Making a ghost.....

[W22401313kkmr]

Hi, I am currently filming A Ghostbusters fan film. I am new to Adobe and need help finding out how to make a ghost. If anyone has any ideas that would help me alot.   

[P.M.B]

Use shapes to build a green blob gost.  (layers for eyes, mouth, etc)  Pre-compose all the ghost layers and then use the puppet tool to animate the pre-composed layer 

[Rick Gerard]

What kind of ghost? There are a lot of different ghosts.

Some require a 3D app. Others require filming, rotoscope, or keying plus particle effects, glows, blend modes, and transparency. If we knew what kind of ghost you were trying to create, we could point you in the right direction. 

Adobe Animate would be an excellent tool to create cartoonish ghosts you could animate. The ghosts in the movie required a team of effects artists and days of labor for each shot, so don't expect to create something like this in a few minutes:

Embed* a sample image or two, describe what you are trying to accomplish, and we can probably point you in the right direction. It would also help us help you if we knew your level of experience with filming for visual effects. Most VFX artists face the most significant problems from not properly preparing for blocking, lighting, exposure, and even shutter speed when shooting the shots you need for the composite. I understand you are just getting started with After Effects. You might consider spending some time in the Learn workspace figuring out the UI and then looking at a few of the tutorials in the User Guide.

* The "Drag & Drop here..." area is buggy and should not be used to share images. Please use the toolbar or drag your images to the reply field.

[W22401313kkmr]

Well I have my own Ideas for a ghost. I believe He would have 4 limbs and a pretty long tail. Included is some early concept art. I would also like to have two terror dogs (Zuul and Vinz Clortho), and mini pufts. Included are pictures of them two. 

[W22401313kkmr]

Also I am new to Adobe, I have little experiance.

[Rick Gerard]

You didn't embed your images using the toolbar. You can even copy the file then paste it directly into the reply field.

Those are all 3D models. The least expensive way to create a creature like any of those examples would be to go to blender.org, download the software, and spend between 20 and 100 hours going through the tutorials covering the UI. Basic modeling, texturing, lighting, integrating with After Effects, or just importing the footage into Blender and doing your composite there. 

If you decide to use After Effects, expect to spend 20 to 100 hours learning the UI, the workflow, and compositing techniques. You will need to understand transparency, masking, probably motion tracking, and many other skills. I don't know of any single tutorial that will guide you through the entire process.

The workflow that would take the least amount of time to learn would be to invest in Element 3D and then browse the web for Ghose models you can purchase or download, then use Element 3D + AE's camera tracking and other tools to get the 3D models to match up with your footage. 

Once again, shooting the shots, planning, lighting, and moving the camera and the actors is critical to making this type of visual effect composite work.

I hope these suggestions help. You will have to spend a significant amount of time learning the basics and running some tests.

[W22401313kkmr]

Which do you think would be the best choice?

Also I was wondering, I have 12 1/1 scale mini puft figures that can go in a T pose. would I be able to animate that?

Included are the pictures that did not show up yesterday.

[Muhammed32679192i8pn · Accepted solution]

Gost