Advanced 3D Planets
I bet you’ve seen a gazillion tutorials on creating 3D planets, but I also bet you’ve never seen it done this way before. Find out on your own.
This tutorial is unlike any other 3D globe tutorial. Of course there are strong similarities like using CC Sphere, but this tutorial pushes this subject to it’s limits. This subject is as old as the Earth itself. How to create 3D planets? Simple. Just apply CC Sphere onto a texture, right? Wrong! If you want to make it cool you need to do a couple other things as well, which I’m going to show you in this upcoming tutorial.
Since you seem to enjoy the “live” tutorials, like HS: Bad chroma key I thought I’ll do this one a Live tutorial as well. Unfortunately after I finished recording my AE crashed, so theres no project file at this moment. I should have save it while I was still working. Then I’d have some auto-saves, but I didn’t - sorry. I recreated the project file for you, but be aware that it is a little different from the tutorial. Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
There’s also a bigger plan behind this tutorial. Read about it in the blog section.
Download project file: Advanced3dPlanets.zip (After Effects CS3 Professional)
Maltaannon…
I think i know Kung Fu
tutorial it’s super…i like how u do things on the fly…
amazing
bogdan bucur said this May 22nd, 2008 at 1:51
maltaannon your the greatest .. soon as i get some money im going to donate you a carton of smokes… lol ..
very very usefull tutorial .. thanks
LifeType said this May 22nd, 2008 at 1:53
Maltaannon is the best!!!!!!!!!
Tim said this May 22nd, 2008 at 4:53
Grate tutorial Maltaannon.
The clouds efx with the shadows looks incredible
Keep up the great work, cheers.
Chompiras said this May 22nd, 2008 at 5:53
Süper tutorial thanks Maltannon :))
delight said this May 22nd, 2008 at 12:16
You can find those planet textures http://www.oera.net/How2/TextureMaps2.htm
I guess there’s about 12 textures over there, including mars, and moon textures.
krajstof said this May 22nd, 2008 at 14:50
Yeah I already found them and included them in the project file, which is now available for download. Thanks!
Maltaannon said this May 22nd, 2008 at 15:55
Thanks for the earth maps and the project file ..
LifeType said this May 22nd, 2008 at 17:07
Awesome tutorial man.
Thanks!
Travis said this May 22nd, 2008 at 19:01
Totally cool man !
tnx. :D
bytheway - can you try and make a tutorial recreating the Stargate teleport rings effect ? if so it would be really grate ! tnx again.
HornedGod said this May 22nd, 2008 at 21:25
Thanks for this most excellent adventure! Great stuff! Your “live” tutorials are interesting and I know they save you lots of work, but I prefer your edited versions as they are easier to follow along with. But whatever you do is appreciated in any case. Thanks again!
Frank C. said this May 22nd, 2008 at 22:01
Thanks Frank. I think that if I’ll do a few more “live” tutorials I’ll get around it and they will be shorter. I hope. It really saves me a lot of time. Like… Just a lot. Thanks for your appreciation.
Maltaannon said this May 22nd, 2008 at 22:14
This is awesome. Thanks for your hard work.
Mike said this May 23rd, 2008 at 21:05
Good tips Maltaannon, but check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9b4Y1tUIu4
The quality is not the best but is enough, please comment
Delgadeth said this May 24th, 2008 at 1:45
That was amazing, I only have AE 6.0 so I can’t do this yet, but that was really great. Thanks alot
Jay said this May 24th, 2008 at 3:12
Really cool effect George!
Adding layers of effects like lights and clouds makes the typical after effects earth much more deep! ;)
Just a note about the city lights, rather than using the wiggle on the threshold I’d rather put a fractal noise layer over the city lights with a contrast at about 50% and a scale of 1% then use it as luma matte.
Then I’d wiggle it’s evolution. ;)
Looks a bit more realistic to me, as if the air makes the light flicker.
Great tute though!
Ricky said this May 25th, 2008 at 13:58
Cool idea! Thanks for sharing. But of evolution would be used, I’d rather just go with time * factor, rather than with the wiggle, but of course I’d have to check what works better. Thanks for your opinion and for your suggestion.
