50 After Effects Tips, Tricks & Secrets for Beginners

Summary

This video script offers a treasure trove of After Effects tips designed to enhance workflow efficiency. It covers a range of techniques from copying effects with property links to using blending modes creatively. The tutorial delves into advanced layer manipulation, such as null object parenting for complex animations, and provides shortcuts for navigating and editing compositions. It also touches on optimizing performance, including clearing disk cache and managing project assets. Each tip is aimed at saving time and simplifying the process of creating professional-quality animations and effects.

Takeaways

• 🔄 **Copying Effects**: You can copy effects from one layer to another by using the Edit > Copy with Property Links option, which allows for dynamic updates across layers.
• 🎨 **Blending Modes**: Utilize blending modes like Multiply, Stencil Alpha, and Silhouette Alpha to control layer visibility and interactions within compositions.
• 🖼️ **Preserving Quality**: To prevent blurriness when scaling vector elements, enable 'Continuously Rasterize' to maintain crispness.
• 🔗 **Null Object Animation**: Use null objects to parent and animate multiple layers together, simplifying complex animations and keeping your composition clean.
• 🖱️ **Timeline Navigation**: Enhance workflow by using the tilde key to toggle full-screen panels for better visibility and focus.
• 🌐 **Mini Flowchart**: Navigate complex compositions efficiently using the mini flowchart, which shows nested compositions and their relationships.
• 🔄 **Split View**: Use the split view feature to edit a pre-comp and see real-time updates in the main composition, aiding in precise adjustments.
• 📏 **Snapping with Guides**: Align and organize layers with ease by enabling 'Snap to Guides', ensuring precise layer placement.
• ✂️ **Comp Trimming**: Quickly adjust the duration of your composition by trimming to the work area or cropping to a region of interest.
• 🔗 **Selective Parenting**: Parent layers to inherit specific properties by using the Alt/Option click technique, maintaining control over individual attributes.

Q & A

How can you apply effects from one layer to multiple layers in After Effects?

You can copy the effects from one layer to another by selecting the effects in the Effects Control panel and pasting them onto another layer. Alternatively, you can copy the effects with property links, which will update the effects on all layers where they were copied if you make changes to the original layer.

What is the Preserve Underlying Transparency feature used for in After Effects?

The Preserve Underlying Transparency feature is used to apply a texture or effect only to already visible layers in your composition without affecting any masks or maps.

How can you make visible only layers that appear underneath a specific layer?

You can use the blending mode Stencil Alpha to make visible only layers that appear underneath the layer with this blending mode applied.

What is the Continuously Rasterize option used for when scaling vector elements?

The Continuously Rasterize option is used to keep vector elements like logos crisp and clear when they are scaled up, preventing them from becoming blurry or pixelated.

How can you move multiple layers simultaneously in After Effects?

You can create a new null object and parent the layers you want to move to that null. Then, move the null object to the desired position, and delete the null object to remove any evidence of it.

What is the purpose of the Mini Flowchart feature in After Effects?

The Mini Flowchart feature allows you to quickly navigate through your project by showing the composition you're in, the compositions it's nested in, and the compositions nested within it.

How can you align multiple objects in After Effects?

You can align multiple objects by using guides. Simply drag out some guides, select 'View > Snap to Guides', and when you move an object, it will snap into position.

What is the quickest way to trim a composition to the work area in After Effects?

You can drag over your work area in the timeline view and then right-click and select 'Trim Comp to Work Area'.

How can you create a mask on a layer without affecting the pen tool's ability to draw shapes?

You can create a mask on a layer by selecting 'Tool > Create Mask' and drawing over the top of the layer.

What is the difference between Box Blur, Camera Lens Blur, and Gaussian Blur in After Effects?

Box Blur and Camera Lens Blur provide a more natural blurring effect but take longer to render, while Gaussian Blur is faster but may not look as natural.

How can you prevent a halo effect on the edges of a blurred image in After Effects?

To prevent a halo effect on the edges of a blurred image, you can tick the 'Repeat Edge Pixels' option, which stops the edges from assuming transparency.

How can you duplicate a layer in After Effects?

You can duplicate a layer by pressing Ctrl+D, which creates another version of the layer.

What is the purpose of the Transform effect in After Effects?

The Transform effect allows you to add more transform properties like scale, position, and rotation to a layer while keeping the existing animation.

How can you show or hide the bounding box of shape layers in After Effects?

You can show or hide the bounding box of shape layers by clicking the bounding box button in the toolbar or by going to 'View > Show Layer Controls'.

