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Not the only way to achieve this but by using expressions on the trim path Start and End parameters and hooking them to a slider value between 0 and 100 means I duplicate this stroke layer and get different generation patterns. To do the cube I would use three strokes in one shape layer and have three slider expressions generating the three random start values. So each cube would be a self-contained shape layer that could be duplicated independently.
If you carefully analyze the shot you'll find that the cubes are not totally random. The same pattern of drawing on each cube is repeated several times and the layers are just staggered in time so they start to draw on randomly. Here you can easily see at least 3 lines in exactly the same position relative to the cube:
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I would create four or five shape layers with the anchor point right at one of the corners, then I would apply trim paths to some of the paths in one layer with trim paths set to sequentially, and other paths on the layer with Trim paths edited so the lines started growing from someplace other than the start and end point. When I had four or five of these set up I would just duplicate the layers Arrange them to fill up the about half the screen, select all the layers and copy them then move them to fill the rest of the screen, then slide them around in the timeline to adjust the start times to get the look I wanted. It would probably take about 30 minutes.
Read up on shape layer animators and experiment with adding more than one Trim Paths animator above and below different paths and you'll figure it out.
If I were to try and do all of that with expressions it would probably take me a couple of hours so in this case, doing it by hand would be more efficient.
I don't know of any specific tutorials on creating this exact effect. You'll need some basic knowledge about how Shape Layer Animators work and it would not hurt to do some experimenting.
Try this:
- Press Ctrl/Cmnd + ' or to to the menu View>Show Grid
- Turn on Snap to Grid by pressing Shift + Ctrl/Cmnd + ' or check the View menu
- Use the pen (g) tool to draw a horizontal line between two major divisions using a 4-pixel stroke and no fill
- Press the U key twice to reveal all modified properties of the new shape layer
- Spin down the stroke property and change the stroke property to Round Cap
- With the pen tool selected hold down Ctrl/Cmnd key and move the cursor over the path you have drawn and observe the changes to the pointer as you select the path then move the pointer around
- When you are over the path the tool becomes a smaller black arrow, that will select the entire path, when you are above or below the line the pen tool changes to a white area that will allow you to draw a selection around a point, and when you hover over a point the pen tool changes to a minus pen which will delete a point
- With the path selected and the Ctrl/Cmnd key held down drag a selection around the right vertex to select it
- Hover over the right vertex and the tool will change back to the small selection tool, select the left vertex and drag it up one division
- In the timeline select the Path and press Ctrl/Cmnd + d to duplicate it
- In the comp panel grab the path with the pen tool while holding down the Ctrl/Cmnd key and move it 2 divisions to the right
- Hold down the Ctrl/Cmnd key and draw a selection around the left vertex, select it, then move it up one division to create the peak of your first cube
- Repeat the process of duplicating the path, selecting the path, moving the path and moving the endpoints until you have created your first cube
- In the Timeline choose Add: Trim Paths to Shape 1
- Spin down the options for Trim Paths and change Trim Multiple Shapes to Individually
- Animate the Start value for Trim Paths from zero to 100% in 2 seconds and scrub through the timeline to see each path animate on in the order they are in the timeline starting from the top
- Select Trim Paths and press Ctrl/Cmnd + d to duplicate it
- Select the duplicate Trim Paths and drag it between the fourth and fifth path
- Select the keyframes for the original Trim Paths and drag them to the right a few frames
- Scrub through the timeline and you'll see the first four paths animate on sequentially and then the second paths animate on
- Duplicate the trim paths and move it around as many times as you like and adjust the animators until you get the first cube to draw on the way you want it to.
Your comp should look something like this:
You can duplicate the Trim Paths animator as many times as you like. The Bottom one starts first, then the next above. You can rearrange the paths to change the order when they come on. When you get the first cube drawing on the way you like all you have to do is duplicate the entire shape layer by selecting it and pressing Ctrl/Cmnd + d, then use the selection tool to drag it the duplicate into position. Slightly changing the animators and path order in the copies will give you three or four different looking animations and you can stagger the layer start times by just dragging them in the timeline. It would clean things up if you delete overlapping paths on the duplicates.
Creating this sample comp took about 5 minutes. Dropbox - Animated Orthotgraphic Cube.aep
Try dragging around the animators, changing things like offset for the Write On and layer order. Learn how to change the first vertex. When you have duplicated the shape layer about 4 times and got them lined up it will just take a couple of minutes to grab all 4 layers, duplicate them all and move them into position. I'm guessing less than 30 minutes and you'll have your entire animated background created.
To learn more about shape layer animators just use the Search Help field in the top right corner of AE and look for things like animating shapes. You'll get the help files and links to commuinity resources including better than average tutorials. AE's help fiels are not fantastic, but there is a lot of really good information there and many of the help pages have links to excellent tutorials.
(note: if your browser adds a .txt extension to the AEP file just delete it)
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