4 steps to animate your photos in after effects - 2.5D parallax animations

☕ if you're up to it, you can send me a tip to help support my coffee addiction on kofi
☕ ko-fi.com/academyofedits
today we'll break down the process of animating photos in after effects into 4 main steps.
Transforms, Distortions, Puppet Warping, and Enhancers.
The first step to animate your photos or portraits is usually the most important. In order to really get a convincing effect, we need to separate the layers of your photo into a foreground, middleground, and background (the more layers the better though!) The reason this is so important is because by separating the layers of the photo, we can space them out in z space so that when we move a camera through the scene, we get parallax, which sells the illusion of real depth to our scene. Our new camera motion is going to reveal the original foreground and middleground layers that are in our background so we have to deal with that using the clone stamp tool in after effects and paint them out! (If you have photoshop you'll have a much easier time of it though)
After that we tackle distortions. The point of this step is to introduce subtle changes or morphs to our photo to make it feel less static and more alive. There are a lot of distortion effects that we can use to pull this off. Liquify is a go-to for distorting facial features, but there are also loads of others like the mesh warp, turbulent displace and wave warp to name a few.
Next we get started with the puppet warp tool so that we can animate/distort parts of our photo with more control. The puppet warp lets us keyframe each pin we place which gives us more control than most other distortion effects. This is usually used to move limbs or the body of people in our photo that we want to animate.
The last step is for all the extra little touches we can add to make our photo feel more alive, like adding camera shake, particle effects to simulate snow or rain, lens flares, and other stuff like that.
Following those 4 steps, you can get some really nice results and turn your photos into some nice crispy animated content! And that's how to make an animated photo in after effects! Making a cinemagraph in after effects is really easy to do, but the more time you put into it the cooler it'll look! I hope I was able to teach you how to animate a still photo in after effects (also known as the parallax effect). Also you're probably wondering why I'm writing so weird but it's to get some good ol search terms in the description haha
my microphone
amzn.to/3BllGfV (affiliate link)
socials
/ academyofedits
/ theacademyofedits
timestamps
0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Step 1: Transforms
5:23 - Step 2: Distortions
8:47 - Step 3: Puppet Warp
11:53 - Step 4: Enhancers
tags-
after effects animate photo, adobe after effects, after effects tutorial, after effects, animate a photo, parallax effect, parallax, how to parallax effect, how to animate photos, cinemagraph, cinemagraph tutorial, how to make a cinemagraph, create a cinemagraph, cinemagraph photoshop, cinemagraphs, photo animation, puppet pin tool, motion graphics, animate still photos, 2d to 3d, animate photos

[@shakuusu]

Its crime that someone would dislike this.

[@aaronugede]

So much packed into this short video. Wow!

[@RG-qw1og]

Not only is the tutorial fantastic, the creator is witty and funny. Loved it!

[@mohamadgamal]

The most thing i respecting you for it, you choose complicated objects to get tutorials more depth and real Knowledge not just tutorials and steps, you're different thank you for that

[@MudbloodWizard]

This is so amazing, you are definitely a very talented tutor.

[@margobachi1317]

Very clear and detailed, finally a reason why i should be using AE again.

[@lumetriflow1892]

I find this tutorial easy as compared to others that I've watched.

[@gaginoPN]

Thanks a lot man, this should be a benchmark for tutorials. Clear, concise, effective. I'll definitely be checking out your other videos.

[@mitchellcollins4215]

Top work, subbed after the first video I watched on your channel (this is the 3rd or 4th I've watched). Thanks for your efforts, know that they're properly appreciated. Growth will come, I have no doubt -- considering the quality these are

[@itslukehill]

This was great! Concise, clear, and easy to understand. Thanks!

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Thank you very much!

[@TaitusC]

The most amazingly executed tutorial, thank you man!

[@bwear42]

Super great tutorial. Love the breakdown of the 4 types of effects. Well done.Will def check out some more.

[@nturner2176]

Yeah, man. Good stuff! I like the 'hidden track' at the end. Subbed!

[@robrobusa]

your vids are highly underrated! Subbed.

