Motion Design After Effects

Posted on 30-04-2021 by admin

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Joshua Noel 2020-07-06T08:25:43-05:00 July 6th, 2020 After Effects, Motion Graphics, Tutorials 1 Comment Related Posts 4 Kinetic Motion Graphic Techniques in After Effects. The package contains all the necessary elements for video editing. Transitions, Titles, Lower Thirds, Typography Scenes, Text Presets, Social Media items, Color Grading Presets, Effects and Overlays and more than 150 Sound FXs.

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Whether you’re an After Effects veteran or an AE newbie, these ten plugins are a fantastic addition to your motion design toolkit.

Every motion designer has a few plugins they rely on to customize and enhance their day-to-day After Effects workflow. After all, plugins are a no-brainer way to save time and energy by simplifying complex functions.

If you’re ready to get more from Adobe’s powerful post-production software, add these ten essential After Effects plugins to your toolkit today. (New to AE? Here’s your fast track to a solid foundation.)

1. Trapcode Particular 4 (and Trapcode Suite 15)

Motion design template for after effects

Trapcode Particular (and the Trapcode Suite) has undoubtedly stood the test of time. Version 1 was released during the 2000s, and a little over a decade later, the plugin is still being updated and revitalized. The Trapcode Suite itself is in its fifteenth iteration.

Trapcode Particular is a particle system plugin that lets users create customized particles in After Effects — like smoke, rain, clouds, and dust. The plugin uses realistic physics, and it offers more functionality than the Particle World plugin that’s built into AE.

Using Particular, you can create particle-based lines, shapes, and patterns in 3D space. The entire suite contains:

Trapcode 3D Stroke
Trapcode Echospace
Trapcode Form
Trapcode Horizon
Trapcode Lux
Trapcode Mir
Trapcode Particular
Trapcode Shine
Trapcode Sound Keys
Trapcode Starglow
Trapcode Tao

Price: Trapcode Particular is $399, or you can purchase the entire suite for $999 via Red Giant.

2. Lockdown

Lockdown is the newest plugin on this list. Released just last year, the plugin has already made considerable waves within the After Effects community. Here’s why.

While motion-tracking capabilities have grown tremendously with each iteration of After Effects, the ability to apply a graphic to a warping surface and have it move appropriately remains incredibly challenging.

Lockdown seeks to eliminate this problem. With this After Effects plugin, you can track any moving and warping surface — a T-shirt, fur, a face — and apply a graphic element that distorts with that surface.

When the plugin was first announced, many called it a game-changer, and they weren’t wrong. If you’d like to read my full review on the plugin, you can do so here.

Price: $249 via aescripts.com.

3. Element 3D

Moving from a compositing software to a 3D modeling software is a big jump. Truthfully, they’re two different worlds.

Element 3D looks to bridge that gap by allowing users to upload and use 3D models within Adobe After Effects. If you don’t know how to use modeling software like Maya or Cinema 4D, Element 3D can help you import and edit 3D models quickly. The plugin works incredibly fast, considering all the functionality it brings to After Effects.

There hasn’t been a new update to Element 3D for some time. Version 2, released in 2015, included new features like ambient occlusion and lighting presets. However, even though the promo above is nearly eight years old, the material still looks good by today’s standard.

Price: $199.95 via Video Copilot.

4. Plexus 3

Plexus is a plugin that takes layers and breaks them up into smaller objects. It comes with .obj support, meaning you can import models from most 3D graphics software and have the objects broken up in 3D space. These 3D objects can serve as containers or forms for Plexus to use.

Rowbyte Plexus is a next-gen particle engine for After Effects that lets you create, manipulate, and visualize data in a procedural manner. Not only can you render the particles, you can create all sorts of interesting relationships between them based on various parameters.

But, more notably, Plexus can create the incredibly popular 3D-connected dots design (we see this used everywhere). Plexus allows for the use of 3D Bézier splines, meaning you can adjust lines in 3D space. All the 3D objects in Plexus also work with 3D cameras and depth of field.

Plexus 3 is a potent — albeit complicated — tool. If you’re looking to give your motion graphics an extra edge, Plexus is the plugin to do that.

Price: $249 via aescripts.com.

