You can probably imagine I am contacted regularly by people asking for advice, tips, tutorials and the like, and I’m always happy to help when I can. Something that does annoy me is when emails are signed “Thanks in advance”. By signing “thanks in advance” you are implying you won’t have time later to thank the person for doing you a favour, Read more…
March 31, 2009 by John Dickinson | 3,076 views | Comments (23)
March 29, 2009 by John Dickinson | 8,565 views | Comments (15)
For this Quantum Of Solace promo I once again turned to Trapcode Form. Form was used to create the grids in the background, on the actors faces and the main title. The face grids were created by customizing the MILG 5 Form Face tutorial, which you can grab for free over at Red Giant Software. The smokey look of the background was created using Read more…
March 24, 2009 by John Dickinson | 71,034 views | Comments (72)
In this 30 minute tutorial you’ll learn techniques and workflow used in Adobe After Effects and Illustrator to create the dramatic effect of the Batman icon shattering apart revealing a bright light source behind. Plug-ins used include Knoll Light Factory, Trapcode Particular and Shine. For a 10% discount on these and other Red Giant Software products use the code Motionworks10. Thanks to Ko Maruyama and Jonas Hummelstrand for creative input. Watch Tutorial
March 18, 2009 by John Dickinson | 2,279 views | Comments (0)
Create a disco-style animation based entirely on sound
In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5, your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to create a funky disco-style animation based entirely on sound. This lesson includes a slick technique for creating running lights using Trapcode Form together with the Colorama effect, basic camera movement, techniques using the CC Time Blend and Wave Warp effects and plenty of simple expressions. All project files are included. Total running time: 46 minutes.
March 17, 2009 by John Dickinson | 2,273 views | Comments (30)
Great news, Making It Look Great 6 is in production. Many of you will be pleased that this release will be covering Cinema 4D and After Effects design and workflow and will be hosted by the amazing Tim Clapham from Hypa.tv. Tim is a world renowned Cinema 4D user and trainer, with a strong focus on broadcast graphics. Read more…
March 17, 2009 by John Dickinson | 3,153 views | Comments (9)
In this 4 minute video tip learn about precomposing, versioning and the must-know shortcut for copying and pasting. No more pasting layers the hard way.
March 15, 2009 by John Dickinson | 2,371 views | Comments (0)
Create a realistic dripping blood effect without keyframes
In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5, your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to create a realistic dripping blood effect without using keyframes or expressions. This lesson includes a great study of precomposing and demonstrates how to use a Photoshop-style brush with the CC Time Blend effect to paint text onto the screen. All project files are included. Total running time: 52 minutes.
March 14, 2009 by John Dickinson | 17,637 views | Comments (11)
Recently I was asked to come up with an idea for a show and as seems to be the case lately, had very little time to develop it. Click on the thumbnail and the first picture you’ll see are my initial ideas created in Illustrator. The second one is better than the first but simply making the T and A capitals in a script font (Scriptina) wasn’t working, Read more…
March 13, 2009 by John Dickinson | 2,448 views | Comments (1)
Aharon Rabinowitz has just released a massive library of 45,000 pre-keyed stock images. The product is named “Crowd Control” and is apparently the largest of it’s kind in the world. Check out the site and register to download a number of free clips up to HD resolution. Nice work Aharon.
March 9, 2009 by John Dickinson | 1,681 views | Comments (0)
Create an infinitely zooming spy camera look
In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5, your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to create an infinitely zooming spy camera look. Learn basic techniques for creating a simple slide show then move on to amazing, time-saving techniques for automating transitions between layers using expressions. All project files are included. Total running time: 29 minutes.
March 8, 2009 by John Dickinson | 3,238 views | Comments (8)
In this 3 minute video tip learn how to import footage with an alpha channel, apply it to an object in your scene, and have it play back in the timeline. Watch tip
March 6, 2009 by John Dickinson | 12,202 views | Comments (18)
In this short tutorial learn how to use After Effects’ Fast Blur, Turbulent Displace, Roughen Edges, Texturize, Displacement Map and Gradient Wipe effects to give text a grungy look.
Watch tutorial Download Project
tags | After Effects, Grunge, Tutorials
March 3, 2009 by John Dickinson | 2,411 views | Comments (3)
Red Giant Software are now hosting the Making It Look Great 5: Form Face tutorial as a free two-part download. Enjoy!
March 3, 2009 by John Dickinson | 1,945 views | Comments (0)
Master fast and precise color correction techniques
In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5, your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to master fast and precise color correction techniques using standard After Effects tools including Colorama and CC Composite. Learn how to fine tune a look
using the Colorama effect as a range selection tool, allowing adjustments to specific
aspects of the footage. All project files are included. Total running time: 16 minutes.
March 2, 2009 by John Dickinson | 7,235 views | Comments (16)
I had to whip up some quick supers last week and turned to Trapcode Form. Form was used to create the gaseous elements that sit behind the text. The font is Univers Black Oblique; using the oblique face adds a dynamic feel. The lighting was faked using a solid with the Circle effect applied and a high feather value, rotated in z-space to act as a floor. Read more…
March 2, 2009 by John Dickinson | 3,823 views | Comments (0)
Burst a character into hundreds of butterflies
In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5, your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to make the stylish effect where a character suddenly bursts into hundreds of butterflies. Learn how to create a smart butterfly rig using Trapcode 3D Stroke, control Trapcode Particular particles using dispersion maps, build volumetric backlighting using Trapcode Lux and automatically track a layer’s alpha channel. All project files are included. Plug-ins are not included. Total running time: 47 minutes.
March 1, 2009 by John Dickinson | 1,762 views | Comments (1)
Create a realistic and detailed video screen
In this video tutorial from Making It Look Great 5, your host Jerzy Drozda Jr. (aka Maltaannon) demonstrates how to make a realistic and detailed Jumbotron-style video screen. Included are must-know keying techniques, tips on creating volumetric lights and presets, and ingenious workflow for creating complex looks on a single layer using the CC Composite effect. All project files are included. Total running time: 49 minutes.
Please Note: This tutorial does not include the CE Screenify effect which is included as part of the Making It Look Great 5 full product.
