After Effects Apprentice

2nd Edition for AE CS4

After Effects Apprentice 3rd Edition for CS6/CS5.5/CS5 shipped in September 2012. This is an archive if you are interested in the 2nd edition for CS4.

We have also created a comprehensive video training series covering each of the 12 lessons in the 2nd Edition. This online video training, for CS4/CS5/CS5.5, is now available on lynda.com and Class on Demand. See our Online Training page for details.

If you are reading the Apprentice 2nd Edition but have updated to CS5 or later, you should find the differences extremely minor. To help avoid any confusion, we have prepared a PDF of changes that apply for CS5 users. For coverage of the new features offered in CS5.5 and CS6, we recommend you upgrade to the 3rd edition.

After Effects Apprentice is aimed at those who want to get up to speed quickly. This 336-page full-color book contains a series of 12 lessons with numerous step-by-step exercises that will introduce you to the core features in After Effects, including how to use them in the real world. You’ll learn how to tap this program’s vast potential – whether you want to create motion graphics for network television, corporate communications, or your own work.

The 2nd edition cover After Effects CS4, presenting a professional perspective on the most important features a motion graphics artist needs to learn in order to use this program effectively. You’ll learn to creatively combine layers, animate eye-catching titles, manipulate 3D space, key and stabilize a shot to place it in a new environment, and use effects to generate excitement or enhance the realism of a scene. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions take you through each technique, including projects that encourage you to express your own creativity. You’ll learn more than just the tools; you’ll learn skills that you can immediately put to work in your own productions.

Topics include how to:

Animate, edit, layer, and composite video and still images.
Manipulate keyframes and the way they interpolate to create more refined animations.
Use masks, mattes, stencils and blending modes to add sophistication to your imagery.
Create and animate shape layers and text.
Place your layers in 3D space.
Use tracking and keying to create special effects, such as replacing screen displays.

The print version includes a DVD containing all exercise source material and projects, an hour and a half of video guided tours, plus bonus chapters from other books. (Important: The Amazon Kindle version does not include the DVD. Also, CS4 project files may be opened in later versions of After Effects, but not CS3 or earlier.)

USER LEVEL: Novice–Intermediate

Errata

If you own After Effects Apprentice, we have an errata page that you might want to check out.

Book DVD

If a DVD that came with one of our books is damaged, please contact Dennis McGonagle at Focal Press for a replacement:

FROM THE ARCHIVES

AE Apprentice 1 Cover After Effects Apprentice

1st Edition for After Effects 7 + CS3
ISBN: 978-024 080 9380

Published by Focal Press, 2007

Download Table of Contents (1.3MB PDF)

Key to Translations

Please note that overseas publishers change the covers and titles of our books when they translate them. The list below is a key to the various translations of After Effects Apprentice:

FRENCH TRANSLATION:
After Effects Apprentice
2nd Edition for After Effects CS4

= “After Effects – Nouvelles Master Class”

Published by Eyrolles, November 2009

[Note: This is a translation of After Effects Apprentice 2. The Eyrolles earlier "After Effects Master Class" books were translated from CMG. See CMG Key.]

CZECH TRANSLATION:
After Effects Apprentice
2nd Edition for After Effects CS4