5. Newton 3

Admittedly, Newton is the only After Effects plugin on this list that I don’t own. However, for the last several years, it’s been sitting on my bookmark tab, patiently waiting to be purchased, as it’s a must-have for motion graphics artists.

Newton is a 2D physics engine for After Effects that allows users to apply real-world physics to 2D objects. More specifically, Newton can use gravity in several unique ways, including gravity scale, magnetism, and fixed rotation properties. Newton also allows users to create realistic physics-based rigs to simulate pivots, pistons, springs, and distance joints.

Price: $249.99 via Newton.

6. Optical Flares — Video Copilot

Create custom lens flares with Video Copilot’s Optical Flares package. Image via M Studio.

I was somewhat hesitant to include Optical Flares as a “must-have” plugin. I think adding digital lens flares was very much a product of the DSLR era for low-budget filmmakers who needed to make footage appear more cinematic.

However, it’s important to remember that optical flares aren’t just limited to producing J.J. Abrams-inspired material. You can use flares for all kinds of motion graphic elements. And, after all these years, not many plugins produce flares better than this package from Video Copilot.

With Optical Flares, users can create custom lens flares that work in 3D space. Optical Flares also comes with a preset library packed with realistic-looking flares that require no tweaks, and they’ve also introduced a pre-preset pack that starts at $45.

Price: $124.99 via Video Copilot.

7. Boris Continuum 2020.5

Boris Continuum is the Swiss Army knife of After Effects plugins. Inside Continuum Complete, users will find hundreds of plugin effects — glitches, generators, chroma key tools, lens flares, dissolves, and more — that serve a wide range of purposes for projects of all kinds.

Basically, if you’re on a budget, but you need a tool that can do everything, Boris Continuum Complete is your answer.

Price: $995, or $295 for an annual subscription via BorisFX.

(Hot tip: If you’re on an even tighter budget, you can find 100+ free motion graphic elements here.)

8. Deep Glow

With the number of After Effects plugins and scripts on the market, it can sometimes appear as if After Effects is but an empty vessel that needs additional purchases to make it functional. This is not the case.

If anything, with enough time and skill at your disposal, you can use After Effects to accomplish anything that a plugin brings to the table. That said, AE’s default glow effect is pretty underwhelming. It does an okay job, but nothing great outside of giving a text object a slight glow. This is where Deep Glow comes in.

Deep Glow gives you a realistic-looking glow right out of the box, as the illumination is accurately based on the inverse square falloff. Therefore, not only is this plugin great for motion graphics, it’s also terrific for those situations during compositing when it’s a struggle to match digital assets to recorded footage.

Price: $49.95 via aescripts.com.

9. Data Mosh

Glitch plugins have always been popular. In the late ’00s, YouTube was overwhelmingly populated with videos that utilized Video Copilot’s Twitch plugin (which does precisely what the name implies — twitchy glitch effects).

However, with Data Mosh, footage doesn’t simply glitch on an external level, it glitches internally on a pixel-and-color-info level, as if there’s been a processing error when recording the data. It’s a great tool for creating unique effects during transitions.

Price $39.99 via aescripts.com.

10. Render Garden

Render Garden is a different kind of After Effects plugin. It doesn’t produce anything you can use within your project. It doesn’t glitch footage, add particles, or create 3D renders. Instead, it speeds up render time for plugins that do.

With Render Garden, you’re going to get two to three-times faster renders. It splits your composition into several segments, then renders them to multiple background command lines, consequently, accelerating render time. And, unlike the regular render operation, when using Render Garden, you can continue to work in After Effects.

Price: $99 via Mekajiki (currently free during the COVID-19 pandemic).

If you’re looking for free After Effects plugins, well, here’s a page with thirty of them. Check out the resources below for even more time-saving, game-changing motion graphics action.

Cover image via Kit8.net.

A photo of After Effects being used in motion graphics project

Motion graphic design, also known as motion design, is a subset of graphic design in that it uses graphic design principles in a filmmaking or video production context (or other temporally evolving visual media) through the use of animation or filmic techniques. Examples include the kinetic typography and graphics used in film and television opening sequences, and the spinning, three-dimensional station identification logos of some television channels. This art form has been around for decades, and has advanced in technical sophistication over time.

