Often when creating grungy styles I resort to stock imagery, as is the case with this weathered metal look. The base for the look is a metal texture, heavily treated in Photoshop, with an After Effects comp combining Roughen Edges and Fractal Noise for blotches and scratches. You’ll also notice I’ve color corrected the Text comp inside the Main comp to help it sit better with the background. The background was created by combining a couple of stock footage layers, which have been replaced in the download with a rendered still. Download Project
Lately I seem to be doing plenty of grunge-style graphics, the most recent of which is the promo graphics for Rambo. If you’ve seen the film or even the trailer you’ll know that it’s ultra-violent; and it would have been easy to do something blood-soaked but I decided on a more subtle approach. The online trailers for the film feature different styles, one read more
In this recorded e-seminar I walk through various techniques used in Adobe After Effects and Photoshop for creating the grungy, dark look of Saw 4. Topics include sourcing and combining stock images, using Photoshop brushes to give text a grunge look and create blood splatter, color grading and lighting.
Watch movie Watch e-seminar
In this tutorial you’ll learn a simple technique using grungy brushes in Adobe Photoshop to make some grungy text. If you like this you may like the on-demand e-seminar where I discuss this and other techniques used to create the graphics for a Saw 4 promo. Watch tutorial
tags | Grunge, Photoshop, tutorials
This grungy, metallic look was created using a combination of Gradient Overlay (Layer Style), Roughen Edges and Fractal Noise. The animation was created using Per-character 3D text for a sci-fi feel.
tags | After Effects, Grunge, Type
I’m regularly asked by clients to give things a grungy look, in fact the grunge look in motion graphics seems as popular as ever. Earlier this year Riot Gear – a DVD loaded with all different kinds of grunge footage and images – was released by VideoCoPilot. Andrew Kramer kindly sent me a copy which came in handy for a quick promo I created yesterday. This promo read more
tags | After Effects, Grunge
For this animation I had planned to have the text fly in as simple After Effects layers but a little warping using 3D Layer Warp gives the promo that extra edge. A simple grey solid acts as the back face of the sticker and adjusting the Displacement settings (with a Fractal Noise map) to give the sticker it’s bumps. Watch movie Download project
This ghostly, glowing type has a 3D text layer revealed using masks, blurred and stacked then mixed using blend modes. Setting the project to 32bpc and using the Exposure effect on an Adjustment Layer blows out the whites. The Displacement Map effect combined with Fractal Noise adds a subtle warp. Watch movie Download project
tags | After Effects, Grunge, Type
This seamlessly looping After Effects background is based on the Cell Pattern effect and includes a number of adjustment layers you can use to modify the basic look.
Here’s a promo for 12 Days that Shocked The World, a new series coming soon on the History Channel here in Australia. The client requested a “28 Days Later” look for the graphics. It can be challenging to be creative (without doing a complete rip-off) when given very specific guidelines for how the design should be. In this case I decided to use the red and black read more
For this project the client approached me with the idea of using postcards of towns featured on the show. His initial idea was to have the card flip to reveal the show logo but I recommended we have the card displayed on an old fridge door because I felt it would add character to the spots. The spot was done using Illustrator, Photoshop and After Effects. read more
In this written tutorial learn how to use After Effects and Zaxwerks 3D Flag take a clean sharp Illustrator file and turn it into a weathered and tattered US flag. Of course you can replace the US flag with the flag of your choice.
The StockXchang is a great resource for free images that has saved my butt plenty of times. So I wanted to share an example of how I used some wall textures from the site as the base for Inside Terror on the History Channel, which deals with a number of infamous terrorist acts committed in recent history. Watch movie
For this promo for Vietnam War month on the History Channel, I wanted the look to be gritty but still maintain a sense of dignity as well as respect for the subject matter. I created the logo in Photoshop using various brushes. The logo text doubles as a matte for some war footage, slowed down 50% using After Effects’ Timewarp effect. The overall animation read more
