In this class, you will learn how to animate your illustration with a simple Parallax Animation using Photoshop and After Effects!

This is a technique where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene and adding to the sense of immersion in the virtual experience.
Also you can add a few more advanced magic tricks.

Grab your stylus (or your mouse, if you are a madman) and let’s jump in.

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Choose an artwork

First of all, you have to decide which artwork you would like to animate. I have attached a few for you to choose from, but you are more than welcome to use your own illustration.
It should have different layers in space, optimally fore- middle- and background. What also works well is multiple characters, an object directed towards the camera (foreshortening) or something like rain, snow, leaves blowing around a single character.

Separate elements using Photoshop

Import the illustration in Photoshop and start separating the different objects by using the selection tool and copying them to a new layer. The more precise you work, the better it will look later.

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Filling in the blanks

You now need to clean up the layers. Some will need some added “flesh” around the edges, others will have to be painted in the places, where an overlaying object used to be.

Export

In order to use the finished elements of the illustration, you need to export them with a transparent background as a PNG.

Setting up After Effects for a Parallax animation

Import your Illustration as PNG layers to AE. You can create a composition directly from it, our you choose one of the composition presets and drag the PNGs into it.
Before you add a camera, turn all layers into 3D-layers and set up you workspace to display "Active Camera" and the Custom view for a birds eye view of your Camera setup.
Make use of the Camera settings in a way that suits your artwork best!
Arrange your layers in space according to their visual position.
You can animate a Camera movement by setting keyframes, and if you place your layers in space - BOOM you have a Parallax Effect.

After Effects Magic

For extra magic, add a light layer, or customize a shape layer, to make the lighting pop.
With the Preset Particle World, you can add dust particles (or fire sparks) floating in the light!
The Puppet Tool will give you extra control over your illustration - but use it with care. It is best applied for slow and small movements such as hair blowing in the wind.
If you want to create an illustration specifically for this type of animation, it gives you a lot of control over the final outcome, and you can create elements tailored to the animation techniques you would like to use.

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Export
Once you are done, I recommend using the Adobe Media Encoder for the export. Select your After Effects file and choose the composition, you want to render. You can add it to the render queue on the right, and define presets and file location. I recommend to output the video as a H.264, that gives you good quality with comparibly small file size.

Have a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to see your results in the Class Project!

Cyril DUBOIS

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