After Effects Animation, Competency

Level 1

After Effects Badge 1 is the same for both the Animation and VFX tracks

Demonstrate skill with:

Creating a new composition and changing its settings

  • Width and height
  • Frames per second
  • Length

Navigation

  • Zoom in and out (,.)
  • Forward and back one frame (Command + arrow keys)
  • Scroll (Hold Space)

Tools

  • Selection (v)
  • Rotation (w)
  • Text tool 
  • Shapes
  • Move Anchor Point (y)

Import Footage

  • Command + I

Layers

  • Footage Layer
  • Shape Layer
    • Shape and pen tool
  • Text Layer

Keyframe Animation

  • Enable keyframe animation for a layer property
  • Edit existing keyframes
  • Reveal all keyframes on a layer (u)

Layer Transformations

  • Position (p)
  • Scale (s)
  • Rotation (r)
  • Opacity (t)
  • Anchor Point (a)

Effects

  • Learn to apply and edit 3 effects. They could include
    • Curves
    • Hue and Saturation
    • Gaussian Blur
    • Turbulent displace

Export

  • Export as Quicktime video

Questions

  • Explain the work space of After Effects
  • Explain the difference between frames and keyframes.
  • Why should you ALWAYS Name your Layers?

Level 2

Demonstrate skill with:

  • Keyframes
    • Keyframe Easing
      • Ease In
      • Ease Out
      • Easy Ease
      • Keyframe Hold
  • Keyframing effect properties
  • Parenting
    • Parenting layers to each other
    • Parenting a single layer property to another layer property (e.g. position -> position)
  • Align tools
  • Properly importing Illustrator files
  • Independently scale a layer’s width and height
  • Track Mattes (Alpha and Luma)
  • Masking
    • Mask path
    • Feathering
    • Expansion
    • Pen tool
  • Precomposing
  • Adjustment Layers

Learn three new effects

Questions

  • How do you prepare an Illustrator doc for export?
  • Explain what a “pre Composition” is
  • What’s the difference between an Easy Ease keyframe and a keyframe Hold?

Level 3

Demonstrate skill with:

  • Animating an object along a path
  • Graph Mode
    • Speed Graph
    • Value Graph
  • Text Animators
    • e.g. Tracking, Character Offset, etc.
  • Shape Layer Animators
    • e.g. Trim paths, Wiggle Transform, Twist, etc.
  • Null Object
  • Layer Blending Modes
  • Using 3D
    • Make layers 3D and position in 3D space
    • Lights
    • Camera
    • Two-screen mode
  • Puppet Pin Tool

Learn three new effects