François Lefebvre @lachamade Twitter profile

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François Lefebvre

10 months

By constraining a path between two other animated paths, you can easily achieve intricate animations in #AfterEffects . Take a look at how I implemented this in my latest rig. #MotionGraphics

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

19 days

Manipulating a simple waveform with a mask in After Effects can be 🤩.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Anyone interested in testing out the updated mask effector expression in After Effects before I release the new version? Let me know! 🤓 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Someone created an excellent tutorial on using the mask expression in #AfterEffects . A huge shout-out to the creator for such a detailed and insightful walkthrough! 🚀 Give it a watch:

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

7 months

Controlling the Text Range Selector with a Mask in After Effects is pretty fun to play with. 👀 Opens up some cool creative options! #AfterEffects #MotionDesign #CreativeExperiment

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Realized something cool! Using points on a path is an incredibly easy way to preserve volume in After Effects - without doing ANY math. 🤯 #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

7 months

Discovering that open paths over text in After Effects are just as fun to play with too. It's all about the creative surprises! 🤩 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign #CreativeExploration

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Fun fact: This could take 1 minute to set up in the amazing Cavalry software, can take up to 1 minute to set up in #AfterEffects using the rig rope path. #MotionDesign #Animation

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

#AfterEffects excels in two areas: 1) Aligning text on paths, and 2) Tracking path points. Use the path's length to dynamically control text animation properties, adding a new dimension of control to animate your text layers. #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 months

Big thanks to all the testers who helped me refine the updated mask effector for After Effects. It was a great process and wonderful to connect with so many. Here's the updated version along with a project file for you to try out. 👇 #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Here's a fun flashback to playing with path projections in #AfterEffects . (Note: This one doesn't work with bezier curves though!) #MotionGraphics #CreativeCoding 😄🛠️

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Update(2): Found out that a derivative of the Mask expression @aescripts can seamlessly snap any layer to a path.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Love how with the mask expression in #AfterEffects , the layers stay dynamically responsive to the mask, even when parented! 🔄🔗 #MotionDesign #AEtips

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Quickly animate your artwork with the mask expression: @aetips @aescripts @AdobeAE

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

28 days

When creating a path from nulls in After Effects, by simply using two intermediate null positions in between can generate a naturally smooth Bezier path.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Animate with a path directly inside After Effects, 'dance moves' activated: #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Exploring the versatility of After Effects: Did you know that mask expressions aren't just for closed shapes? They work with open paths too! A small detail that opens up creative possibilities. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

17 days

Here's a little behind-the-scenes look at how the waveform rig works in After Effects: It simply subdivides a path, and the mask controls the amplitude of the points based on the distance.

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

19 days

Manipulating a simple waveform with a mask in After Effects can be 🤩.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

For those who have been asking, I implemented the mask expression so now it also works with the mask feather. Will drop the updated expression on @aescripts soon

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

I'm continually amazed by the intricate motion achievable through manipulating distances between points on a path. Each point's position introduces a new layer of complexity to the animation. #AfterEffects !

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 months

Inward falloff version of the mask effector in After Effects reveals interesting precision around bezier curves. 🎯 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign #CreativeExploration

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Do you have any healthy tricks to handle exponential scaling in #AfterEffects without baking keyframes with the Exponential Scale feature? Always on the lookout for a smoother workflow. Here's the technique I've been using so far 👇 #MotionDesign #CreativeSolutions

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

2 months

Here is a fun rig that spreads out points along a path in After Effects, adjusting based on the distance and position of a controller to the path.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

An easy way to manipulate a kinectic text animation is using the twised rope effect @aescripts with a single path ( ) @aetips @aetipsandtricks

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Quickly animate your artwork with the mask expression: @aetips @aescripts @AdobeAE

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

By using the intersection positions from two paths, a new way of controlling layers in After Effects opens up. Almost there! 😂 #AfterEffects #CreativeWorkflow #MotionGraphics

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

2 months

When you try something new and accidentally end up hitting the perfect dock bar behavior in After Effects 😅 #pointsOnPath

