2d Parallax Animation Process in After Effects
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Here’s the process in After Effects for my 2d Animated Ghost Dude! You can see the full video here.
I created the artwork in Procreate and sent it as a layered PSD to After Effects. To create the 3D look with parallax, I used scripts to offset the position of the different layers based on a central NULL.
For example, I've got the Throat artwork connected to the Mouth but with a -2.3x multiplier. The mouth is connected to the Body, and the body to a master controller null. So, any movement is transferred through each layer from the null, offset to the amount and direction that I specify - super nifty!
So if the body moves left, the mouth moves left, and the throat will move in the OPPOSITE direction to the mouth (hence the minus) but at a factor of 2.3x. In other words, if the mouth moves left by 100 pixels, the throat moves with it but moves RIGHT by 250 pixels at the same time. That's what creates a cool parallax effect!
Here’s the script I played with: make sure you parent the position parameter of your relevant layer (throat) to the layer you want it controlled by (mouth). You can do this by alt-clicking the position stop-watch on the (throat) layer, and then using the pick whip under the position parameter to parent it to your parent layer (mouth). In the script below, change the “PARENT LAYER NAME HERE” to whatever your parent layer will be named:
parentPos = thisComp.layer(“PARENT LAYER NAME HERE”).transform.position;
offsetMultiplierX = 0.25; // X-axis effect
offsetMultiplierY = 0.6; // Y-axis effect
[parentPos[0] * offsetMultiplierX, parentPos[1] * offsetMultiplierY]
For the dangly bits, I used the awesome NOODLE 2 script by to bake in some dangly movement on my puppet pins. It’s FREE, which is awesome.
Finished off the comp with some textures from Grit Kit, Turbulent Displace and Posterize Time down to 10fps. If you liked this, follow for more!
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