How To Animate A Still Image In Adobe Effects

In this tutorial, learn how to animate static photos with Cartoon Animator, Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. We'll utilise the strengths of each program to make editing and animating photographs much easier.

What You Will Learn in This Blitheness Tutorial

In this lesson we build on the skills you learned in our last tutorials: Nosotros'll have the techniques from our lessons on how to rig and animate a graphic symbol, how to make a talking avatar, and how to create smooth head turns, and employ the same skills to animate a photograph.

Here'due south what you'll learn in this tutorial:

• How to create a PSD template using your photograph in Adobe Photoshop
• How to create layers out of your photograph
• How to import your PSD template into Cartoon Animator
• How to rig a grapheme in your photo in with basic in Drawing Animator
• How to bring your rigged animation into Later Effects for refinement

What You lot'll Demand

To follow forth with this tutorial y'all volition need your own versions of Adobe Photoshop, Later Effects and Drawing Animator. Y'all can download a free trial version for Cartoon Animator on the Reallusion website.

To follow along y'all'll also need a photograph with someone in it, preferably of them doing something. Landscapes and other images without people in them volition work, but because it demonstrates things well in this case we'll use a photograph of someone playing the saxophone. You can download the photo from Envato Elements.

We picked a photo with strong implied motility. The imagination already creates a sense of action and wants to complete that activeness—nosotros'll just aid this feeling along. The performer'due south posture, the facial expression, the setting, and composition all lend to the feeling that the photo is in motion.

Here are a couple more pictures to give you an idea of the kinds of photos that might piece of work well.

The photo in a higher place uses like implied activity and content. The photo beneath too has a sweet implied motion:

1. Detect the Action

Cartoon Animator has a 2nd grapheme cosmos pipeline with a helpful script to bring your animation between Photoshop and Later Effects.That's what nosotros'll do in this tutorial. First, though, you'll need to collect your materials and make a plan.

Take a look at your photograph. Where is the action? Before you think too much about it, quickly jot down some words to describe that action.

In our example, the performer is property the sax as if in mid-note, with a feature puffing of the cheeks and placement of fingers on the valves of the instrument. We can imagine the spine rounding and arching slightly equally they play, or the chest full and and then relaxed: nosotros could pick words like concentrating, relaxed, expressive, funky, smooth, mellow. Go on these impressions in your listen as y'all go.

2. Set up the Photograph in Photoshop

Begin by opening upwards the photograph that you desire to animate in Adobe Photoshop. Let's take a closer await at the photograph and brand a more than substantial program for how we desire to use it.

This includes thinking about what elements of the photo we desire to move, so in this case we want to motility the saxophone role player. This means we'll need to separate the figure from the rest of the photograph; we will movement the effigy independently from the background.

Now that nosotros have planned out what elements of the photograph we would similar to separate (and therefore animate), let's go ahead and use a combination of the following tools to outline our saxophone player.

1. Lasso Tool
2. Polygonal Lasso Tool
3. Magnetic Lasso Tool

Once you lot are happy with the outline of your subject, copy the selection past pressingControl + Con the keyboard and so open up a new certificate in Adobe Photoshop.

Paste the saxophone histrion into this new document and remove the background layer. Save both Photoshop documents and then that they are ready to be used in Cartoon Animator. Yous can name the documents the following:

• Saxophone_Player.psd
• Groundwork.psd

iii. Fix the Background

Open the Background Photoshop file, which should contain the original photograph. Now that nosotros have isolated our saxophone role player we want to blur out or remove the edges as much equally possible. This is considering nosotros don't desire a indistinguishable image of our character to announced behind him when he starts to move and animate.

Blur the Edges

Utilize a combination of theClone Postage stamp Tooland theSmudge Tool to try and movement the outer edges of the saxophone histrion towards the centre. This should allow enough move without whatsoever duplicate imagery appearing behind.

One time you lot have successfully pushed the edges of the saxophone player towards the middle, your background should be ready. If we determine it needs further editing we can revisit the photo once more at a later on phase.

Now yous are ready to move on to Cartoon Animator!

4. Prepare the PSD Editor for Drawing Animator

When first launching Cartoon Animator you'll discover that there is a paintbrush icon on the height right hand corner of the toolbar. Clicking on this button will let y'all to import your PSD files into the program.

Click on theOpen Editorpush button as shown in the image below.

At present scan your computer to notice the location of Adobe Photoshop and then click on theOpen upbutton.

This volition change the paintbrush icon, into the Adobe Photoshop icon to bespeak that the editor works with Adobe Photoshop.

v. Import your PSD Graphic symbol into Cartoon Animator

Now that the PSD editor is set up, go ahead and click on the push again. This volition start the editor and synchronize the object in Adobe Photoshop and Drawing Animator.

Clicking onNew Objectwill open a new file in Photoshop, just clicking on Open Filewill allow us to open an existing PSD file. CullOpen Fileto open up up theSaxophone_Player.psdin Adobe Photoshop.

Add a Bone Actor

Check that you are happy with the Photoshop file thenSave the file. This volition immediately sync the two programs together and Cartoon Animator volition prompt you to select one of the iii options below. CullGratuitous Os Actorso that nosotros tin animate our saxophone player.

The saxophone role player should now appear inside Drawing Animator. Here you can use the mouse to motion the paradigm or hover over the edges/corners to resize.

vi. Synchronize With Photoshop

Go toWindows > Scene Directoror pressF5on your keyboard to view what is in your scene.

Adjacent to the object you should meet theSynched Iconunderneath the PSD Sync column. This indicates that the project is withal synced to your open file in Adobe Photoshop.

This means that you tin can update the image in Adobe Photoshop at any time. Once you save any changes, they will be reflected when yous return to Cartoon Animator. Any changes y'all make in Photoshop must be merged into a single layer for this to piece of work properly.

