Racing Ball - demo #

Tutorial: Creating a New Composition and Basic Animation in Adobe After Effects

1. Create a New Composition:
   • Open Adobe After Effects and go to the top menu bar.
   • Select "Composition" > "New Composition."
   • Set the following parameters:
     • Composition Name: Give your composition a descriptive name.
     • Width and Height: Define the dimensions of your canvas in pixels.
     • Pixel Aspect Ratio: Typically set to "Square Pixels (1.0)."
     • Frame Rate: Choose a frame rate (e.g., 24fps, 30fps, 60fps).
     • Duration: Set the duration of your composition in seconds.
     • Background Color: Choose the background color or make it transparent.
     • Resolution: Choose "Full" or "Half" resolution.
     • Start Timecode: Define the starting timecode for your composition.
     • Duration: Specify the length of your composition.
     • Preview Panel: Configure advanced settings for playback performance.
2. Create an Ellipse Shape:
   • Select the Ellipse Tool from the top toolbar.
   • Click and drag on the composition window to create an ellipse shape. Hold down the Shift key to maintain a 1:1 aspect ratio.
3. Adjust Rotation Center:
   • Select the ellipse layer.
   • Press 'R' to reveal the Rotation property.
   • Notice how it rotates around a center point.
   • To fix this, select the Anchor Point Tool from the toolbar.
   • Click and drag the anchor point while holding Ctrl or Cmd to snap it to a desired location.
4. Basic Animation:
   • Rotate the ellipse layer again to see the difference.
   • Rename the layer to "linear speed."
   • Open the Position property by pressing 'P'.
   • Show all possible properties by clicking the arrow next to the property name and pressing 'U'.
   • Add a keyframe at the start, move to 1 second, then add another keyframe.
   • Move the layer horizontally while holding Shift.
   • Adjust playback by dragging the blue indicator or pressing 'N' for end and 'I' for start.
5. Creating a Second Ellipse:
   • Create another ellipse without selecting any layer.
   • Try to repeat the same steps for rotation and animation.
   • Alternatively, duplicate the existing ellipse layer for an easier approach.
   • Change the color and name of the new ellipse layer.
6. Animating with Ease:
   • Select both keyframes and move them to adjust timing.
   • Explain easing options, such as linear and easy ease.
   • Show the difference between ease in and ease out.
   • View animation curves by selecting the graph editor with 'Alt' key.