How can you replace a file or composition in After Effects?

You can replace a file or composition by selecting it in the timeline, finding the layer or comp you want to replace it with in the project panel, holding Alt, and dragging it into the composition or timeline window.

What is the purpose of an adjustment layer in After Effects?

An adjustment layer allows you to apply effects to the entire scene without affecting individual elements. Any effects applied to the adjustment layer will affect all layers beneath it.

How can you change the speed of an animation in After Effects?

You can change the speed of an animation by right-clicking on the layer and selecting 'Time > Time Stretch' to speed it up or slow it down.

How can you reverse an animation in After Effects?

You can reverse an animation by right-clicking on the layer and selecting 'Time > Reverse Layer'.

How can you quickly test multiple fonts in After Effects?

You can quickly test multiple fonts by selecting your text layer, clicking in the font dropdown area, and scrolling through with your arrow keys until you find the font you like. You can also add fonts to your favorites for easy access.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 After Effects Efficiency Tips

This paragraph introduces various tips to enhance efficiency in Adobe After Effects. It starts with a method to copy effects from one layer to another using the Edit menu or Property Links. The paragraph then explains how to apply blending modes like Stencil Alpha and Silhouette Alpha for visibility control. It also covers techniques to avoid blurriness when scaling vector elements by using the Continuously Rasterize option. Another trick is using a null object to parent layers for easy animation adjustments. The paragraph also mentions a full-screen view shortcut for panels and navigating through nested compositions with the Mini Flowchart. It concludes with tips on aligning objects with guides and trimming compositions to work areas.

05:03

🛠 Advanced After Effects Techniques

Paragraph 2 delves into advanced techniques in After Effects. It discusses how to create masks with the Pen tool and manage blur effects, emphasizing the difference between Box Blur, Camera Lens Blur, and Gaussian Blur. Tips on avoiding halo effects on blurred images by repeating edge pixels are provided. The paragraph also covers duplicating layers with keyboard shortcuts, trimming layers, and adding more transform properties without the need for pre-composing. It touches on how to recover accidentally hidden bounding boxes and project panels, and how to align elements from different compositions. The paragraph concludes with advice on managing disk cache and purging unused assets to optimize project performance.

10:06

🔧 Organizing and Animating in After Effects

The final paragraph focuses on organization and animation within After Effects. It starts with tips for aligning elements and using adjustment layers to apply effects non-destructively. The paragraph then moves on to color-coding layers for better organization and managing layer visibility with the shy and solo features. It also covers the use of labels for selecting groups of layers and pasting layers in the correct order. The section on fonts includes tips for quickly testing and favoriting fonts. The paragraph concludes with a preference setting to center the anchor point in new shape layers for more intuitive design, and an invitation to subscribe for more video content.

Keywords

💡After Effects

After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application developed by Adobe Systems. It is widely used in the post-production process of film making and video game development. In the context of the video, After Effects is the primary software being discussed, with the script offering numerous tips and tricks for users to enhance their workflow and efficiency within the program.

💡Effects Control Panel

The Effects Control Panel in After Effects is where users can manage and adjust the properties of effects applied to layers. It is a central hub for fine-tuning visual elements. The script mentions copying effects from this panel to other layers, which is a time-saving technique for applying the same effects to multiple layers without manually reapplying them.

💡Blending Modes

Blending modes determine how two layers interact with each other in terms of color and transparency. The script refers to 'multiply' and 'stencil alpha' as examples of blending modes. These modes are crucial for creating various visual effects such as textures and masking, which are integral to the compositing process in After Effects.

💡Continuous Rasterize

Continuous Rasterize is a feature in After Effects that allows for smoother scaling of vector elements without them becoming blurry or pixelated. The script suggests using this feature when scaling up logos or vector elements to maintain crispness and clarity, which is essential for high-quality output in animations or motion graphics.

💡Null Object

A Null Object in After Effects is an invisible layer that can be used to parent other layers, allowing for easier manipulation of multiple layers at once. The script describes using a Null Object to move two layers simultaneously, which simplifies complex animations and keeps the composition organized.

💡Timeline

The Timeline in After Effects is where users arrange and animate their layers over time. The script provides various tips related to the Timeline, such as using the tilde key to maximize panels for better visibility, which is crucial for navigating and editing complex projects with many layers and keyframes.

💡Pre-comping

Pre-comping is the process of pre-compressing layers into a composition before applying certain effects or animations. The script mentions using pre-comping to move layers, which can help with performance and organization, especially when dealing with complex animations that involve multiple layers.

