Visual effects and motion graphics pros of all stripes - from broadcast professionals to VFX supervisors to Web designers who need to produce occasional video segments - will welcome the dramatically accelerated features provided in the brand-new After Effects CS4. This best-selling book has been revised to cover all that's new in this upgrade: the ability to import 3D layers from Photoshop; the Cartoon effect that converts live-action footage into stylized imagery; Adobe Device Central CS4, which lets you preview and test animations for mobile devices, and more. Designed around a single complex project that's broken down into manageable lessons, this book-and-DVD package mimics a real-world workflow - but one that readers tackle at their own pace. The DVD contains all the lesson files and footage readers need to complete the lessons.

About the Author

The Adobe Creative Team of designers, writers, and editors has extensive, real-world knowledge of Adobe products. They work closely with the Adobe product development teams and Adobe's Instructional Communications team to come up with creative, challenging, and visually appealing projects to help both new and experienced users get up to speed quickly on Adobe software products.

Table of Contents

Getting Started 1) Getting to Know the Workflow 2) Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets 3) Animating Text 4) Working with Shape Layers 5) Animating a Multimedia Presentation 6) Animating Layers 7) Working with Masks 8) Distorting Objects with the Puppet Tools 9) Keying 10) Performing Color Correction 11) Building 3D Objects 12) Using 3D Features 13) Advanced Editing Techniques