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Surprisingly simple to set up: using an aligned path to drive text animations. Wish I had discovered this sooner! #aftereffects

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

3 months

lookAt (Them) 👀👀👀 in After Effects. By simply combining a lookAt method with the length distance, a layer can orient itself towards the closest layer and automatically interpolate its rotation between positions. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

You can easily orient a layer between two points in After Effects just by using their positions. Check out the expression I used below 👇🤓 #AfterEffects #CreativeCoding #MotionGraphics

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Bezier path effector in After Effects – Shall it be? 👀🤔

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

On using points on a path in After Effects for this example. Really, that's pretty much all you need to know (No crazy rocket science!).

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Realized something cool! Using points on a path is an incredibly easy way to preserve volume in After Effects - without doing ANY math. 🤯 #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

15 days

When you don't render any pixels in the composition, the After Effects expressions engine feels like it switches to turbo mode. 😅

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Aligning multiple texts on a single path is also a simple way to preserve the whole size in After Effects without too much set up. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Just noticed that projecting a text path onto another path in After Effects requires no setup for orientation or rotation – it automatically adjusts on its own. Pretty cool new rig to play around with! #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

7 months

Projecting a point on a path (right) vs. the regular point-on-path method (left). This approach can be an easy way to smooth out jumpy tangents when moving a layer along a path in After Effects. #AfterEffects #MotionDesign #CreativeSolutions

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Updating the path rig with the twisted rope effect! It's either having a blast or struggling to break free 🤣. #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

7 months

It's interesting to see that you can orient layers towards each other by solely using their positions, with no rotation needed in After Effects. This approach is particularly useful when multiple orientation constraints are required. #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Wow, didn't expect so many responses! 😮 I'll do my best to send the new version out for testing to everyone who has replied. Stay tuned!

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Anyone interested in testing out the updated mask effector expression in After Effects before I release the new version? Let me know! 🤓 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Triggering text animation properties with bezier curves in After Effects opens up a playful way to manipulate text. In this setup, the only keyframes are for animating the path itself, while the path's length drives everything else. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

It's all about the dance of distances between points on a path, creating a dynamic that's both precise and fluid. #MotionDesign #AfterEffects

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

The range selector in index mode is so handy when it comes to playing with the source text in After Effects. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Introducing this piece of art called "I wish you were a Bezier path in After Effects" crafted with a path projected onto another path.😅 #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

Circle chain in After Effects available now: @aescripts @aetips

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Projecting a point onto a bezier path in After Effects can effortlessly unlock a new realm of creative possibilities. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

This great expression can find and store the intersections between two paths in After Effects. Find it below 👇 (only works with straight lines... for now.) #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Intersection between paths + a particle emitter, and you've secretly unlocked automatic friction between paths in After Effects. #MotionGraphics #VFX #AfterEffects

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

6 months

With two positions, you can calculate the length between points. Introduce a third position, and you unlock the ability to measure the length between a point and a line. This is the secret sauce for quick effectors in After Effects. 🌟 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

7 months

Exploring ways to animate a layer on a path in After Effects without relying on a Slider Control. Turns out, it's possible by just using the layer's position. The layer follows the path simply by adjusting its position in the comp. #AfterEffects

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

6 months

And here is to manipulating a layer with 4 anchor points in After effects 😅 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign #CreativeExploration

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Always wondering and interested in exploring alternative ways of manipulating layers in After Effects. What possibilities could we unlock? 🤔 #AfterEffects #CreativeExperiment #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Always wondering and interested in exploring alternative ways of manipulating layers in After Effects. What possibilities could we unlock? 🤔 #AfterEffects #CreativeExperiment #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

This rig ensures all layers fit smoothly along the given path in After Effects, using points along the path. All for one and one for all! #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Update(2): Found out that a derivative of the Mask expression @aescripts can seamlessly snap any layer to a path.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

