If you ever struggled with your After Effects 3D camera than this tutorial is for you. Learn to rig your camera in seconds or buy a my script that will do it for you.

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Get Simple Camera Rig Script 1.0 (CS3) for only 14.90 USD

I don’t know about you my friends, but each time I’m thinking about using After Effects camera I get the shivers. It’s good for panning and zooming, but once you start to make a more classy and smooth motion, or you want to sex it up a bit with some curves you get into trouble. You need to keep track of zoom, point of interest, position, orientation and rotation keyframes all at once. We should be very grateful for Separate Dimensions feature in After Effects CS4, but it does not solve all the problems.

In this tutorial I will show you a technique that is widely used in camera animation by many artists that work in 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, or any other 3d application. I hope it will open your eyes on the subject of camera animation, and that you’ll start making your own more complex rigs. Good luck. Enjoy the tutorial.

And for those of you who don’t have time to build the rig each time you need to use it here’s a handy script that will set up the camera and the rig for you. Enjoy!

Get Simple Camera Rig 1.0 (CS3) for only 14.90 USD

Collision detection and audio triggering. Learn how to build a radar that actually works using only four keyframes! This one is a must-see!

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This tutorial is no different from the others. It’s not creating a certain effect. Oh no. It’s about solving common and uncommon problems, and about finding solutions to situations that might occur in the future. All to help you work more efficiently by saving huge amounts of time. It’s not about the final visual result, but the way to get there.

So… what is this tutorial really about? We’re going to create a radar that really works! Draw the radar, animate the target over it, and watch how the radar detects the object by itself, marks it on the grid and even makes a beeping sound.

This whole project consists of only four keyframes, and few expressions, that will detect the collision between the target and the scanning line. When the collision occurs, the target will become visible, and a beep sound will be generated.

You must see this one! I hope you’ll like it. Enjoy!

Update
There is an update for this tutorial. If you’re using After Effects CS3 than you should check out the CE PixelSampler tutorial, where you can learn how to use my CustomEffect to detect collisions.

Download: Tutorial project file (After Effects CS2)

Avoid common problems when creating a signature effect by customizing your brush tip, and learn how to create the effect itself.

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If you ever tried to animate a signature than you probably know, that when it’s more complex shape than just a simple line, you can run into some troubles. This tutorial will show you, how you can avoid them by customizing the brush tip. The whole idea is to use Paint effect instead of Stroke.

And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, just see the tutorial and learn how to create a signature effect. Enjoy.

Download: Tutorial project file (After Effects CS2)

When you’re creating background for a DVD project, website, or a TV commercial it’s always good to know how to loop your animation.

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Maybe this tutorial isn’t something very unique, but I’ve seen a lot of people asking questions about creating a loopable backgrounds, so here we are. Learn how to use blending modes and very powerful and often unappreciated fractal noise filter. Make a loop out of your background animation and make it look even more exciting by applying textures and lights to create a final look.

Download: Tutorial project file (After Effects CS2)

Learn a smart way of creating dynamic and sound reactive Volume Meter. This tutorial takes this subject further than any other tutorial on the net.

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Expressions are the most powerful feature of After Effects in my opinion. After watching this tutorial you will learn how to make your Volume Meter more dynamic by reacting to sound playing in the background while keeping total control over its sensitivity. You might have seen similar tutorials on the net, but I assure you that this one takes this subject a step further and that it’s worth watching.

Download: Tutorial project file (After Effects CS2)

Original tutorial by Talid Al Khatib from CreativeCow.net

Build your first chain-based rig in After Effects. Find out how flexible this technique is and how you can turn the rig into a snake.

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Learn how to create a dynamic animation based on a “chain rig”. Animate one layer using keyframes, expressions, or both, and make other layers follow the leading layer. See how you can texture the rig and find out how flexible it is.

First 9 minutes will show you how to build a basic “chain rig”. The rest of the tutorial is about texturing and making the final look.

Download: Tutorial project file (After Effects CS2)

The idea for this tutorial came from CGTalk forums, where someone who calls himself GetToTheTop asked for a way to create a snake in After Effects. See the oryginal thread.