#AFTER EFFECTS DROP SHADOW TEXT HOW TO#
#AFTER EFFECTS DROP SHADOW TEXT DOWNLOAD#

Track mattes are a fun and powerful tool in After Effects that allows you to use a clip, still image, or text to dictate the transparency of the layer beneath.

Users are encouraged to further their knowledge and skills in After Effects and Video Editing by enrolling in specific courses offered by Noble Desktop.

Adding effects such as Drop Shadow and creating a vignette to frame the animation are thoroughly explained, allowing users to enhance their projects visually.

Animating and using a Track Matte are explained in detail, introducing users to a simple technique that opens up a multitude of options for animation projects.

#AFTER EFFECTS DROP SHADOW TEXT HOW TO#

The tutorial includes a dedicated section on how to use transparency, demonstrating how to create a precomp to organize layers and make animation easier.This tutorial focuses on importing and layering footage in After Effects, walking you through navigating the After Effects Track Matte Files and adding effects to your project.

#AFTER EFFECTS DROP SHADOW TEXT DOWNLOAD#

The tutorial provides detailed steps on how to download and use the project files in After Effects, specifically using a simple shape to track matte some text and insert a video clip into some text through the transparency technique.

This step-by-step tutorial will equip you with the essential skills to insert visuals into other objects and hide objects during animations, increasing the range of effects you can create. If it looks good, you’re all done! Below are the settings I used for my Shatter effect.Discover how to effectively use 'Track Mattes' and the 'Preserve Transparency' tool in After Effects. You also need to key your Radius from 0 to 4 so that your layer actually shatters. Open up the Shatter controls in your timeline under the “G” layer and key both of your Forces’ positions to follow the path of the train. Change your Forces (1 and 2) to have 0.00 set for both their Depth and Radius. My personal preference is to change your View to Rendered, so that you can see the finished product. Also change the Origin under Shape to mark where you would like the shatter to occur. After Effects’ Shatter is a very versatile tool - we’ll only be scraping the surface here, so you should definitely play around with it further later on.Ĭhange your Shape Pattern to Glass and your Extrusion Depth to 0.00. The settings used here are below.Īdd a mask to your text layers and animate them rising out of the ground plane.Ĭhange the position of your “G” layer so that it hops all the way to the edge. Then go into each text layer’s Material Options and turn on Cast Shadows.Īdjust your lighting to make your shadows and text appear the way you want them to. Make sure you Alt-Click this selection so that it says Accept Shadows: Only. You’ll see a selector that says Accept Shadows. Go to your Solid and open Material Options, which is located under the layer options. Don’t be alarmed the next step reveals all. Go to Layer > New > Light and make sure that the Cast Shadows check box is selected. Now we’ll add a light, so that we can begin creating our shadows. Align the bottoms of your text layers to your new Solid plane so that they’re on the “ground.” The next - very important - step, is to change your camera view from Active Camera to Right. This will be your plane for the shadows, sometimes called a “shadow catcher”. Make your new Solid a 3D layer and rotate and place it within the composition so it fits the perspective of the clip. Go to Layer > New > Solid and create a new white (#ffffff) Solid. Since the footage file will not be a 3D layer, we need a plane for the shadows to project onto. I also parented the “AP” to the “G” with the “Parenting” Piq Whip, so that I can animate the whole word consistently. Rotate your layers so that they fit with the perspective of the scene.įor this scene, we know that the letter “G” gets shattered in the end, so we’ll want to keep that as a separate layer. Start adding your text, making it into 3D layers by checking the “3D” box on each text layer. To create the final clip in this tutorial, I used New York City Subway Train Arriving by Shutterstock contributor Duncan Frazier: Go to File > Import > File and input your footage of choice.

As with our previous video tutorials, all of the tools and effects used here come standard with After Effects. We’ll also touch on another powerful effect called Shatter. Have you ever wanted to put text into your video and make it look like it really lives in the scene? No, this isn’t another 3D Camera Tracking Tutorial - this time, you’ll learn how to add shadows to your text, making it appear as if it’s really in the shot.

After effects drop shadow text