions
    14. Review answers
  20. 14. Advanced Editing Techniques
    1. Getting started
    2. Stabilizing a shot
    3. Using single-point motion tracking
    4. Removing unwanted objects
    5. Creating a particle simulation
    6. Retiming playback using the Timewarp effect
    7. Review questions
    8. Review answers
  21. 15. Rendering and Outputting
    1. Getting started
    2. About rendering and output
    3. Exporting using the Render Queue
    4. Creating templates for the Render Queue
    5. Rendering movies with Adobe Media Encoder
    6. Review questions
    7. Review answers
  22. Index
  23. Production Notes
    1. Typefaces used
    2. Team credits
    3. Project contributors
  24. Pearson’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Product information

  • Title: Adobe After Effects Classroom in a Book (2023 Release)
  • Author(s): Lisa Fridsma
  • Release date: January 2023
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780137982691