If youre new to After Effects and want to get up to speed quickly, After
Effects Apprentice was created just for you. With 11 core lessons plus a
fun final project, youll quickly get into the program and learn how to
tap its potential whether you want to create motion graphics for a
network program, your companys video, or your own independent
production. In this book, youll get a professional perspective on the
most important features a motion graphics artist needs to learn to use
this program effectively. Youll learn to creatively edit and combine
layers, animate eye-catching titles, replace a screen on a computer
monitor, place a studio shot in anew environment, manipulate 3D space,
and use effects to generate excitement or enhance the realism of a
scene. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions take you through each
technique, including projects that encourage you to express it in your
own way. Youll learn more than just the tools; youll learn skills that
you can immediately put to work in your own projects. Topics include how
to:
* Animate, layer, and composite images and text.
* Manipulate keyframes to create more refined animations.
* Use masks, mattes, stencils and modes to add depth.
* Manage layers to make them easier to coordinate.
* Add 3D to your animations.
* Use tracking and keying to create special effects.
* Includes new CS3 features; Shape layers, the Puppet tool, Brainstorm,
and Per-Character 3D Text.