(Part 2) Top products from r/AfterEffects

dual monitors are a real big one.

just as important as a good mouse (i have two of these, sadly they are discontinued now but they're the best mice i've ever owned: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYQDLU%3Fie%3D ) is a good mousepad. accurate tracking, comfort, makes a big difference. obviously if you go the tablet route (which is also great) this gets less critical, but personally i do about 90% of my work with a mouse, the tablet only gets broken out for specialty work like roto or painting.

maybe a good keyboard? i mean with a keyboard once you're at the minimum spec everything beyond that is just your own personal comfort and joy. i've got a das ultimate. love it. makes typing a joy.

also, a good, comfortable pair of headphones goes a long way just for getting through the work day, videoconferencing and doing accurate sound work. i love my current set: http://www.amazon.com/Marshall-04090225-Major-Headphones-Black/dp/B004BSFSTA

if you're primary machine is a laptop, a good cooling pad goes a long way. they are all about the same, pick one with a quiet but big fan and the right form factor. i have two, one for the desk (hard plastic, big fan) and one which is an actively cooled lap cushion (soft material).

the problem is that you need to move onto story building. the story will dictate the effect you will need. even if you just start out with some basic stories, this can really help unlock you from the mental barrier you are having; especially, if you do not use AE everyday 8 hours a day.
i recommend a copy of the screenwriter's bible

Also, check out Finalcut King's youtube channel, if you haven't already;

Patrick Boivin's youtube channel for stop motion stories/animations;

F.C.Rabbath Creations youtube channel for some of the best low budget storytelling you can find;

VinhSon Nguyen's Vimeo channel;

Nick Campbell's Vimeo channel - he has some really awesome tuts, but you need to search back a few years through his vids -really great stuff here;

Patrick Clair's Vimeo Channel - the standard for kinetic typography - amazing, amazing stuff here;

DanStevers.com Vimeo Channel - regardless of the nature of these videos (religious), this dude has mad, mad skills and does some great AE tutorials showing how he made the effects on a low budget;

That's a start. On vimeo, I recommend checking out the videos and people that these people like - it will lead you to more really cool videos. Also, keep a good library hierchy either on your desktop or in your favorites to help you quickly find the vids when you do need them.

A really good traditional photography course. Study the old masters (like Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc). Maybe look into a solid drawing class at your local community college. Make sure they have a good fine art program. I recommend working in charcoal.
You can find good tutorials on YouTube. Look for ones emphasizing shading and lighting. Also check out cinematography books on Amazon. There may even be some at your library if you've got a good one.


For CG specifically, this is a classic:


https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Lighting-Rendering-Voices-Matter/dp/0321928989


And more general:
https://www.amazon.com/Lighting-Cinematography-Practical-Moving-CineTech/dp/1628926929/


Try some of these for the basics:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ5hpcn6tIM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ5hpcn6tIM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXYfcnqorxA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-_ThOH0IOQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_zYlc5C_FQ&t=59s


​

If you want to become a good motion graphics animator the most important thing, as with learning all skills, is time. How much time you invest will determine how skilled you become.

If you really want to become good I would build a solid foundation first.

I would spend 1 month and buy a subscription to lynda.com which is like 25USD. Or another product that is not a subscription: http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-After-Effects-CS6-Learn/dp/0321840380/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427581113&sr=8-1&keywords=video2brain+after+effects which has like 10 hours of basic tutorials and is like 30USD.

It's not as fun as doing tutorials on videocopilot or somewhere else, so if you can focus and complete the whole training you can move onto more creative projects.

If you are looking fro free tutorials, Video Copilot is a good place to start. Also check out AE Tuts. If you are willing to pay for some lessons, the most comprehensive tutorials are on Lynda.com. They offer a free trial. As for books, I would recommend After Effects Apprentice.

i start small and try this for a xmas gift for myself:

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Motion-Graphics-After-Effects/dp/0240814150/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324180919&sr=1-2-spell

seems beginner friendly.

edit: oh. o_O or

this: http://www.amazon.com/After-Effects-Photoshop-Animation-Production/dp/0782144551/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324180919&sr=1-1


looks very much like one of those wow books. it says cs2 though.

arrgh. too much books.

