AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Masking Tutorial Instructions

Short Recap: Intro to AE & Project Setup

• Go to Google Classroom and Download the Project Files I’ve uploaded
• Open up a New Project
• Set it to the Standard Dimensions & Frame Rates
- 1920 x 1080 – 30fps – 30seconds -
• Import the Project Files you’ve downloaded
- Drag and drop the folder, or Right Click Import –
• Create a Second (Identical) Composition and then select that Comp

Basic Masking Walkthrough

Step 1:
Switch back to the first Comp and Drag the Assets into the Comp (resize the images)
Step 2:
Turn off the character layer
Step 3:
Then copy the environment
Step 4:
With the layer selected select the Shape Tool (rectangle)
Step 5:
Turn off the Character layer and the bottom Background
Step 6:
Using the Shape Tool with the layer selected draw over the pillars
Step 7:
Turn off the Character layer and the bottom Background layer
Step 8:
Using the Shape Tool with the layer selected draw over the pillars
Step 9:
Using the Pen Tool to add more points, refine the Mask to only cover the Pillars
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Step 10:
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Turn back on the unedited BG & Character layers

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

 AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Step 11:
Place the character layer behind the pillar layer
Mini Task:
Using the Techniques you learnt last week, animate Akira gliding out from behind the
Pillars
Step 12:
In the effects and Presets menu, search for Drop Shadow
Step 13:
Drag and drop it onto the character layer
Step 14:
Turn off the Shadow layer and duplicate the asset
Step 15:
Turn on the Shadow layer on one asset
Step 16:
Turn on Shadow Only
Step 17:
Down in the Switches, turn on the 3D Layer Switch
Step 18:
Ensure you are on frame 1
Step 19:
Open the Rotation menu
Step 20:
On the X Axis rotation set it to -90
Step 21:
Using the Z axis arrow drag the shadow straight down to the feet
Step 22:
Press U to open all Active keyframes
Step 23:
Select the second number in Position
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Step 24:
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Copy it and go to the last keyframe, paste the number into the second number

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

 AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Step 25:
Drag both Character layers bellow the masked pillar layer
Step 26:
Drag the layer with the active shadow bellow the other Character layer
Step 27:
Turn on Motion Blur

Remember to save out the Project now!

Text Animate Tutorial

Step 1:
Create a new Composition
Step 2:
Using the Type Tool write something and choose a nice blocky font so we can
animate it well
Step 3:
Highlight the Text Layer and press Ctrl + Shift + N, t his will create a basic mask around
the text

Step 4:
Go forward to 1 second on the timeframe
Step 5:
Record a keyframe
Step 6:
Go to the beginning of the timeline and make a keyframe there
Step 7:
Using the Position parameter in the Text Animator move the Y Axis number until the
text is hidden
Step 8:
Using the skills you learnt previously, turn both the keyframes to ‘ease’
Step 9:
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Adjust the timing until it looks quick and snappy

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

 AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Step 10:
Select the text layer and highlight the ends of the mask, drag them out until they go
off the screen
Step 11:
Then add in a Skew Animator
Step 12:
The Skew parameter will (as it sounds) skew the text to certain angles, this can help
you to make it look like the text is swooshing off the screen quickly
Step 13:
We’ll animate the text first, so begin by moving the text back a little (for the Anticipation)
Step 14:
Then move it off screen in the other direction
Step 15:
Now adjust and record the Skew parameter
Step 16:
Move it how you think it would look when moving
Step 17:
Once that’s done, turn the first and last frames to ‘ease’ keyframes
Step 18:
Then turn on the motion blur

Everything you’ve learnt with the Text Animate can be used with any Shapes. You
won’t need to add any Position or Scale parameters as they are already there in the
Contents for the shape

Independent Task
Using everything learnt today begin to create an Ident for your own ‘brand identity’
(this can be your own name or a separate name to be identified by). This way you
can begin to create a sleek looking Logo Animation for your own work & showreels
the help identify your work from others
Get as far as you can with what you’ve learnt, you won’t be able to complete this
today, but we can get going and next time I’ll show you more techniques to make it
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look more advanced

BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice

 AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Short Recap: Rendering

Media Encoder Method – Small File Size & Better Quality but slightly Harder
1. File – Export – Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue
2. Click the first bit of Blue text (underneath where it says format)
a. Select H.264 for .mp4 (or Quicktime for .mov)
b. Choose a location to render out the file and name it
c. Choose Match Source to ensure best quality
d. Click Okay
3. Finally click the Green play button

(Unlike when you render in After Effects, you can close After Effects and get to
working on something else without it taking much CPU speed up)

Something to Remember:
What you learnt with the Text Animate can be used on Shapes that you’ve created.
This can help to make your animations look much improved and more professional
with little work.
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BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice