How to format a slider control value as money in After Effects

Displaying a dynamic amount of money in After Effect can quickly become a bit of a headache. Handling the various mathematic and typographic technicalities of currencies in one bulletproof expression is tricky, but not…

A File Naming Convention

A well-structured naming convention is part of a good work hygiene. It simplifies your thought process on many small operations (saving, searching, sending, etc.) and removes risks of accidentally deleting or overwriting files. I won’t have the pretension to call this the file naming…

How to use checkbox expressions in After Effects

How to make a more flexible wiggle in After Effects

The typical wiggle expression in After Effects is this:

wiggle(frequency, amplitude)

So if you would like your position to move on a scale of 20 pixels every half second you would use this…

A composition naming system for After Effects

First, I want to stress that I think that, to many After Effects users, organization and methodology is the most underestimated pain point and undervalued aptitude. These do not make the coolest tutorials, but developing a structure is what makes…

Using the After Effects command line render

Adobe provides us some command line interface to start renders without having to…

How to create global variables in After Effects using a controller layer

Expressions are a really powerful feature in After Effects. It can help you improve the quality and fluidity of your animation but it can also help you organize your project. Expressions if used well…

How to lower After Effects Fill effect’s opacity without affecting the layer’s opacity

After Effect’s Fill effect is a very useful effect. If you have never used you probably should look into it. It’s the simplest effect. It just applies a color onto a layer. Basic…

Resources to help you start practicing your skills

Sometimes, all you need is a constraint. The fear of the blank page can stop you really fast from starting something. Here are some challenges and contests you can do now to help you get creative without the hassle of thinking what to be…