Motion graphics help

[Tom Vickers]

hello,

i need help - im needing to make various animations for a video but have no idea what program to use - ive used bits of after effects and animate but stuff has already been made in them. How do i make the drawings to animate - would that be in these programs or using say illustrator? And also is animate / after effects good enough to make motion graphic animations.

Say if i wanted to make a rope go from straight - tie itself up - then untie it self - how / what would be used to make this?

Would appreicate any help. I also need to make 3d animations which i feel these dont do?

[Kyle Hamrick]

Hey Tom,
The answer to most of your questions is "yes," but I know that in itself isn't helpful. To answer most of these helpfully, we'll probably need more information from you. 

Illustator (or Photoshop, or Fresco, or other non-Adobe options) can indeed be used to create art. The amount of layering/separation needed will depend on what you need the animation to do. Stock art is always an option as well, though you'll likely need to do some prep work before it's ready for animation.

Either Animate or After Effects can be used to create animations. Which is "correct" depends on your needs and your comfort level with the apps. 

To your rope question: this could be done in either place. Are we talking an illustrated/cartoon rope? Photorealistic? 

After Effects can work with 2d (flat) layers in 3d space, and/or can add 3d extrusions to certain types of layers. It also has a variety of ways to work both directly and indirectly with actual 3d files.

You'll probably get some responses suggesting After Effects beginner guides, etc., which I typically assume people can Google for if they want them. If you can provide some stylistic references for what you're hoping to achieve, we might be able to guide you more clearly. Animation is a complex subject, so there's only so far our recommendations can go until we get a little closer to what you're truly trying to achieve here. 

Let us know how we can help!

[Tom Vickers]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply and help i really appreicate it.

The rope would be something ive drawn - so basically like a cartoon i guess. Baaically i need to create loads of images like the one below -but then animate it so it does different things? So i presume thats something id make in say illustrator and animate using after effects?

The issue im thinking is id need some of them to be 3d and dont see how to do this usingeither program - presumed id need some actual 3d software?

But say with the rope - would just makje a straight line kinda thing - but then would need to animate it turning into itself and tieing up - somehow? Same with the image above - dont see how i could get that animated moving up and down etc?

Same kidna rthought with a classic youtube intro -where it will be all animated shapes and text anbd look cool etc - are these kinda things done in after effects too? I wasnt aware you could do so much i it?

Chloroplast Animation - need to kinda of remake thisd video too which is what i mean about 3d

[Kyle Hamrick]

re: "wasn't aware you could do so much in it." After Effects is a huge Swiss army knife of a program, so yes, it handles animations, text, video, and special effects. You can use it to create simple animations with one element, but many complex TV show opens, ads, broadcast graphics and more are all made in After Effects.

I'll say that this is a pretty complex and ambitious look to use to start in After Effects. I would focus on a singular element to start, and see if you're able to wrap your head around things before you dive all the way in. Looking at this illustration, I see a lot of discrete pieces that would need to be created/animated, and then assembled together into a rig so they can move properly together, which can involve some of the more technical aspects of the program to be able to set up in a way that makes them easy to work with.

Depending on the variety of animations you have in mind, part of me is inclined to agree with Rick that a proper 3D app might end up ultimately being more flexible for something like this, because you'd be able to set up a responsive rig that could be used for a variety of movements and angles. If everything will always be from this same or a similar view, than AE might be a good solution for you. 

As far as the "rope," by which I'm assuming you mean the chains of carbohydrates/glycolipids: I would approach this by animating a stroked path and see if you are able to get the movement you're after. With no layers selected, use the Pen tool to create a line in the shape you'd like. You can enable animation on the Path property you just created, and animate it into the various shapes/movements. There are ways to attach other layers to this later (to get those little hexagons on there) but that's where I'd start! 

[Tom Vickers]

hi, thanks for replying.

Yes so i presume if i slowely made up each iece of the image indiviually then put the mall together to animate it may work - i just presumed pros would make the illustration in something more like photoshop or illustrator then move over to after effects?

And no ive gotsome things where id want to go in towards it and move around so i imagine 3dprogram would be far more suited but hard to know what one? Would you know any good ones?

I will try out what you've suggested for the rope animation thank you 🙂

[Rick Gerard]

Some of what you are asking about can be accomplished using After Effects and Illustrator, but for the 3D stuff, you'll be better off if you start the learning process with Blender. This incredibly powerful and open-source 3D app is capable of outstanding results. Some decent third-party plugins like Video Copilot's Element 3D will let you import and use 3D models, and the Beta version of AE allows importing 3D models, but to create them and do complex animations, you'll need a dedicated 3D app. Blender would be the place I would start. They have a bunch of tutorials on the site. It may take you about 100 hours to get the hang of it, but once you do, if you decide to move to another 3D platform, you will be well on your way to becoming proficient in the 3D app environment. 

If you want to do things quickly, there are a host of AI-powered video apps out there that can create some pretty amazing animations just by clicking on a template and describing what you want to happen. Adobe even is dabbling in the field now. 

[Tom Vickers]

Hi Rick,

thanks for commenting.

AI is something i dont want to really use as would rather try learn and teach myself - even though the whole world seems to be heading towards AI.

I have seen blender which is a good idea - crazy i think how its free to use also. I will check this out more?

Do you know if i could make these kinda images in blender too or could make thm in adobe and transfer them over etc?

Have you used blender much / have any tips?

Thanks for your help i really appreaicte it.