7. Rig and Breathing Character Using Bones

To breathing the saxophone thespian, first click on the Composer Push buttonto go intoComposer Mode.This will break the link between Cartoon Animator and Adobe Photoshop then make sure that you are happy with the way your character looks earlier you decide to motility on.

Add Bones

Once withinComposer Manner,click on theBone Editorpush button to start calculation bones to the character.

This will open theBone Editor Panel.Click on theAdd together Bonebutton then but click on the figure to create bones.

Bones will be created between mouse clicks and each bone will help create motility for our grapheme blitheness. When creating the basic, try and think most where to identify the pin points for your graphic symbol such every bit the neck, shoulder, hips and elbow.

Preview

In one case yous take placed all your bones on the saxophone thespian, you tin can click on thePreviewbutton. This will then permit yous to movement the bones and come across how it effects your character'south movement.

Go Back Stage

Once you are happy with the placement of your bones and the movement of the saxophone player, click on theDorsum Stagebutton to render to the original screen.

8. Import the Background

Now that our character has been animated and set up successfully, permit's go alee and click on the PSD Editor button again.

ChooseOpen Fileto open up up theBackground.psd in Adobe Photoshop.

Check that you are happy with the background Photoshop file and brand any adjustments that you desire to make before yous Salvage the file. This will immediately sync the ii programs together and Drawing Animator volition prompt you to select one of the iii options below.

ChooseScene so that we can add the background to our scene with the saxophone role player.

The background image should at present announced inside Drawing Animator. Here you can use the mouse to movement the image or hover over the edges/corners to resize.

Zoom

Y'all may find that the background image is covering the saxophone thespian. Yous tin can conform this by clicking and dragging theZoombutton at the bottom of the groundwork object to move the object backwards and forwards along the z axis.

9. Breathing your Photo With Keyframes

To reveal theTimelinefor the project past going to Window > Timeline, or press theF3 button on your keyboard.

Selecting the objects in theScene Managing directorwill reveal the corresponding objects in the Timeline.

Permit's open up the different categories that we can animate for our subject. Select the following:

• Transform
• Flip
• Visible
• Opacity
• Movement

With these open up you lot'll be able to see the keyframes that y'all create for your blitheness.

2nd Movement Key Editor

Now to start animating yous need to select the2nd Motility Key Editor (K) which can exist found on the taskbar near the bottom left side of the screen.

With the2D Motion Key Editoropen, simply move to effectually 20 frames forward in the timeline and make some unproblematic changes to the saxophone player past moving the bones.

Keep the movements subtle to give information technology a more than realistic experience. Once you've finished moving the graphic symbol, you'll see the keyframes announced in the timeline corresponding to the type of movement y'all created.

Repeat

Move forward another twenty frames and then proceed to echo the steps every 20 frames for animative the saxophone actor. Y'all tin can do this as many times as you desire for every bit long as you lot want the animation to last for.

In this case we'll repeat the steps every 20 frames until we reach the 80th frame. Once you've decided to terminate your animation click on theResetpush in the2D Movement Key Editor to return the saxophone player to his original position. This will enable you to loop the animation.

Loop the Animatin

To activate loop mode, click on theLoop Buttonon the play bar menu.

Play

And then finally click on thePlaybutton to view you blitheness.

10. Bring the Animation Into Afterward Effects

Now you're ready to bring your character into After Effects for more postal service-product, with the Drawing Animator script for Afterwards Effects to bring your work over. This script keeps the layer relationships and blitheness keys of the objects organized for seamless postal service-production.

Install Script

Only click on the After Effects button located on the tiptop toolbar or go toReturn > Export to After Effects.

From here you will demand to click on theDownload Scriptbutton to download the script which you will then install in Adobe Subsequently Effects.

To install the file into Adobe Afterwards Furnishings, unzip the Nix file and so paste the fileDrawing Animator - AE Script (Beta).jsxto theScriptUI Panelsfolder. By default, information technology is located in the following path:

• Windows: C:\Programme Files\Adobe\Adobe Afterward Effects <version>\Support Files\Scripts\ScriptUI Panels

• Mac: Applications/Adobe After Furnishings CC <version>/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels

If this folder does not exist, so create a binder with the nameScriptUI Panels.

Export From Drawing Animator

Dorsum in Drawing Animator make sure that you wait at the following:

1. Your character is selected underSelect Object(southward).This is the character that yous accept created and animated in Drawing Animator.
2. Below that you lot can become through theExport Settingswhere you lot can choose the resolution and frame size.
3. And finally yous can choose the export range to decide how much of your timeline you want to consign into Adobe After Effects.

Once yous've checked through all the options click on theExportbutton and choose a desired destination for your new Adobe Afterward Effects file.

Import to Later Effects

To import your animation into Adobe After Effects you lot need to go toWindows > Drawing Animator - AE Script (Beta).jsxwhich will open a new panel.

Click on theImport Project (JSON)button and locate the project location. Select the JSON file which you exported from Cartoon Animator.

This volition open up the animation in Adobe After Effects! At present we can care for this animation as if it were any other After Furnishings project.

Awesome! You're Finished!

Congratulations! And that's how to animate a photo with Drawing Animator and Adobe Photoshop.

Now that you are familiar with the techniques, why not utilise your own photos or images? Yous tin can animate multiple characters and add more keyframes to create a longer animation.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful and that yous've learned some new tips and tricks that you can use for your own projects. See y'all adjacent time!

Looking to Learn More? Bank check out even more Animation Tutorials Below!

Source: https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-animate-any-photo-with-after-effects-and-cartoon-animator--cms-36526

Posted by: romannottly.blogspot.com

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