WHITNEY IMD

While looking around for more advanced projects to put together in After Effects, I stumbled across a tutorial by the incredibly talented Amin Ameri on YouTube. The goal was to emulate a 3D object while only using 2D layers. The result is this super cool and smooth animation that can be repurposed as needed by replacing the logo and changing the can colour.

I learned a lot about pre-composing layers and how helpful it can be when it comes to making large changes without interfering with the main composition. I also learned how to put together professional looking assets by only using the pen tool and how to animate strokes effectively. I used the “motion tile” effect to give the impression that the logo is wrapping around the can. Another key takeaway was using the speed graph to add more interesting dynamics to the scene – a tool I have yet to become entirely comfortable using, so instruction/practice was appreciated.

For our final year’s capstone project, our group decided to put together a satirical news website focused on events occurring in and around Confederation College with the odd unrelated story thrown in for fun. We came up with the idea of doing “weekly recap” videos as supplementary content, so I put this together to act as the intro for said videos.

Design-wise, I drew heavily from pre-existing news organizations. I tried to emulate something like the BBC’s logo and think I managed to get pretty close. The globe/ribbon asset was made almost entirely from scratch (outside of the map .png) using the CC Sphere effect. After finding an appropriate music track on Pixabay, I played around with the 3D camera to make the scene more intense in order to capture viewer’s attention. The logo at the end of the video was created by another group member.

I am also responsible for the fake advertisements using IMD inside jokes we included to make it look more official. You can check out the entire website at www.channelzeronews.ca, where I am responsible for any animation, video, and written copy. Other elements such as the website itself and logos were assembled by other group members.

IMD Sweater Banner Ad

Repurposed Can Animation – Focus 500 Ad

For one of our projects, we were asked to create a “write-on” effect using the trim paths animator. That was the only real requirement, but I was having some fun with it and decided to add a little extra flare. Using Star Wars and retro sci-fi as a theme, I put together this composition with a CRT TV vibe to it. This was my first experience playing around the multitude of visual effects After Effects offers.

I used a free video from Pexels (the planet) to set the stage for the composition. This is originally where I was going to leave things, but felt the urge to add a bit more. I looked up a tutorial on how to emulate a CRT TV turning on and off, added a lens flare to represent something like a sun, and imported a picture of an X-Wing from Star Wars to animate and bring the scene together. Finally, I downloaded a free music track from Pixabay to further add to the vibe.

For our final project in our motion graphics class, we were asked to create an animated logo to add visual identity to a business or brand. We had the option of using a pre-existing one, but I decided to come up with my own. After doing a bit of digging I was able to find a tutorial on how to make .svg images appear 3D and how you can make it appear as if it’s being traced out over time using trim paths.

By duplicating the .svg on a 3D layer several times and offsetting the Y position by one each time, they effectively stack on top of each other – turning a 2D image into a 3D one. Then, by animating the stroke of each .svg using trim paths, you can make it appear as if it’s being “drawn” out (as seen above). With this in mind, I had the idea to make my logo for a 3D printing company. I felt as though the animation I was able to put together looks similar to a 3D object being printed out, which lent itself nicely to the idea. By playing around with the 3D camera location and angle, I was able to assemble a pretty interesting scene with “only” one image file.