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After Effects CS3: Animating Characters
Don Barnett

After Effects CS3: Animating Characters

with George Maestri

 


Filmmakers of all kinds are exploring new digital tools for creating animated content. After Effects CS3: Animating Characters follows the creation of a short animated film, from storyboard through final output, using After Effects CS3. George Maestri uses a one-minute monster movie to showcase the new Puppet tool, along with many other techniques for animating characters in After Effects. He covers lip syncing, creating segmented characters with movable joints, and employing special effects. George demonstrates in detail how to create individual scenes and shots, and offers insight into how to pull the pieces together to form a cohesive production. Familiarity with After Effects is recommended. Exercise files accompany the course.
Topics include:
  • Organizing with storyboards, rough soundtracks, and Leica reels Creating, importing, and linking segmented character parts from Photoshop Setting up nested compositions to animate a run cycle Creating smoke and bubble cycles, and other special effects Animating lips, heads, and bodies with time mapping Editing and creating final output with Premiere Pro

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author
George Maestri
subject
3D + Animation, Animation, Character Animation
software
After Effects CS3
level
Intermediate
duration
4h 6m
released
Jun 18, 2008

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George Maestri

George Maestri

George Maestri is an animation director and producer based in Los Angeles. He has written a number of books on 3D character animation, including Digital Character Animation (New Riders), and Maya at a Glance (Sybex Books). His credits include work for such studios as Nickelodeon, Disney, Warner Brothers, and Comedy Central.
Course Title   Level   Duration   Released  
Learning Discreet 3ds max 6 Beginner 7h 5m 03/2004  {8}
Character Rigging in Discreet 3ds max 6 Intermediate 4h 9m 05/2004  {8}
Character Animation in Discreet 3ds max 6 Intermediate 6h 42m 06/2004  {8}
Modeling in Discreet 3ds max 6 Intermediate 10h 7m 09/2004  {8}
Texturing and Lighting in Discreet 3ds max 6 Intermediate 6h 25m 01/2005  {8}
Maya 6.5 Essential Training Beginner 8h 31m 05/2005  {8}
Maya 8 Essential Training Beginner 7h 58m 02/2007  {8}
Maya 8.5 Character Rigging Intermediate 4h 39m 08/2007  {8}
Maya 2008 Essential Training Beginner 9h 43m 01/2008  {8}
After Effects CS3: Animating Characters Intermediate 4h 6m 06/2008  {8}
Maya 2009 Essential Training Beginner 10h 0m 12/2008  {8}
Google SketchUp 6 Essential Training Beginner 3h 58m 11/2008  {8}
Maya 2009 New Features Intermediate 1h 40m 12/2008  {8}
2D Character Animation Advanced 5h 50m 11/2009  {8}
Google SketchUp Pro: Tools and Techniques Intermediate 2h 25m 01/2010  {8}
Character Animation Fundamentals with Maya Intermediate 6h 6m 05/2011  {8}
Maya 2010: Getting Started with MatchMover, Toxik, and Backburner Intermediate 2h 12m 02/2010  {8}
Google SketchUp 7 New Features Intermediate 38m 17s 01/2010  {8}
Maya 2011 New Features Intermediate 1h 22m 05/2010  {8}
Maya 2011 Essential Training Beginner 9h 8m 06/2010  {8}
Google SketchUp 8 Essential Training Beginner 6h 26m 06/2011  {8}
Creating Animated Characters in After Effects Intermediate 3h 53m 09/2011  {8}
Blender 2.6 Essential Training Beginner 7h 26m 12/2011  {8}
Character Rigging in Maya Intermediate 4h 37m 02/2012  {8}
Character Animation Fundamentals in 3ds Max Intermediate 5h 56m 04/2012  {8}
Maya Essentials 1: Interface and Organization Beginner 1h 35m 06/2012  {8}
Maya Essentials 2: Polygonal Modeling Techniques Beginner 2h 17m 06/2012  {8}
Maya Essentials 3: NURBS Modeling Techniques Beginner 2h 18m 06/2012  {8}
Maya Essentials 4: Creating Textures and Materials Beginner 1h 51m 06/2012  {8}
Maya Essentials 6: Lights and Rendering Beginner 1h 52m 07/2012  {8}
Maya Essentials 5: Animation Tools Beginner 1h 20m 06/2012  {8}
Rendering Using Cycles in Blender Intermediate 1h 28m 01/2013  {8}
Foundations of Animation Beginner 42m 32s 06/2013  {8}

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