A motion graphic designer may be a person trained in traditional graphic design who has learned to integrate temporally evolving visual media into their existing design knowledge, though motion designers may also come from a filmmaking or animation background as these fields share a number of overlapping skills.^[1]

Motion graphic design is often used in the film industry. Openings to movies, television shows, and news programs often use photography, typography, and motion graphics to create visually appealing imagery Motion graphic design has also achieved widespread use in content marketing and advertising. With global technology firm Cisco projecting that 82 percent of all web traffic will be video by 2022,^[2] marketers and advertisers have focused much of their efforts on the production of high-quality branded video and motion graphic content.

In addition to its myriad of uses in advertising, marketing, and branding, motion graphics are used in software, ui design, video game development, and other fields.^[3] Although motion design and animation share many commonalities, the difference between them lies in the fact that animation as an art from is centered on the interplay between story telling and the corresponding movement of images, where as motion design is simply the movement of otherwise static images regardless of an overarching narrative.^[4]

Technology[edit]

Technological advancements during the 20th and 21st centuries have greatly impacted the field; chief among these are improvements in modern computing technology, as computer programs for the film and video industries became more powerful and more widely available during this period. Modern motion graphic design typically involves any of several computerized tools and processes.

One of the leading computer programs used by modern motion graphic designers has been Adobe After Effects, which allows the user to create and modify graphics over time. Another relatively recent product used in the market is Apple Inc. Motion, now a part of Final Cut Studio. Software such as Maxon Cinema4D has integrated tools to create motion graphics, such as the native MoGraph plugin, or ICE of Softimage, which can also be used for similar purposes.

Adobe Flash has also been widely used to create motion graphic design, particularly for the web, where it is sometimes used in web design, but also in some animation products, such as animated web television productions like Homestar Runner.

Adobe Premiere Pro has also been a very beneficial tool for motion designers. Using After Effects and Premiere pro can add a lot to any motion designer and video creation. The different effects that both software has been helpful to use in any video. Motion designers and video editors always use both together to create professional videos.

Media Encoder is a software used to render any video. Since motion designers work with lots of video editing and animations, they require software that would help them render their work in the highest quality possible. Media Encoder is one of the best programs that serve that purpose and help motion designers produce some of the highest quality renders.

Types of Motion Graphics[edit]

Motion graphics take a variety of forms. While some are entirely animated, others incorporate live-action video and/or photography. The latter may include animation overlay, such as data visualizations, icons, illustrations, and explanatory text used to complement and enhance audiences' understanding of the content.^[5]

In content marketing contexts, there are three primary types of motion graphics, which marketers choose to use depending on the goals they wish to achieve with the motion graphic. Explainer motion graphics seek to elucidate a product, process, or concept. Emotive motion graphics, meanwhile, aim to inspire a particular emotional response in audiences. And finally, promotional motion graphics are used to raise awareness about a service, product, or initiative.^[6] Because so many motion graphics are designed with particular goals in mind, it is often essential to partner with a designer or organization specializing in visual communication design to achieve a final product that conveys information in both an accurate and compelling way.

UX and motion design[edit]

user experience designer sketching out new design for phone app

UX, also known as user experience, works hand in hand with motion design. For example, when designing a phone app, motion design is used to improve user experience.^[7] Motion design improves the user experience tremendously, and very effectively by adding animations on any screen. Motion design is not only used in phone apps; it is used in computers, tablets, smartphones, televisions, and lots more. UX designers use motion design to create their prototyping, and experience with it to determine whether it is easy to use for an average person, or if it needs enhancing.^[8]

Jobs and Salaries[edit]

There are many career opportunities as a motion designer. Career paths can include cartoon animating, advertising, video advertising, logo animator, video editing, UI motion, and many more. As a cartoon animator, motion designers help make the 2D drawings come to life, and start moving. Every cartoon produced on TV channels is made by a motion designer, or a motion designing team. As a cartoon designer, salaries varies between $75,000 to $115,000 annually.^[9] As an advertising motion designer, the movements of objects and color us used to attract the audience. All the affects and dramatic movements are made by a motion designer, or motion designing team. Advertising motion designers' salaries can vary between $60,000 to $90,000 annually.^[10]Logo animation can simply be a small dynamic affect, or could be a promotion video based on the logo. Logo animation is used with restaurant logos, automobile logos, and more in advertising. Salaries for logo animators range between $40,000 to $70,000 annually.Video editing is often used on YouTube videos, especially animation videos. For example, there are many YouTubers that create minutes long of animations, and do a simple voiceover on them. Video editing also involves adding any dramatic dynamics to a video to simply attract viewers and make any video more interesting. Video editors' salaries can range between $48,000 to $78,000 annually.^[11]One of the unique aspects about motion design is the constant upgrade of the field. There are new ideas everyday and new technology being produced and many opportunities to come up with something new. It is essential to have a creative and open mind to be able to make something nobody has done or thought of before.

