Previewing the entire animation
Congratulations! You’ve completed the two-part 3D animation for this Adobe After Effects book. After all that hard work, you should definitely preview the entire animation.
- Click the Final Comp tab in the Timeline panel.
- Press F2, or click any empty area in the Timeline panel, to deselect all layers.
- Press the Home key, or drag the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
- Watch a RAM preview of the entire composition.
- Choose File > Save to save your project.
If you’d like to render and output the piece, see Lesson 14, “Rendering and Outputting,” for instructions.
Extra Credit
The DigiEffects FreeForm plug-in that comes with After Effects lets you deform 3D layers in 3D space. Take it for a spin by creating a computer-generated island from a 3D grid layer.
Choose File > Open Project, and navigate to the Lessons/Lesson12/Freeform/Start_Project_File folder. Double-click the Freeform_Start.aep file to open the project in After Effects.
The Freeform_Start.aep project file contains two assets: a composition, and a solid layer for which a grid has already been generated. You’ll deform the grid layer to create the island.
Select the Island layer in the Timeline panel, and then choose Effect > DigiEffects FreeForm > DE_FreeForm AE.
The FreeForm effect settings appear in the Effect Controls panel.
- Expand the 3D Mesh Controls properties, and then change Position Z to 1000. Changing the Z position pushes the layer back in space so you’ll have room to rotate the layer.
- Press the Home key, or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler. Then change the Rotation X value to -70 degrees and the Rotation Z value to +40 degrees.
Click the stopwatch icon next to the Rotation Z property to set an initial keyframe. Then press the End key, or move the current-time indicator to the end of the time ruler. Change the Rotation Z value to 2x+40 degrees.
As the movie plays, the layer will spin in space. In order to displace this layer, you’ll need to add another layer.
- In the Timeline panel, press U, select the Rotation Z property to select both of its keyframes, and then right-click or Control-click one of the keyframes and choose Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease.
- Drag the Map.tif item from the Project panel into the Timeline panel, placing it at the bottom of the layer stack. Then click the Video switch for the layer to hide it.
- Select the Island layer in the Timeline panel, and bring the Effect Controls panel to the front. Expand the Displacement Controls. Then choose 2. map.tif from the Displace Layer menu.
- Press the Home key, or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler, and create an initial keyframe for Displace Height, with a value of 0.
Go to 1:00. Then change the Displace Height value to 200.
You have an island, but it looks like something from the early days of computer graphics. You can refine the look.
In the Effect Controls panel, expand the 3D Mesh Quality properties. Change the Mesh Subdivision value to 75, choose High from the Antialiasing menu, and then choose On from the Image Filtering menu.
Because you’re working in three dimensions, you can add lights to cast shadows and create a glow.
- Choose Layer > New > Light to add a light to the scene. In the Light Settings dialog box, choose Parallel from the Light Type menu, select white for the color, and then click OK.
- In the Timeline panel, expand the Light 1 layer Transform properties. Change the Point Of Interest to 380, 210, 45, and change the Position to 690, 85, -170.
Choose Layer > New > Light to add another light. In the Light Settings dialog box, choose Ambient from the Light Type menu, change the Intensity to 30%, and then click OK.
An ambient light softens the shadows. Next, add a hot glow around the layer highlights.
- Select the Island layer, and then choose Effect > Stylize > Glow.
- In the Effect Controls panel, change the Glow Threshold to 40%.
- Drag the HUD.mov file from the Project panel to the bottom of the layer stack in the Timeline panel to add the context for your island.
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