Most artists dont actually draw directly on laptops.

they use tablets like a wacom or huion, that wirelessly connect to pcs.

They work with macs too.

I would recommend you get a desktop mac if thats the brand you want instead of windows, and then just get a drawing tablet. Desktops are more powerful than laptops of the same price and youll get a smoother and faster experience in after effects using a desktop.

32 GB of RAM for after effects would be good to shoot for. You can actually build a really good windows PC for after effects with the 1850$ you have after the below tablet recommendation.

heres a recommendation on drawing tablet

Good question. I don't quite know how to start. So this may be a bit random.


SOUND/MUSIC - Back when I used to edit a lot, if there was music, I always would edit to the beat. It just made sense to me. If there isn't music, a sound effect can bring a transition to life. Like a whoosh or something. Even a straight cut from one scene to the other, it's common practice to allow sound from the second scene to start before the cut.



RHYTHM - It needs to go along with the rhythm of the visuals and the rhythm of the audio, even if the audio is just voice over. If the transition is some kind of wipe with multiple elements, all those elements have a visual rhythm.



CONSISTENCY - A simple transition carried out consistently is better than many complex transitions that are not related. It you are going to do many complex transitions, they should have an underlying concept in common. Also, they should be consistent with the project as a whole.



MOVEMENT - If doing a cut, pay attention to the movement from the first scene as compared to the second scene. If doing a wipe transition, look how the movement of the wipe interact with the movement of the two scenes.



FRAMING - Keep in mind the focus of the scenes and how the transition moves the viewer's eye.



Well, those are some ideas I had. I hope they get your own ideas going. There is a lot of resources out there about visual theory. Like The Visual Story

Thanks for turning me on to Loomis. In return, here's an excellent and fascinating reference on real-world light: Color and Light in Nature https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521775043/

So the ways that really helped me understand perspective where from Andrew Loomis' books on Illustration, specifically his book "Creative Illustration"
https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Illustration-Andrew-Loomis/dp/1845769287

Here are the only 2 pictures I could find online of the pages I was thinking about, but he has several chapters on perspective in just about all of his books.
Perspective Page 1 | Perspective Page 2

The guy is like an old master of Illustration, and he wrote several books on the subject all of which I think are some of the best out there. Basically though, checking your perspective comes down to a few simple rules revolving around the horizon line. No matter where your objects sit in space, they will share the same relative height to the horizon line. Another thing is that the horizon line is an indicator of the height of your camera. This gets tricky to visualize if your camera is tilted up or down, but all of your objects will still share the same relative distance from the horizon line no matter how much you tilt the camera. The Page 2 link shows examples of wrong and right ways to place your objects in a scene based on the horizon line. People that draw backgrounds for cartoons blow my mind with this stuff

I haven't used them very often but haven't noticed any lag (this is on the official Apple one).

By the way, if you find a wireless keyboard with numerical keypad, with a similar design/"feel" to the Apple ones, please let me know. The official one is wired, the official wireless one has no keypad. I refuse to spend an extra £50 on a separate keypad from Belkin.

edit: As is always the way, after asking the question I then find the answer myself. This thing looks like it'll meet my needs well.

what does getting it 'flashed' mean? do I need to 'flash' it to take advantage of CUDA? it's this card -- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GTX980-Superclocked-Graphics-04G-P4-2983-KR/dp/B00NT9UT3M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1417987699&sr=1-1&keywords=nvidia+gtx+980 -- so it's already superclocked.

I'm liking The After Effects Illustionist as a general reference and source of explanations for some of the more obscure or confusing effects. This isn't going to teach you a whole lot of technique, but it makes it a lot less daunting when you glance over the available effects, and motivates you to try new things.

After Effects Expressions https://www.amazon.com/dp/024080936X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RU4kDb20D5D9N

It's older, but all the expressions still work in the new engine. Everyone who uses After Effects should have this book within arm's reach.

Beyond that, probably any book on Javascript.

I always keep this one nearby:

https://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Pocket-Reference-David-Flanagan/dp/0596004117

There's a lot that doesn't apply to AE in there, but a LOT that does.

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-Warmer-Office-MWBLK/dp/B000CO89T8

It is this camera made by Panasonic.

Get the effect in camera with nylon wire