Motion designer skills[edit]

In order to be a successful motion designer, there are a number of skills to be acquired. The use of fonts is critical to motion designers. Most likely, there is text display in any video, cartoon, or advertisement produced. A good motion designer will know the correct font style, size, and time to use the text to attract the audience.The display of colors is another very important skill set for motion designers. Motion designers need to have a good understanding of the color circle, complementary colors, and color saturations to achieve a certain level of drama in their work. The use of color is extremely helpful to communicate a certain mood, affect, or emotion to the audience.Motion designers must also have software experience. Some of the software includes Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effect, Adobe Premiere Pro, and more. These software help motion designers to build their projects in an efficient way, and having skills make it quicker to make projects.There are a number of general skills that come with experience. Being details oriented is very important in the community of motion design.For example, motion designers must have a sense of timing, meaning they have to be able to time things like intersection between audio and video. In detail, motion designers have to align the sound of a character in a cartoon movie with the movement of their mouth, for instance. There are many skills that are experienced and not taught in the field of motion design, and will be conceived during a professional career.

History[edit]

Motion design started back in the early 1800s when early animation devices were invented. There were no official founding fathers, however, Saul Bass, Pablo Ferro, and John Whitney were some of the first to experience with motion design. Presentation flip-books are considered the first work of motion design, when John Whitening co-found them back in the early 1800s. John Whitney was one of the main founding fathers of computer motion designing. Back in 1960, he was the first to illustrate motion design on computers to create motion pictures and television titles. Later on, Saul Bass introduced the first moving object from small to large, and was the first swirling graphic introduced on television.^[12]

Professional Education[edit]

To be a professional motion designer, there are professional degrees offered. A degree in motion design helps communicate aspects like concepts, theory, and messages to viewers along with a set of strong skills that help with a strong start in a professional career. Typically, motion design students spend 36 months to receive a bachelor's degree in motion graphics. having an education in motion design will help find a job a lot quicker than someone without an education, due to the knowledge difference along with the educational skill sets. Education helps start beginners skill level that would later on play a huge role in growing into higher skill sets much easier than someone without an education.^[13]

References[edit]

^'Everything You Need to Know About Becoming a Motion Graphics Designer'. www.rasmussen.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
^'Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017–2022 White Paper'. Cisco. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
^Williams, Richard (7 January 2002). The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators. ISBN0571202284.
^'Motion graphics vs. animation: what's the difference?'. 99designs. 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
^Todd, Lucy (2019-10-29). 'Motion Graphics: A Complete Guide for Marketers & Brand Leaders'. Killer Visual Strategies. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
^'eBook: 3 Types of Motion Graphics to Enhance Your Content Strategy'. Killer Visual Strategies. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
^http://www.sunyoungkim.org/class/old/hci_f18/pdf/The-Design-of-Everyday-Things-Revised-and-Expanded-Edition.pdf
^https://medium.com/ux-in-motion/motion-design-in-digital-products-a-white-paper-48da834261dd
^https://work.chron.com/much-money-can-make-animation-9425.html
^https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/motion-graphics-salary
^https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Film_%2F_Video_Editor/Salary
^http://www.triplet3d.com/the-history-of-motion-graphics
^https://online.maryville.edu/online-bachelors-degrees/digital-media/careers/motion-graphics-designer/

^[1] Willenskomer, Issara. “Motion Design in Digital Products: a White Paper.” Medium, UX in Motion, 20 June 2019

^[2] Richard Williams, The Animator's Survival Kit, a manual of methods, principles and formulas.

^[3] “The History of Motion Graphics - Triplet 3D: Blog.” Triplet 3D, 3 July 2015, www.triplet3d.com/the-history-of-motion-graphics.

^[4] Norman, Donald A. The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, 2013.