Quba HQ

Preset+Tutorial: Stop Motion Kit

This preset and tutorial have been inspired by true events …or to be precise – they are based on a project I did a short while ago.

In this tutorial I will show you how to quickly simulate stop motion aesthetic using my After Effects Stop Motion Kit. This collection of presets will allow you to easily add subtle imperfections to the movement of objects in your scene, emulating animator errors that are a staple of stop motion animation. Using 6 different expression sets, you will be able to apply and control glitches in movement, rotation and timing of your objects as well as simulate changes in camera position and exposure.

Running time: 37min
Difficulty: Easy
Required tools: After Effects

Tutorial+Preset: Light Wall

Hello everyone! Yes, it is here – a long-delayed new tutorial from the June series. It’s been around 6 weeks since the previous tutorial, but I have been incredibly busy building a new kick-ass hi-tech intro for the tutorials… No. Not really. The truth is I have been working on multiple commercial projects and could not find any time off for neither leisure nor tutorials. As for the intro – I knocked it together in a few minutes at 4:00AM last night.

This tutorial is a hybrid between the Automated Light Rig and Scrolling LED Text. We will be building an animated image map driven light array that can be used for for either cool light effects or easily controlled particle emission.

While the entire project can be completed within After Effects, I will also jump into Cinema 4D every now and then and show you a very easy way for creating quite complex light arrays and importing them back into AE.

Music used in the trailer comes from Beck’s Cellphone’s Dead from the album The Information. Music in the intro comes from… here.

Running time: 73min
Difficulty: Easy-Advanced (depending how much you want to learn :)
Required tools: After Effects
Optional software and plug-ins: Cinema 4D, Trapcode Particular, VC Optical Flares (or similar)

Tutorial+Preset: Automated Light Rig

Most of the time it is the best practice to manually control the lights in your After Effects scenes. There are situations however, when you may want to automate the dynamic changes in light color and intensity while maintaining high level of control over the look of your composition. That’s what the Automated Light Rig is all about.

In this tutorial I will show you how to link your lights with automated samplers on an image map, creating an ever-changing, yet unified, light rig. While the tutorial explains the expressions in depth, I am also providing you with presets simplifying the entire process into just few clicks.

As a little extra, I will also show you how to create a 3D light-aware smoke using Trapcode Particular (my method is a bit more involved than the standard Particular setup, but produces results that are much more true to life).

Music used in the trailer comes from Mr. Oizo’s Fiat 55 from the album Analog Worms Attack.

Running time: 45min
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Required tools: After Effects
Optional plug-ins: Trapcode Particular

Tutorial: Scrolling LED Text

In this After Effects tutorial I will show you how to create your own highly customizable LED screen effect, ready to convert any text or image into pixelated goodness. The video covers the setup, expressions and usage of this versatile preset.

The preview video below shows but one possible way of using the Scrolling LED Text and the tutorial concentrates on the effect itself, rather than the setup of this particular scene.

Preview video uses a photograph by LonelyBob licensed under Creative Commons. It also features 5 notes from the Solitary Wasteland track on the Flower Soundtrack by Vincent Diamante and a sample from Pac-Man by Namco. This tutorial was made possible by the espresso coffee maker gifted to me as a wedding present.

Running time: 47min
Difficulty: Medium (quite a few expressions)
Required tools: After Effects (CS3 and above)

August 24, 2009
In Motion, Video Bits
One comment

Soccer Interface

Three short sequences I did during a pitch for a TV commercial. While we got the job, the project went in a different direction creatively, and these three little demo pieces were left orphaned.

Done in AE with little help from C4D. The style was inspired by video game interfaces, mainly Metal Gear Solid 4, Assassin’s Creed and Wipeout HD.

April 29, 2009
In Motion, Video Bits
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Snaking Energy

This effect uses particle system traveling along a 3D path to create a stream of energy. It can be used for magic vfx and is easily controlled by adjusting the guide path.

For this example I simply randomized the paths and camera movement to create more energetic and chaotic composition.

April 29, 2009
In Motion, Video Bits
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Geolines

This abstract background is a combination of swimming pool caustics and elevation lines used in topographical maps. It was created using “vanilla” After Effects, without any 3rd party plugins.

April 17, 2009
In Motion, Video Bits
One comment

Witchcraft: RTFM

I completed this experimental piece over the period of three days in April 2009. I have been experimenting with Cinema 4D, and in the course of messing with various animation settings, came up with a cool morphing crystal. I built a simple scene around the crystal with an inexperienced girl magician blowing herself to pieces by activating its powers. You can see the full-size video at the project’s page on imago site, or a smaller version with a little extra, right here, after the break.

August 30, 2008
In Motion, Video Bits
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Necklace

Procedural animation developed for the Master of IDM project. A null object creates a randomized 3D loop path, while a particle system feeds it little spheres, each identified by a text layer displaying its ID number.