Change is Beautiful
Concept and Objectives
This project tested everything I've learned about animation in After Effects over the past few weeks. My only requirement was making a 30-second animation of something that looks good as a still image and moves. There also needed to be one pre-composition.
I was bored right before this project began, and I pulled out my sketchbook. I started drawing things around me, like a doorstop and a light switch. I thought to myself, "I liked my light switch drawing, maybe could include this in my upcoming animation project!" So I did.
Sketches and Storyboard
Here are my original sketches. My idea was for the butterflies to turn into moths once the lights turned off. After these original sketches, I thought more about the way butterflies moved and watched some videos to help. I felt like it would look unnatural if the butterflies were slowly floating around the light as they moved, so I decided to make them stationary.
Assets
Everything that moved in this animation needed to be on a separate layer. I made around 20 layers. The flowers were added in later drafts.
Drafts and Feedback
This was my first draft, so I experimented with the motion of the butterfly and light switch. Even though this wasn't very refined, and I didn't place everything where I wanted, it seemed a little boring. I decided to add a background and flowers for the next draft.
My biggest struggle was the movement of the wings. I made them into 3D elements and rotated them along the y-axis. It left weird gaps between the wings and body, so I added a rotation along the z-axis to fix that gap, but it only helped so much. Turns out I was overcomplicating it! I was given a tip to make the butterflies and moths vertical, animate the wing flap, and then rotate the composition they were in.
Final Animation
Meeting Objectives
Did I follow the project requirements? Yes. But more importantly - I learned a lot more about After Effects! I had to do a good bit of troubleshooting to get this to work. Sometimes, my assets would disappear or show up in the wrong place, but I was able to work things out. I had to adjust lots of things along the way, but as the title says, change is beautiful.