Maltaannon said this May 25th, 2008 at 16:17
gookiiiilllll(cool n brilian tuts) maltaannon, thanks for all tuorial, keep smart
udin said this May 26th, 2008 at 6:54
you are so SMART and best not only that important person for all over the world. And helping me your Best tutorials coz i don’t have internet connection in my home but i download in the internet cafe, and the i see your all tutorials in my home computer so your tutorials is helping me so much, i try to be best computer GR designer in the world and i can! coz i try to work in maya 3D software and AE, including your best tutorials ,so no body stop! but you are my hero sir, 10Q so much for your free tutorials, you helping all over Africans i’m in Addis Ababa
habesha said this May 26th, 2008 at 10:00
[...] • 19 Comments [...]
TGD said this May 26th, 2008 at 20:38
Awesome tutorial, once again.
I think the original image of the earth came from Visible Earth (visibleearth.nasa.gov/)– also, I’ve been wondering how to take this same technique to create the sun….I’m afraid I may need a true 3-D app—ideas?
Jake said this May 26th, 2008 at 21:48
Another great tut.
i learn a lot from your tutorials, you definitely take things inside AE to a higher level.
smoking is very bad!!!!!!!!
Seth said this May 27th, 2008 at 1:10
Nice ideas George.
i’d like to point out a small tip tho, as Mr. Aharon lately mentioned in one of his podcasts on CC: Edit -> Copy Expression Only would have saved you some time in this project.
dx said this May 27th, 2008 at 3:36
Haha 42 plus a unicorn horn :) That’s just silly. On the subject though, the more I work with computer graphics, 3d mainly, the more I see it’s possible that we live in a created world. Nurbs, particle systems, and all the math… yeah.. :)
Great tutorial, the night map and shadows on the clouds came off very nice, I appriciate you making this(and all the others).
Peace to you Maltaannon.
Janus said this May 27th, 2008 at 23:46
Coming back to watch this again .. and pick up anything i didnt the first time .. thx maltannon . i like the live videos better .. you get to see you thinking and figuring out problems .. great stuff
LifeType said this May 28th, 2008 at 16:55
Jerzy, yer the freakin man! Hey you mentioned you were gonna do a tutorial devoted to the circle effect. That got me really curious, because I’m not aware of any magical ways to use it. Were you pulling my leg, or do you really have something for us?
Les Lanphere said this May 28th, 2008 at 19:04
I do, but I think that I’ll do the 3d things and brush engine first. Check out the blog section if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Maltaannon said this May 28th, 2008 at 19:28
tenks
mavi2 said this May 29th, 2008 at 11:05
legend!!!! i have a question though, you know the skybox tutorial you talked about… am i wrong or does this do the same thing as the new trapcode horizon plugin? i know we all love trapcode but if you can beat them with your effect preset i will sing it from the hills!…. or am i wrong
Craig
Craig Hellen said this May 29th, 2008 at 12:09
Well… theoretically it does exactly that, but as far as I know Trapcode plugins, it’s going to be great with many useful features.
Maltaannon said this May 29th, 2008 at 15:53
you rock man. First time visit. Great site. Great CSS too on Wordpress.
Willem said this May 30th, 2008 at 17:30
OMG !!!
HES DONE IT AGAIN !!!
THE ONE…..THE ONLY…..MALTAANNON !!!!!!
Shkaa887 said this May 30th, 2008 at 19:33
[...] love this, After Effects junkies. Maltaanon is up to his shenanigans again creating planets and new worlds and such. This guy thinks on a different plane with respect to After Effects, code, design, and creatively [...]
Maltaanon creates new worlds said this June 2nd, 2008 at 15:52
As usual very nice job !! Thanks !
You said you wanted to give credit for the pics: I think it is located here:
http://www.oera.net/How2/TextureMaps2.htm
Pascal said this June 3rd, 2008 at 18:37
Wonderful tutorial! I showed the results around the video department where I work. Even the seasoned graphics guys who have been churning out globe animations for 20 years were impressed. The way you supplied controls mean this project can be easily modified and used again and again. Love your site. While my family watches TV, I sit around and do your tutorials for fun & relaxation! Thank you so much for this wonderful resource!
RxR said this June 14th, 2008 at 16:03
Thank you RxR, and thank all of you boys and girls. Your comments mean a lot to me, especially when you say you have good time watching them, so thanks again, and stay tuned for more. I’m in the middle of a project right now so I don’t have much time for myself nor for the tutorials, but I assure you… more cool stuff is coming soon. Cheers.
