Process And Production - After Effects - Space

As this was the last Adobe After Effects workshop of year 1 we used all the skills we had been taught throughout the year and got taught a couple more in this session. For the task I had to create an animated title with a texture; the process involved using Adobe Illustrator for the artwork and After Effects to edit and animate the shapes.

The process began by drawing the title out in illustrator first; I drew the title (space) using the pen tool at first to create unique letters instead of using an existing typeface available in the program. However, after finishing the letters I decided that they weren't striking or as impressive/ bold as space is envisaged by myself.  Therefore I decided to use an existing typeface, 'Helvetica' as I thought it looked my professional and striking due to the structured lines within the typeface. I chose the regular/bold option in comparison to light to add weight to the letters and make them stand out more.

Once I was happy with the title and shapes I brought it in to After Effects and started a new composition  where it was set up to HD Screen settings (1920 x 1080). I opened up the illustrator file in after effects and dragged it into the composition. 

First I selected all of the layers and selected the 3D (the 3D box) from the mode selection. I used the transform tools again in this video and I rotated each individual letter around the 'y' axis; I made the letters spin round in a circle. After adding all of the transform effects to the letters I then added a texture to the letters which was a new skill to me. To do this I had to select the individual letter and then go to 'layer' then 'pre-compose'; I did this to every letter. After that I double clicked the letter's layer to isolate it; then I dragged the texture over the letter. I then activated the track mat and set it to 'alpha matte' which makes the texture conform to the shape of the letter; this process was repeated for each letter. The last process was to create a vignette; to do this I created a solid and using the mask options I turned the blend mode to subtract and I used the feather mode to make the blend less harsh. 

Overall I'm happy with the final outcome that I created as I feel that my skills have improved throughout the course of the workshops I have done in After Effects; I think that I have done well using the program to say that I'd never used it before I started university in September. I understand that by learning how to use After Effects it will broaden my skill set and make me versatile when going in to a workplace. I can used this skills I have learnt for future briefs at University or even in the long run in my future career. My final outcome is shown below:


Graphics movie from Jade Irving on Vimeo.