After Effects Guide-AI-powered After Effects Guide

Example

Using expressions to create a wiggle effect for a floating object.

Scenario

A designer working on a scene with a hovering drone might want the drone to have natural, random movement in the air. Instead of manually keyframing every slight motion, the designer can use the 'wiggle' expression, such as `wiggle(3, 20)`, to add organic randomness. This expression creates three movements per second with a maximum of 20 pixels in any direction. After Effects Guide would walk through how to adjust this expression to fit specific needs.

Example

Using expressions to manipulate particle systems, such as snowflakes falling with varying speeds and directions.

Scenario

In a winter-themed animation, an artist may want to add a snowfall effect with particles. Using After Effects' 'CC Particle World' and coding within the particle controls, the artist could introduce variations in fall speed and direction using expressions. For instance, by applying an expression to the particle velocity like `random(0.5, 2)`, they can simulate heavier and lighter snowflakes without having to tweak every parameter manually.

Example

Controlling a logo's opacity to fade in and out continuously over time using time-based expressions.

Scenario

For a looping logo animation where the logo needs to slowly appear and disappear, After Effects Guide would suggest using the `Math.sin(time)` expression, which generates a smooth oscillation between 1 and -1 over time. By using the formula `opacity = (Math.sin(time * 2) * 50) + 50`, the logo's opacity could fluctuate seamlessly between 0% and 100% without keyframes, making it easy to tweak the timing by adjusting the time multiplier.

Example

Using expressions to automatically align layers or animate multiple elements in sync.

Scenario

A motion designer working on a title sequence might need to animate several text layers with the same movement but at staggered intervals. Instead of manually setting keyframes for each layer, After Effects Guide would demonstrate how to use the index expression (e.g., `thisComp.layer(index-1).position`) to cascade animations across multiple layers, reducing setup time and ensuring perfect synchronization.

Example

Animating a bar chart where values change dynamically based on external data.

Scenario

In a data-driven project, such as animating a bar chart based on financial data, After Effects Guide would show how to link the height of the bars to data from a JSON file or spreadsheet, using expressions like `thisComp.layer('Data Layer').text.sourceText`. This would allow the animation to automatically update whenever the data changes, removing the need for manual adjustments whenever new data is provided.