Maltaannon said this June 14th, 2008 at 18:36
Don’t worry that the tutorials come across as disorganised, that doesn’t matter to me. In fact I like it that way. This is one of your best tutorials ever! Keep up the good work.
FloDaHo said this June 20th, 2008 at 0:45
Hi Maltaannon. It´s a very beautiful tutorial. One of the best world tutorial in the Internet and inspired me to create a little video. http://www.anymotion.com.ar/l_work.html
Tks.
Eugenio said this June 27th, 2008 at 14:47
i like ur tutorials but maan this that u make the things looks like u are thinking at the moment is very annying also ur voice is terrbile or the way as u record i dont know , but anyway great job
Nkolev said this July 7th, 2008 at 13:25
Just one word: Beautiful.
Thank you so much.
An Onimo said this July 8th, 2008 at 23:59
I think you’re not a Human Being! You must not from planet Earth. You’re too: nice, good, honest, wise, clever, smart, intelligent: I’d think maybe you’re a Super Human? NO! You’re absolutely the SPIRIT of After Effects. Thanks GOD for “releasing” the “AVATAR” from Heaven. I’ve seen “Heaven on Earth”. Merci beaucoup!
MALTAANNONer said this July 10th, 2008 at 7:47
k***a, przestań kopiować Kramera!!!
bla said this July 14th, 2008 at 21:06
Your work in this is much better in the other site tutorials…the clouds, bumps, etc. thanks for the great job Bro…I wish you will make a tutorial for those effects that are not commonly use…cheers!!!
Aldie said this July 18th, 2008 at 17:42
Awesome, thanks! I’m working on it now. I found some similar texture here: http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/courses/phy315/povray7.html
Blake said this July 22nd, 2008 at 4:58
YOU ARE A FREAKING WANNABE!!!!!!!! This tutorial is from the Great Andrew Kramer, http://www.videocopilot.net, such has many other tutorials that you have in your blog…….you should be ashamed…..FUC**NG POSER!!
shaGa said this August 17th, 2008 at 1:05
shaGa… Could you pls STFU. This is one of the best resource sites for After Effects Users. This is an awesome tutorial and i think Maltaannon’s tutorials are way better than Kramer’s since he does not use as much 3rd party Plugins.
Maltaannon, ur the best i know for AE, I’m a broke college studnet right now but once i start making money, I swear i’ll donate 5% of my first years paycheck!
G-10 said this August 19th, 2008 at 13:14
I’m really counting on your promise, and everyone else’s as well. Keeping this site not only costs money, but also keeps me from work. I’d rather be making more tutorials but unfortunately I do have a day job, I have to pay bills and do all that nasty stuff. I also trying to run my own company and that costs even more money and time - thats why I usually record tutorials late at night and I don’t edit them anymore.
In other words, a nice donation from time to time would solve a lot of my problems, even for a short while.
Thanks again, and enjoy the free tutorials!
Happy AfterEffecting.
Maltaannon said this August 19th, 2008 at 13:54
Great tutorial George, thanks for that and thanks to Pascal to provide the links to the nice maps.
Cheers!!… CC³.
CristalCube said this August 30th, 2008 at 13:15
Spoko tutorial…no i pozazdroscic angielskiego…Pozdro
Tomek said this September 6th, 2008 at 21:24
You are soo cool man, why you done make tutorials wiith polish languge?
Martin said this October 15th, 2008 at 16:45
Hey man, you’re brilliant!
More than many professional guys we have on the net. We all know who is.
Thank u so much
Antônio from Brasil
Antônio said this October 18th, 2008 at 19:59
hi. is there a tutorial on how to make this earth into a real 3D space in after effects?
Bully said this November 4th, 2008 at 6:26
you said at the end about sky box tutorial in creative cow? i could not find it. could you post the link?
Bully said this November 13th, 2008 at 4:02
Maltaannon is the GREAT! im so appreciate for all your guide line…so many many thank to maltaannon
putera_aura7 said this December 31st, 2008 at 0:57
great tut ill get u some cigs for that
tiffer said this January 5th, 2009 at 21:30
and ohh yeah these tuts arent stolen Maltaannon just shows u how to do everthing in after effects verry verry cool Andrew Kramer
is still 1 of the best too that i have seen i think its good that thay show us there stuff u can learnalot from the 2 of them.
tiffer said this January 5th, 2009 at 21:40