Clipping Masks:

The Basics
&
Text Animate
Learning how to use the ‘Masks’ in After Effects & Familiarising
oneself with the Text Animate Toolkit

Shane Le Mar
0. 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
1. Clipping Mask Tools

• These are the

main two tools
you will be
using to mask
• They are the
Shape & Pen
Tools
• Create a Solid
BG
• Create a Shape
that fills the
comp
2. Clipping Mask Tools

• Ensure that
you have the
Columns
Mode and
Track Mat
activated
• These are the
two most
used Columns
to do with
Masking
3. Shape Creation

• Pop a
couple of
other
shapes
into the
scene
• Select the
Pen Tool
4. Pen Tool & Refining

• Refine the
shapes in
the
Polystar
Path
• Create a
complex
shape with
the pen
tool
5. Basic Modes

• Select all
the
shapes,
and click
into Modes
• Then
select
Silhouette
Alpha
6. Playing with Modes

• These are all the different Modes you can

play around with, some of them you may
know from using Photoshop or any other
Adobe Software but I’d recommend having
a fiddle with them all to find out what they
can do

Task: Using what you’ve learnt, try to

make something with masks
7. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Switch
back to
the first
Comp and
Drag the
Assets
into the
Comp
(resize the
images)
8. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Turn off the

layer with
Akira
• Then Copy
Morioh
• With the
layer
selected
select the
Shape Tool
(rectangle)
9. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Turn off the

Character
layer and the
bottom
Background
• Using the
Shape Tool
with the layer
selected
draw over the
pillars
10. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Using the
Pen Tool
to add
more
points,
refine the
Mask to
only cover
the Pillars
11. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Turn back
on the
unedited
BG layer &
Character
• Place Akira
behind the
pillar
Now you’ll
see masks
at work!
12. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Using the
Techniques
you learnt
last week,
animate
Akira
gliding out
from behind
the Pillars
13. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• The
Shadow
just adds a
little more
to the
scene
Does
anyone
know how
to do the
shadow?
14. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• In the effects
and Presets
menu, search
for Drop
Shadow.
• Drag and drop
it onto Akira
• Turn off the
Shadow layer
and duplicate
the asset
15. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Turn on the
Shadow
layer on one
asset
• Turn on
Shadow Only
• Down in the
Switches,
turn on the
3D Layer
Switch
16. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Ensure you are

on frame 1
• Open the
Rotation menu
• On the X
Rotation set it
to -90
• Using the Z
axis arrow drag
the shadow
straight down
to the feet
17. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Press U to open
all Active
keyframes
• Select the
second number
in Position
• Copy it and go
to the last
keyframe,
paste the
number into the
second number
18. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

• Drag both
Character
layers bellow
the masked
pillar layer
• Drag the layer
with the active
shadow bellow
the other
Character layer
• Turn on Motion
Blur
19. Masking Follow Along
Tutorial

Remember
to save out
the Project
now!
20. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Create a new
Composition
• Using the
Type Tool
write
something
and choose a
nice blocky
font so we
can animate
it nicely
21. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• The most
basic Text
Animate would
be a Position
Animate
• Highlight the
Text Layer
and press Ctrl
+ Shift + N
• This will
create a basic
mask around
the text
22. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Open the drop-

down arrow
• On the far right
select Animate
then Position
• This will
create a
Position
Parameter that
will animate
inside the
mask
23. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Go forward to
1 second on
the
timeframe
• Record a
keyframe
• Go to the
beginning of
the timeline
and make a
keyframe
there
24. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Using the
Position
parameter in
the Text
Animator
move the Y
Axis number
until the text
is hidden
• Now you're
animating
with masks!
25. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Using the
skills you
learnt
previously,
turn both the
keyframes to
‘ease’
• Adjust the
timing until it
looks quick
and snappy
26. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Select the
text layer
and highlight
the ends of
the mask,
drag them
out until they
go off the
screen
• Then add in
a Skew
Animator
 27. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• 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
28. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• We’ll animate
the text first
• Begin by
moving the
text back a
little (for the
Anticipation)
• Then move it
off screen in
the other
direction
29. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Now adjust
and record
the Skew
parameter
• Move it
how you
think it
would look
when
moving
30. Text Animate Tutorial Time

• Once that’s
done, turn
the first
and last
frames to
‘ease’
keyframes
• Then turn
on the
motion blur
31. Text Animate - Hint Tutorial Time

• 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
32.1. Rendering Tutorial Time

Media Encoder Method

File – Export – Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue

This way will ensure

you get the smallest
file size whilst
retaining the quality
32.2. Rendering Tutorial Time

• Click the Blue text

• Select H.264 for .mp4 (or Quicktime for .mov)
• Choose a location to render out the
file and name it
• Choose Match Source to ensure best
quality
32.3. Rendering Tutorial Time

• 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
up much CPU
32. 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 look
more advanced!
33. Independent Task – SLM Animates

• This is my
own personal
logo
• I created this
in my 2nd year
of this course
• I’ve been
using it since
and based
most of my
branding off
of it
33. Independent Task – SLM Animates

• This is a
logo for a
different
brand I’ve
created to
aid in fitting
in with the
sub-culture
I’ve been
working in
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

Next Time: An Introduction to

After Effects: Part 2

- Intermediate Animation Tools & Techniques

- Brand Identity Animation: Part 2
- Bouncing Ball Tutorial