💡Snap to Guides

Snap to Guides is a feature in After Effects that allows users to align layers or elements precisely by snapping them to guides. The script suggests using this feature to align objects, which is particularly useful for maintaining a clean and organized composition, ensuring that elements are positioned accurately relative to each other.

💡Disk Cache

Disk Cache in After Effects is a temporary storage area on the hard drive that the software uses to store recently accessed data for faster access. The script advises clearing the disk cache to free up space, which can be beneficial when working on large projects or when the system is running low on resources.

💡Adjustment Layer

An Adjustment Layer in After Effects is a special type of layer that allows users to apply effects to all layers below it without altering the original layers. The script recommends using an adjustment layer to apply effects globally, which is an efficient way to manage effects across multiple layers in a composition.

💡Keyframing

Keyframing is the process of setting specific points in time to define the start and end states of an animation. The script discusses various techniques for keyframing, such as using the 'Transform' effect to add more animation properties to a layer. This is fundamental to creating dynamic and fluid motion in After Effects projects.

Highlights

Copying effects from one layer to another using the Effects Control Panel can save time.

Using property links to copy effects allows for联动 changes across multiple layers.

Preserving underlying transparency simplifies applying textures without dealing with masks.

Blending modes like Stencil Alpha can be used to control layer visibility.

Continuous rasterization improves the quality of scaled vector elements.

Null objects can be used to parent and move multiple layers simultaneously.

The tilde key can be used to maximize and minimize panels for better visibility.

The mini flow chart helps in navigating complex nested compositions.

Splitting the view allows for simultaneous editing and previewing of compositions.

Using guides and snapping can help align objects precisely.

Trimming the composition to the work area streamlines the editing process.

Cropping a composition to a region of interest focuses the viewer's attention.

Parenting layers without inheriting all properties can be done selectively.

Different blur effects have distinct rendering times and visual outcomes.

Repeat edge pixels can be used to prevent halo effects on blurred images.

Holding Alt while clicking cycles through tool or effect options.

Duplicating and splitting layers can be done quickly with keyboard shortcuts.

Transform effects can be added to layers for additional keyframing options.

Turning on layer controls can re-enable accidentally hidden bounding boxes.

Snapshots can be used for quick visual references across compositions.

Auto-Orient can be used to align the rotation of a layer to its position.

Zigzag and Roughen Edges effects can add texture and grit to vector shapes.

Using the Simple Choker effect can adjust the edges of a layer for a clean look.

Keyframing Assistant can sequence layers for staggered animations.

Converting text to shapes allows for path editing.

Keyframing roundness can create morphing animations between shapes.

Performing basic math operations in number fields can automate positioning.

Clearing the disk cache and purging memory can free up system resources.

Removing unused footage and collecting files can streamline project management.

Reveal in composition and layer source can quickly locate and manage assets.

Replacing files or compositions can be done by dragging and dropping in the timeline.

Creating a new composition with the same settings can be done by dragging a comp.

Fit to comp height or width can ensure layers match the composition's dimensions.

Using the search bar in the timeline can quickly access specific properties.

Adding a shadow to an animation can be done by duplicating and applying effects.

Time stretch can adjust the speed of an animation.

Markers can be created and edited to annotate the timeline.

Reversing keyframes can create mirrored animations.

Locking and hiding layers can clean up the timeline view.

Solo button can focus on specific layers in the composition window.

Adjustment layers can apply effects to all layers below without pre-comping.

Color coding layers can improve organization and selection efficiency.

Pasting layers in the correct order can be managed by the selection order.

Testing fonts quickly can be done through the font dropdown and favorites.

Setting the anchor point to the center of new shape layers can improve workflow.

Transcripts

these are tips that when I learned them I thought how did I not know this already

existed if you've been using After Effects for a while you'll probably

already know a few but I'm sure there'll be some gems in there that will save you

a lot of time and trouble in your projects let's get started

You've got some layers one has some cool effects on it that you'd like to apply to the others

we can copy these effects up here in the effects control panel and paste them

onto another layer but you can also select those effects go to edit and

select copy with property links paste them onto another layer and if you

change those effects in the original layer they will change on every layer

they were copied to wherever they are in the project alright we've got this

texture set to multiply and we want to apply it to this Pentagon but we don't

to deal with any maps or masks we can simply select preserve underlying

transparency down here and it'll only apply to already visible layers in your

composition you can apply the blending mode stencil alpha to make visible only

layers that appear underneath that layer you can also use the blending mode

silhouette alpha to get a reverse which makes everything underneath that layer

transparent say you've got a logo or a vector element when you scale it up it

goes all blurry or pixelated if you tick continuously rasterize down here it

turns nice and crisp we've got two layers doing some animation with their

position to move them to the left with that pre-comping might be tricky but we

can create a new null object parent those two layers to that null move the

null over to the left where we want them and then delete the null removing all

evidence that we were ever here if you've got a timeline full of layers and

you need to see more of it if you've got your cursor over it and press the tilde

key which is the curly one next to the one on the top left of your keyboard

press it over that panel and it will make it full screen and if you press tilde

again it will minimize it back to your previous view it works on any panel if

you want to navigate through your project quickly use the mini flow chart

if you go into this text comp and press tab on our keyboard it'll bring up this

flow chart wherever your cursor is it shows the comp that we're in and on the

left it shows all the comps that this is nested in and on the right it shows all

the comps that are inside this comp the stars and the balls the blue line

indicates which comp you came from in that case it was comp 7

if you want to change something in your pre-comp and see what it looks like in

the above comps you can split your view by looking at comp in your view here

opening another comp and dragging that out now you can go inside and make any

edits in this comp on the right and they will update in the main comp on the

left here and you can easily see how it will affect the comps above it

if you want to alliance of objects together you can do that with guides

just simply drag out some guides select view snap to guides and whenever you

move an object it will snap into position if the duration in your comp is

too long you can drag over your work area in your timeline view and then

simply right click trim comp to work area if you want to reduce the size of

your comp perhaps to fit a layer click on the region of interest down here and

drag out the area that you would like it to crop to and then select a composition

crop comp to region of interest if you want to parent one layer to another but

you don't want it to inherit all other properties you can alt or option click

on the property you want to parent and then pick whip that to the specific

property on the other layer now our Pentagon is inheriting our square's

rotation but not its position we want to create a mask on this Pentagon that our

pen tool just keeps drawing shapes if we select tool create mask and draw

over the top now it creates a mask the different blur effects and After Effects

work slightly differently box blur and camera lens blur get a more natural

blurring but it does take longer to render and gashing blur tends to be the

fastest so choose wisely if you blur an image it will automatically assume the

edges of the image are transparent so you'll get this halo effect on the edges

we see the layer underneath tick repeat edge pixels to stop that happening but

don't feel too bad the walking-dead titles didn't realize this until season

3 to cycle through the film or stroke modes hold alt and click on the square

next to the mode and it will cycle through all of the options you can also

hold alt and click through to cycle all the different tool modes if you want to

duplicate a layer press control D to get another version and if you want to split

that layer press ctrl shift d and it will split it at your playhead

to move the start of your layer to your player press the left square bracket on

your keyboard and press the right square bracket on your keyboard to move the end

to your playhead to a trim your layer press alt and hold the left square

bracket to trim it at the beginning and alt and the right square bracket to trim

it at the end if you've animated some transform properties like scale position

rotation on your layer and you'd like to add more while keeping the existing

animation without adding a null or pre comping you can add the effect transform

and this will give you more options to keyframe if suddenly you're bounding box

disappears and you don't have the outlines of your shape layers visible

you might have accidentally turned them off I did this all the time to turn the

back on click this bounding box button here or go up to view show layer

controls if your project panel suddenly disappears to get it back press ctrl and 0

I do this all the time as well because that is the fit to view shortcut in

Photoshop and I do it without thinking if you want to line up elements from one

comp to another or quickly reference another comp you can take a snapshot of

it by clicking this camera icon here and then from whatever other come you're in

you can click the view snapshot button and it will make that snapshot visible

for you to use as a reference

we've got the square moving with its position

property to get the rotation to follow along

we can select layer transform Auto Orient and select orient along path and

now the rotation follows along to create a quick sine wave select your line go to

add select zigzag toggle that down adjust the size and the amount of ridges

and then change the points from corner to smooth

if you're tired of flat vector shapes use the roughen edges effect

and tweak some of the settings to add a

bit of grit to your animation

if you want to slightly expand or reduce the

edges of your layer simply add the effect a simple choker and adjust the

choke map this is also great for adding rounded corners if you want to quickly

offset or stagger your layers select them all trim their lengths to the

amount you want to offset right click select keyframe assistant sequence

layers click OK and then drag out the ends of all of them

to convert text to a shape layer with the text tool selected right-click and

select create shapes from text now got your text editable as paths

if you want to morph a square into a circle keyframe its roundness at zero move ahead and

