Over the years, tons of tutorials, presets, scripts, and plugins will allow you to create a long shadow effect in After Effects. It’s one of those things that is such a widely used aesthetic, without a simple and excellent solution to create one in Afte Effects. A new tutorial from the folks at Plugin Everything breaks down some of the more popular ways to make this shadow effect to clearly see which ones work best.
Repeater, Effects, and More.
Likely the easiest way is not the most effective one. Using the repeater or Echo effect can get you partway there, but it has many drawbacks. A better way is to use an effect that can grow the layer’s bounds in After Effects. In this tutorial, James uses the Minimax effect for that, plus a few others to conform the results into a shadow direction.
Download Long Shadows After Effects projects. 155 stock AE templates starting at $5. Immediate downloading, easy to use. Categories: After Effects » Project Files.AE Long Shadow is a stylish and modern After Effects template that features 8 titles with full-color control. This project is easy to use, you can change color and opacity in each shadow and make many different effects. Shadow in After Effects are keys to show depth to your layers, text and videos. Compared to Photoshop I found it a bit tricky to make specific shadow in AE for that reason I have decide to create this tutorial. I will show how to make shadows directly into After Effects with the different steps. I will also provide free After Effects project so you don't have the follow the whole process.
Shadow Studio 2.
Of course, PLugin Everything has a plugin that’s an all in one solution for creating these types of shadow effects. Shadow Studio 2 could be the definitive plugin for creating realistic shadows in After Effects. 3D shadows are notoriously slow to render, so lots of tutorials and tools fake it. The plugin works based on the alpha channel like the regular drop shadow, but with results so gorgeous, they’ll be mistaken for 3D.
Learn how to create trendy long shadows in After Effects with these terrific tutorials.
One design trend that you’ve probably seen popping up around the motion graphics world is long shadows. Not familiar with that term? Well, long shadows are a design technique in which the simulated shadows cast by an object extend beyond the frame.
Long shadows aren’t meant to simulate real life, rather they’re a current design trend that you can easily create yourself. In the following post we’ll look at a few creative ways to create long shadows in After Effects. If you can think of any other approaches, please share in the comments below.
1. Creating Long Shadows in After Effects
Created By: The Creative Dojo
This tutorial created by VinhSon Nguyen of the Creative Dojo shows us how to create long shadows in After Effects using a combination of the Matte Choker and CC Composite Effect. This technique does have a few limitations, but the end result is very nice in most circumstances.
2. Rotating Long Shadows
Created By: Mikey Borup
In this quick tutorial, Mikey Borup shows us how to create customizable long shadows that can be easily rotated with a control layer. While the tutorial is a little advanced, the end result is incredible and a must-watch for anyone looking to get greater control over their layers.
3. Long Shadows Created Using the Repeater
Created By: Evan Abrams
In this tutorial by Evan Abrams, Evan shows us how to create a long shadow animation using the repeater effects combined with shape layers. This method gives users an extreme amount of control over the length and size of the shadows in After Effects.
Want to learn more about creating trendy graphics in After Effects? Check out a few of the following posts:
Have any tips for creating long shadows in After Effects? Share in the comments below.
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