The expressions rope in After Effects is my new favorite preset. It's so robust by its simplicity, I have been using it more and more on projects lately, so I don't have to open C4D. It can be useful for so many tasks.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Just wanted to highlight this again with a closer look. Here's a close-up of the rig from yesterday's post. Simple setup, yet it's incredibly versatile and fun to play with. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Projecting a point onto a bezier path in After Effects can effortlessly unlock a new realm of creative possibilities. #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

1 month

Seems like it's also possible to attract points to a specific area of a path in After Effects based on the distance and position of a controller.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 months

Always amazed by how simply using the Distance to Line can create fast falloff effects in After Effects. 🚀 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Exploring how to find the intersection position between two paths (including Bezier) in After Effects, and it's showing promising results. 🤯 #MotionDesign #CreativeSolutions

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Conducting a stress test lol 😅 for finding intersection positions from paths in After Effects. In this setup, only the paths are animated, while the layers are positioned on the intersections. It's working seamlessly and can accurately find the intersections! ✅ #aftereffects

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

By using the intersection positions from two paths, a new way of controlling layers in After Effects opens up. Almost there! 😂 #AfterEffects #CreativeWorkflow #MotionGraphics

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Working on updating the mask expression in After Effects so it can also use masks from other layers and directly inherit their transformation properties. #AfterEffects #MotionGraphics #CreativeCoding

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

1 month

In order to achieve this effect, I use one of my favorite techniques: projecting a point onto a path (represented with the blue line here) to locate where to start the effect on the path. This was a fun rig to explore in After Effects.

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

2 months

Here is a fun rig that spreads out points along a path in After Effects, adjusting based on the distance and position of a controller to the path.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

What took me a while to grasp is the concept of composition space in After Effects! This mask expression uses composition space to accurately track layers. It's immune to scale transformations, ensuring it always returns the correct position. #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

If you add a single repeater to the twisted rope effect @aescripts , it turns out to be a very easy and fun way to control clones in After effects with a single path. @aetips

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

10 months

Crafting a mini Empire State Building in #lottie animation is never without its challenges, but always rewarding!

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

6 months

Just realized: by simply knowing the position points that make up a path in After Effects (only 4 points in this example), you can figure out how close a layer is to any part of that path/mask. It's surprisingly simple and opens up creative possibilities! 🤯 #AfterEffects

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 months

Just noticed that trimming the mask path and its vertex points in After Effects is actually doable. 🤯 It's not about trimming the stroke or point-on-path techniques. This can open up some interesting possibilities. #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Turns out, not closing every path in #AfterEffects can lead to some pretty effortless animations. Sometimes, a little creative detour makes all the difference! 😎

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Using the points on a path in After Effects to distribute layers offers a creative method for intricate effects, similar to the magical magnifying effect. Notice how it seamlessly preserves the length of the path even through transformations. #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Easy rope system for @AdobeAE available on this link: @aetips @aescripts

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Looking for some physics collisions in After Effects? Just project a point onto a path, and voilà! 😂👏 #AfterEffectsTips #MotionDesign #CreativeSolutions

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

2 months

Was trying to find the positions of self-intersections within a path today, and turns out it's possible in After Effects.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

10 months

@zerimkli This technique is based from a previous tutorial I made @aescripts . You can grab the project file from the description. Play around with the mask paths to see how it works. Enjoy experimenting!

Create a Waveform Between Two Paths using an Expression in After...

Ever struggle to manipulate a simple waveform on a project??? The waveform expression is a fun way to generate a waveform between two paths in After Effects....

www.youtube.com

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 months

Exploring the Distance to Line on a closed path in After Effects unveils dual-direction falloff effects - working both inwards and outwards. It even acts as an edge detector when a layer crosses a path or object. 🔄🔍 #AfterEffects #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Closing and framing this rig path exploration as a token of my appreciation for the creative exercise—exploring outside-the-box, unconventional ways to animate in #AfterEffects .