drag it up to its maximum roundness where it will be circle and there you

are you can do basic math operations in any number fields if the number is

inconvenient to calculate yourself let After Effects do it this square is 400

pixels wide and I wanted to move that far to the right so with its position

property I'm gonna select its current position and add + 400 and press

Enter and there we go you can use multiply and divide in here

two if you need some free space on your hard drive your disk cache might be

using up more than it needs to you can clear your disk cache by going to edit

purge all memory and disk cache and click OK to clear out some memory from

projects you might not have opened in years if your project is getting bloated

with a bunch of assets and comps that you no longer need you can go to file

and then down to dependencies and remove unused footage you can also reduce the

project only the files needed in the comps you have selected and you can also

collect all of your files and every linked asset into a folder which is very

useful if you need to have the project on to someone else on another machine or

using another server if you want to know what comp an asset was used in you can

right click over in the project panel and select reveal in composition which will

take you to it you can also do it in Reverse - you can right-click select

reveal reveal layer source and project and you can also right-click and select

reveal reveal in Explorer to find the exact source of that file if you need to

replace a file or composition you can select it down in your timeline find the

layer of comp you'd like to replace it with in the project panel hold alt and

simply drag it into your composition or timeline window and it will replace it

keeping all the original animated properties select your comp in the

project window and drag it onto the new composition window and that will create

a new comp with the exact same sized duration of that original comp with that

comp nested inside if you want an image or comp to be the exact height or width

of a comp without doing it by hand and eyeballing it with a scale property

select layer transform fit to comp height or width

depending on your needs use the search bar down in your timeline to easily

access properties like path or stroke width

without toggling down a whole bunch of layers we've got this pre comped

animation of a snowman shape bouncing and we want to add a quick shadow to it

we can duplicate it with command D add a fill effect select our shadow color then

add the CC slant effect adjust the slant and the height send that layer behind

and now we've got an animated shadow if you've got an animation in the pre comp

you can change the speed by right-clicking and select a time time

stretch 50% makes it twice as fast 200 makes it twice as slow to reverse it

right click and select time time reverse layer if you have nothing selected in

your timeline to add markers to the comp press * on your keyboard and

it'll create a marker here if you do with the layer selected it will create one on

the layer you can double click to add a comment to that marker or if you hold

alt and click the asterisks it will open up that dialog box as you create the

marker you can also hold alt on your keyboard and drag a marker to extend it

to encompass a duration rather than a single point if you want to reverse some

properties of an animation you can select the key frames you want reversed

right click select keyframe resistant and time reverse keyframes and that will

swap the values of those keyframes if you want to an extended animation they

keep the same timing you can select all the keyframes and while holding alt

select the first or last keyframe and drag it out to keep those proportions

exactly the same you can also press J and K on your keyboard to jump your

playhead to the nearest keyframe J goes to the nearest previous keyframe and K

to the nearest upcoming keyframe if you've got a whole bunch of layers

taking up your timeline and you don't need to see them all for now select all

of the ones you want to hide click the shy icon lock the layer over here

completely shy icon over here now they're hidden and there's no chance you

accidentally gonna move them now you've got a lovely clean timeline and if you

just need to view one or a couple of layers in your composition window you

can click the solo button here on as many of layers as you need so you're not

distracted by the other layers and so After Effects doesn't need to render

those layers as well very useful if you're using a lot of effect

or a render heavy comp if you want to apply an effect to the whole scene and

know just one element instead of pre comping you can use an adjustment layer

create a new adjustment layer by going up to layer new just Millea and whatever

effects you applied to that layer will affect everything beneath it change the

color of your layers in your timeline to keep it organized

click the colored square down here and choose any color you want if you choose

select label group I'll select all layers with that color very handy when you're

working with a lot of layers if you've pasted something and after effects has

pasted them in the wrong order here our bottom text should be underneath

this rectangle to get it to paste in the right order you need to select your top

layer first then the others copy or cut and then paste them and the layers that you've selected

first or right on top in the layer stack if you want to quickly test a bunch of

fonts select your text click in the font drop-down area and scroll through with

your arrow keys till you find the font you like you can also click this star

over here on the left and they will put them in this favorite folder so you can

access the fonts you always use if you're annoyed that when you create a

new shape layer the anchor point goes to the middle of the comp rather than the

middle of the shape layer you can fix that by going to edit preferences

general and select Center Anchor Point in new shape layers isn't that nicer I

made a short playlist of some related videos that'll think you'll enjoy if

you've made it this far I'll see you in the next video and please consider

subscribing if you'd like more of these videos every week

Subtitle: Zoe J Marriott