Simple Two-Character Animation for Beginners (After Effect Tutorial)
In this tutorial, we learn how to create a simple animation for beginners with two characters. The illustration that Ina animates was downloaded from DrawKit – a website, where you can download a wide variety of beautiful vector illustrations by various artists to use in your projects. You can use DrawKit’s for free or sign up for one of their paid plans with a custom discount code Ina20 at checkout.
The video tutorial is in two parts, you can see the second part here.
Organize Your Layers in Illustrator
Once you open the drawing in Illustrator, you’ll have to organize your layers. Separate each moving shape or group into a separate layer and name it so you know which one is which.
Uploading the Illustration in After Effects
When you’re uploading your Illustrator file into After Effects, make sure you select the import option “Composition – Retain Layer Sizes”. Then, precompose the two characters in two separate compositions.
Animation – Part 1
- Rig the arm of the first character and add anticipation to make it more realistic.
- Add the Bulge effect to the magnifying glass to make it look like a lens.
- Timing and Trigger
Check the timing and pick an event trigger. To make the animation look professional and more engaging, there needs to be something that triggers the action. This directs the viewer’s attention to one thing.
Another important point is that the actions in the animation have to have a chronology. Don’t make everything happen all at once or your viewer will be overwhelmed and miss important actions. This is why the animation of the second character begins when the action of the first one ends.
In part 2, Ina animates the second character in the illustration. To see the video for this part, click here.
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