Today we are going to look at 10 of the best After Effects features that will make you work so much better! 2020 has been a year of discovery in the effects world so here is the list of the 10 best features we have found in After Effects.
CC Lens
Found under the Distort menu tab, this effect gives you a round blowout distortion of your image, and it’s great to use this to start your videos. So enjoy using this feature.
Glow Effect
Not just any old glow effect, follow the video to see how to set up a fantastic glow effect for your projects. With the simple setting you can set up awesome glow effects (found under Stylize in the menu), and you can duplicate this glow for a wide range of effects and really make your projects burst to life with color glows. You can use this effect to create the popular glowing lines effect and add some extra juice to your next dynamic shot video.
Shift Channels
This effect you can use to get subtle RGB effects on your work. Just select shift channels from the menu and then duplicate the layers so that you have multiple layers. Then you shift the layers to offset the layer ever so slightly which will make your work look fantastic. Just look at the great effect you can create with just a few simple steps.
Optics Compensation
Similar to CC Lens but it gives you the ability to pull the screen a lot closer to you as the motion unfurls. Set up the effect in an adjustment layer and create an amazing look for your projects. You can also use the reverse lens distortion to give it that extra cool look.
You might also like: After Effects Lightning Effect
Camera Lens Blur
By creating an adjustment layer and selecting camera lens blur from the menu, you can make a short composition look like it has been shot with an actual camera. By using a low radius you will get a great blur effect on backgrounds that will give a more authentic camera filmed look.
Noise
When you working with motion graphics you don’t have the noise factor that cinematic camera work does. So using this feature lets you add some noise to your motion graphics that give it a natural cinema graphic look that makes even the simplest composition look fantastic.
Echo
A great feature to use on basic animation and titles. This feature lets you echo your title or animation to give it more depth. The multilayered effect makes even boring titles look great! This is a popular effect for basic title animations and intros as well.
Motion Tile
The simple feature lets you create seamless backgrounds and transitions for great title sequences. By setting your frame key to creating different motions you can have a great motion for your titles that flows wonderfully.
Wave Warp
Wave warp is a glitch feature that gives you the ability to insert some “noise” into your titles or motion compositions. The noise is in the form of waves flowing through your composition and these waves can be set with the settings bar on the left of your screen.
Gradient Ramp
Using this feature on your titles is more of an art form than just a simple feature. For your composition, you must choose a lighter color for the top and a darker color for the bottom. And by setting the Y Value and X value in your starter ramp you will create an awesome gradient rap for your title.
These are the top 10 best effects 2020 in After Effects to make your animations pop and create better motion graphics. With 2021 around the corner and the list of popular effects constantly changing, it will be interesting to see what the next year is going to bring for motion designers working with After Effects.
