#Adding drop shadow after effects how to

Type 500 and hit Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows). Lets add a drop shadow to the 2 rotated photos to give the scene more depth.Īt the top left of the Timeline, click on the Timecode to edit it. Press Spacebar again to stop the preview at anytime. You can see that when the two images fall onto the screen they now cover the background and the text (which is what we want). In the Timeline, drag the Rockin’ Guitar Picks text layer below the photo layers (just above the background layer). Click in an empty part of the Timeline to deselect the layers.In the Tools panel at the top left of the window, choose the Selection tool.

Press Cmd ~ (Mac) or Ctrl ~ (Windows) to hide the properties of the all the layers.

Hit Cmd–A (Mac) or Ctr–A (Windows) to select all the layers.

Change the second value (vertical position to 200 to move it above the guitar picks in the background.With the Rockin’ Guitar Picks text layer still selected, press P to reveal Position. In the Timeline, Ctrl–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the text layer and choose Transform > Center in View. Press Cmd–Return (Mac) or Ctrl–Enter (Windows) or click on any empty area of the Timeline to finalize the creation of the text layer. (New layers are placed above the current active layer when they are created.)ĭon’t worry about exact position for now, but click in the middle of the Composition window and type Rockin’ Guitar Picks In the Timeline, click on the topmost layer to make it active. In the Paragraph panel, click the Center text button. In the Character panel, make the following changes: TIP: You can press Cmd–T (Mac) or Ctrl–T (Windows) to activate the Horizontal Type tool. When you activate the Type tool, After Effects automatically opens the Character and Paragraph panels on the right side of the window. In the Tools panel at the top left of the window, choose the Horizontal Type tool. Move the playhead to the beginning of the Timeline. Text on the other hand can be created entirely within After Effects. Many of the assets you work with are created in other programs (such as Photoshop or Illustrator) and animated in After Effects. Name the file Your Name - Guitar Picks.aep and save it to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks (replacing the file if it’s already there). Double–click on Guitar Picks - Ready For Text.aep.Go to File > Open Project and navigate to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks > Finished Projects.If a project is open in After Effects, go to File > Save, then File > Close Project.If You Did Not Do the Previous Exercises (1B–1C) The tutorial differentiates between After Effect’s Drop Shadow layer style and the Drop Shadow effect, noting that the effect does not limit options on 3D layers, unlike the layer style.After Effects' layer styles are compatible with Photoshop's layer styles, however, the tutorial notes that layer styles can disable some features when used on 3D layers.

#Adding drop shadow after effects how to

The tutorial illustrates how to animate text and images in the timeline, including moving the playhead, selecting and deselecting layers, and previewing the animation.Instructions are given on how to change the stroke size, position, and color. Apart from adding a drop shadow, the tutorial also guides on how to add a Stroke layer style to photos, providing a colored border.Detailed instructions are provided on how to change the distance, size, opacity, and angle of the Drop Shadow. It also instructs on how to add a drop shadow to photos using Layer Styles to give the scene more depth.The tutorial provides a step-by-step guide on how to create and style text in After Effects, including using the Horizontal Type tool for text creation, changing character settings such as font family and size, and paragraph settings like centering text.This tutorial provides detailed instructions including text creation in After Effects, positioning, and styling, as well as adding depth and color to photos. Learn how to add text and layer styles like drop shadow and stroke in After Effects.