Creative After Effects 7: Workflow Techniques for Animation, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics [Paperback]

Angie Taylor (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240519922 | ISBN-13: 978-0240519920 | Publication Date: July 24, 2006

Realize your creative potential with a working knowledge of After Effects 7. Renowned artist and designer Angie Taylor demonstrates professional workflows and inspires with practical tutorial lessons that help put the theory (and you!) to work.

You'll learn from a comprehensive survey of the new interface and features, with illustrated techniques for animation, visual effects and motion graphics. Practice exercises to reinforce essential techniques, and continuous projects challenge you with fantastically creative uses of the application. The companion DVD includes everything you'll need to complete the tutorials as well as an array of bonus plug-ins and demo software.

·A comprehensive survey of the new After Effects 7 interface and toolset
·Illustrated techniques for animation, visual effects and motion graphics
·Practical tutorial lessons that demonstrate professional workflows
·A companion DVD with tutorial media and valuable plug-ins.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Of all the After Effects books I looked at whilst trying to learn it, I found Angie's was the most user-friendly and creative.
Chris Cunningham, director of music videos, commercials and video art

.a worthwhile investment for animators and artists who want to focus on creating their designs and not get bogged down in technical jargon.
Steve Kilisky, Senior Product Manager, After Effects, Adobe Systems Inc.

...one of my favorite demo artists in the industry. Her tutorials are always compelling, well-designed, and worthwhile.
Brian Maffit, Total Training

Angie is an outstanding guru of After Effects...sitting at one of Angie's seminars brings gasps of awe from seasoned and beginner audiences alike.... you will enjoy this book immensely.
John Keedwell, GBCT, GTC. British Cinematographer

Book Description

Tools, techniques, workflow and creative inspiration—all in one volume!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 584 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press (July 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240519922
• ISBN-13: 978-0240519920
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,264,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Angie Taylor is an art director, animator, illustrator and motion graphic designer. The author of three books; two "Creative After Effects" books (versions 5 and 7) , and "Design Essentials for the motion media artist" published by Focal Press. She is the author of "After Effects CS5 Learn by Video" DVD training title published by video2brain.

Angie studied Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art (Heriot-Watt University) and has enjoyed a successful, fourteen year career as a Motion Graphic artist producing animation, visual effects and motion graphics for companies such as the BBC and Channel 4 television. She has worked on music videos and films with several renowned directors such as Chris Cunningham and John Williams.

She now runs her own business in the UK helping other creative professionals realize their goals. Angie has provided bespoke training and consultancy to companies including; BBC; Channel 4; Channel 5; Carlton; HTV; B Sky B; MTV.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great material with typos, July 12, 2007

By 

C. Braman (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creative After Effects 7: Workflow Techniques for Animation, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics (Paperback)

It's true as other (unnecessarily nasty) reviewers have pointed out that this book is loaded with typos, and the grammar could use some improvement as well. However, these reviewers neglect to mention two things: that the tutorials in the book are absolutely clear and well thought-out; and that the typos are (or at least were for me) very easy to spot without slowing down your study too much. I've also been through Steve Holmes excellent Total Training course on After Effects, as well as the Adobe Classroom In A Book, and I found Creative After Effects to be the best of the three, typos and grammar notwithstanding, so I've rated it five stars because in my opinion it's star rating really deserves to be averaged upwards. Thank you very much to the author using my time well, and please don't be discouraged from updating this excellent material for After Effects CS3.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information, poor presentation, April 5, 2007

By 

Richard Eltzroth (Cotopaxi, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creative After Effects 7: Workflow Techniques for Animation, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics (Paperback)

As another reviewer noted, this book is filled with typographical errors as well as mistakes that make for a frustrating learning experience. Figure and file references are often wrong, causing considerable confusion. It's too bad because apparently there is a some of good information and instruction in the book.

The book is written from a Mac and British perspective and has modernist type examples that might not appeal to everyone. This however doesn't explain why a proofreader wasn't used before this book was published.

I haven't finished it yet and I don't know if I will. Being led down several dead ends already due to the typos, I'm getting discouraged.

Update: I'm still slogging through this book (I've already highlighted places in it, so I'm pretty much stuck with keeping it) and I'm becoming more sympathetic with the reviewer who said to avoid this thing. Mistakes are rife and the grotesque images used in some of the examples (Fig. 3.21 and 7.1 especially) are real turn-offs. Everyone buying After Effects wants to use the special effects actually in the program. This book devotes a whole 34 pages out of 566 specifically to Effects. Quite a let down.

Update: Finally completed this mess! Don't waste your money on this thing unless you want to see one of the most error filled books you've ever encountered. This is something a junior high student would be ashamed to submit. In addition, the freelance writer of this book apparently doesn't want anyone to really learn her "secrets" about animations, such as "talking" animals. So only just enough information is given to fill the book but not enough to really teach anyone how to accomplish the given tasks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant creative thinking, November 13, 2008

By 

Roger Eugster (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creative After Effects 7: Workflow Techniques for Animation, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics (Paperback)

For two years I use this book as a source of creative thinking. Cross-border thinking, intelligent workflow techniques, unusual modi operandi, visualisation of technique... At the beginning there was a problem with lacking structure. But that's the small price for the mentioned advantages I find rarely in other teaching books. The also great Meyer-AE-books give you the desire of structured lessons.

If you combine Taylor and Meyer then you will have an unbeatable combination.

Thank you Mrs. Taylor for writing this book.