Quba HQ

December 14, 2011
In Announcements, Motion
4 comments

MotionGraphs

I would like to invite you to visit http://motiongraphs.qubahq.com/ – an online version of an exhibition by Quba Michalski, celebrating over a decade of his work in the field of motion design. Throughout this period Quba created several hundred of videos ranging from small independent pieces to massive visual extravaganzas for some of the world’s most well-known brands. MotionGraphs gives you a rare chance to gaze into the inner workings of his projects and examine in detail the way these selected works were constructed.

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)

January 23, 2010
In Brainstorm, Featured
3 comments

Money for Masking and the Pics for Free

The image used for the header of this article is not a CAD rendering. Neither is it a fragment of a 3D model wireframe. It is a detail from the image mask I had to produce today in order to adapt a stock image into usable element for a motion graphics project I am currently working on.

Masking, matting, rotoscoping, keying… you name it – not exactly the favorite task for most designers, yet a necessary one. But does it have to be? In this article I would like to propose a solution that could potentially free the artists from the labor of building alpha channels for their images, earn freelancers some money and help the big stock providers expand their offering.

January 21, 2010
In Re:Post
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Let’s Enhance!

I just could not pass this one up. Markus Gustafsson posted the link to this little gem in the comments for my Image Enhancement tutorial. I think it pretty much sums up my reasons for making that training video.

January 21, 2010
In Featured, Tutorials&Presets, Video Bits
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Tutorial: Enhance Your Images With HolOS

The tutorial for Image Enhancement (Hollywood Style) is ready. As announced last week, this video will teach you how to create your own HolOS (Hollywood Operating System) image enhancement effect using After Effects.

Go and watch it now at:
http://ae.tutsplus.com/tutorials/ae-plus/enhance-your-images-with-holos-ae-plus/

January 18, 2010
In Re:Post
One comment

Textorizer: Typographer’s Dream Continues

A few days ago I wrote about Wordle: a web-based Java application for creating typographic mosaics/collages out of any given text. Now I have another great application for you: Textorizer.

This time your input will include not only source text (sorry, .txt file only, no web-based feed analysis), but also an image. Textorizer will then read the color information from your image and create a typographic mosaic using the text and typeface you selected. The mosaic will be saved in either PNG or SVG format.

January 11, 2010
In Re:Post
3 comments

A pre-school test for you

Which way is the bus below traveling? To the left or to the right?

Pre-schoolers all over the United States were shown this picture and asked the same question. 90% gave the same answer. Try to figure it out and then check the answer after the break.

January 10, 2010
In Video Bits
3 comments

Image Enhancement (Hollywood Style)

It seems that computers running HolOS (Hollywood Operating System) always have the capability to almost infinitely zoom in and enhance bad photographs to reveal crucial details (faces, car plate numbers, tattoos, etc.). I have decided to build my own image enhancement tool in After Effects.