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Exploring projection on a path in After Effects, now with multiple points and closed paths. Feeling a great potential with this approach! #AfterEffects #Animation #MotionDesign

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 months

Trim Path Effector in After Effects! 😊 Let's see where this takes us! #AfterEffects #MotionDesign #CreativeExploration

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

Here is the last of the series of tangent circles made from expressions in After Effects @aescripts . Grab the project file there:

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

6 months

This one simply returns the distance between a layer and a line in After Effects 👇👀

François Lefebvre

@lachamade

6 months

@FerrettiGui Thanks! 😄 You can find the function in the picture's description. It uses positions 'a' for the layer, and 'b' and 'c' for the line's points positions. The whole thing returns the distance of the layer to the line. Enjoy

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Update: The Mask expression @aescripts now supports parenting.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Wow, that's fantastic to see @PatrickStirling ! 🌟 Really impressed with your Fusion rendition of the experiment. It's amazing to witness the creativity and skill in our community. #CreativeCommunity #Fusion #AfterEffects 🚀

Patrick Stirling

@PatrickStirling

9 months

had to have a swing at recreating one of @lachamade 's experiments in fusion. Success 🤘 Can't wait to try out some others!

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

While developing the mask expression, I ended up using a very useful function that can find the distance between a layer and a line, like length() but instead of a point it works with a line.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 months

Here's the link to the updated mask expression and sample project file. Have fun testing it out!

How to make Layers React to a Mask in After Effects

aescripts.com

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Hit the character limit trying to share this 🤷‍♂️✨. Maybe there's a shorter expression out there for this – any ideas? Let me know!

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Actually, I tried it, and it only took me 10 seconds to do that in Cavalry :-), but here is the one minute in action for After Effects.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

UPDATE: Add a simple time value to the expressions rope and you can get some smooth loops. @aescripts @aetips @AdobeAE

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

Hey @aescripts here is my attempt at the Escher effect. I just used a single shape layer and the expressions from the tutorial ( ). Absolutely no 3D involved. 100% Expressions.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

Available on this link: @aescripts @aetips #aftereffects

Day 8 - Path Extrusion | After Effects Incredible Expressions...

13 Days of Incredible Expressions ChallengesSo cool, it's like free plugins!Project download: https://aescripts.com/learn/after-effects-incredible-expression...

www.youtube.com

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

8 months

Please find the expression in the image description. You can apply this to the rotation property of the layer.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

Playing with the blending options of the Fill can also offer some interesting results.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

Interesting circle packing only made with expressions and shape layers in @AdobeAE . Similar approach of examples used in The Power of Expression ( ) @aescripts

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Thank you @ema_colombo for the shoutout! 🙏 It's all about pushing boundaries and sharing insights in the After Effects community. For the curious, I've uploaded the original project file here: #AfterEffects #CommunityPower 🚀

Create a Waveform Between Two Paths using an Expression in After Effects

aescripts.com

Emanuele Colombo

@ema_colombo

9 months

We've still been talking about After Effects because when someone figures out an insanely complex way to do things that should be simple in well-designed software and shares their findings, the post goes viral. Chapeau @lachamade !

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

@aescripts Adjustable rope in @AdobeAE . No plugins.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

5 years

@AdobeAE @aescripts Can also be applied on a path, inspired by this example: @aescripts @AdobeAE @aetips

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

And super responsive

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

@rive_app looks like such a powerful app. 🤯 Well done!

Drawsgood

@drawsgood

9 months

Yeah, I think there's a few ways you could do it. The part that would require the most work is setting up all the letters using a follow path constraint/adjusting the distance percentages.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

Expressions rope project file will be available soon to download. @aetips

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

@fremox59 @aescripts Yep, it was updated a while ago. You can find the latest version here:

How to make Layers React to a Mask in After Effects

aescripts.com

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

@MarkMograph You can find it there:

How to make Layers React to a Mask in After Effects

aescripts.com

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Copy/paste this expression onto the property you need; this will perfectly mimic an Exponential Scale between two keyframes:

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

9 months

Just a small note: I used a custom length() function here to accommodate bezier curves, but this setup also works perfectly with the standard length() function if you're not using bezier handles.

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

4 years

And it can twist

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François Lefebvre

@lachamade

7 years

#AE Tip: Here is the quickest way to make the C4D effector effect in After Effects with one single expression.

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