From the course: After Effects Tips and Techniques: Compositing and Effects
Join today to access over 22,600 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.
Contact shadows - After Effects Tutorial
From the course: After Effects Tips and Techniques: Compositing and Effects
Contact shadows
- Shadows are a part of everyday life. There are two major categories of shadows and they serve different purposes. Drop shadows are most often decorative in nature working to enhance an image, et cetera. Cast shadows on the other hand are usually meant to provide realism or depth. When compositing elements on a surface such as a floor or a wall, you always need to pay attention to these kinds of shadows also known as contact shadows. There are a couple of ways to add them inside After Effects. You can use the built in 3D qualities of the software to get a very convincing result. Or you can create your own fake contact shadows that will add to the realism of the shot and will help you actually sell it. I want to show you both options and we'll start with the easy one which is of course let After Effects deal with its own shadows. So, I have this scene over here which is part of a bigger scene that you saw at the previous chapter. We have this dancer on the floor. It looks great but it…
Practice while you learn with exercise files
Download the files the instructor uses to teach the course. Follow along and learn by watching, listening and practicing.
Download courses and learn on the go
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app.