[@paulroverdesign]

That's insane man! So helpful tips. Thank you!🙌

[@user-kl2ss1gh4o]

Thats really helps. Thank for this video

[@RoyBeerZ]

Great content, easy to follow and thorough explanations.

[@AR-nr2ix]

Your channel is Gold

[@andrewchristofil3368]

This was an amazing tutorial.

[@kaonashi3D]

This man vary well put together

[@DioLT]

You sir, have got yourself a new subscriber. Love it!

[@mauldyy]

Awesome tutorial!!! Thank you

[@tejasgowda8672]

you deserve 10M subscribers

[@dukatelo]

This is very high-quality, I'm actually surprised! Keep the videos coming, I'm always keen to learn more!

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Thanks! I’m glad you liked it and I’ll be sure to keep em coming!

[@irakliesakia3946]

Very, very helpful! Thank you 👏

[@ankitshaw2011]

Deserves more Subs Really underated

[@liamo1555]

amazing tutorial, thank you

[@ndizzot]

This is good! Keep em comin

[@AcademyOfEdits]

On it!

[@abdelazizmuhammed5340]

on point brother thanks a bunch

[@aashxq]

Top tier Tutorials, Please make more!!

[@DiceLegenz]

Thanks. Very helpful

[@animation1114]

Amazing man!

[@Nick-yo1te]

Just found your channel. And I am super happy I did!

[@mohammadma6246]

This is a very helpful tutorial, job wvery well done lad 👌👌👌

[@JeFilm94]

Just discovered your channel while researching EbSynth. Love it! You cover a lot of stuff I'd like to get into at some point, so will definitely come back here for inspiration and picking up some tricks and tips

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Thanks Jonas! And good luck on your After Effects journey!

[@SaitamaX_x]

Very useful thanks

[@bornxntuesday]

Amazing tutorial! I used the Content Aware Fill in Photoshop to not clean the background myself, but I did everything else and it looks very cool! They're also things I can apply in different projects.

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Awesome! I try to touch on things that I think can help people with future projects when I plan out the videos so I'm really glad to hear it!

[@pocarisweat_jp]

I essentially use the same technique when creating wallpapers for Wallpaper Engine on Steam. I like that you kept it all contained within one software program for the sake of the tutorial though!

[@garebizarre4446]

Thanks bro. I'm beginners and your tutorial is so great, easy to understand. Different with other channel

[@chj.schwarz]

I like your stoile, keep it up!

[@ahmedsuleiman1130]

Thanks greatly, boss.

[@nero2820]

I know you know your really good, but i gotta tell you that i've never seen such great tutorial in my life

[@thewavyblue]

Thanks for the tut - found you on Reddit. Also, that sting at the end...lol. Nice touch. I subbed :D

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Haha cheers Ben!

[@PotatoGaming048]

Amazing 🤩😁

[@jackar]

I forgot to subscribe, at the end a voice came over convinces me to click the button 😂😂😂❤

[@AnthonyB331]

great tutorial man. I subscribed, way to make me feel guilty at the end! haha Keep up the great work!😁

[@ErnestoCCB]

Useful, handy, well explained... and it even draw a smile on my face at 14:29 (brilliant) 👏👏👏

[@martinlambert6027]

Tq for the lesson

[@omarbarakat6113]

keep on being awesome

[@DoctorMGL]

was awesome , clear simple and direct to the point. you won my sub for this can i ask which microphone you use please ?

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Thanks! and I use a Blue Yeti!

[@kizitossembatya5855]

subbed!

[@geneanthony3421]

Quite nice. I love the 2.5D look. Kinda wish the tutorial was for Resolve though.

[@maxmagnus777]

I've became very picky on tutorials I watch. Some make more problems than they are worth. Thank you for detailed and clean tut. Cheers.

[@AshishKumarJha69]

Gold

[@JACK80757]

Fine. I subscribed

[@johnta17]

another nice hack is to scale up slightly foreground objects to hide the parallax. Also, roundtrip the background photo in photoshop and use the content aware feature and most of the work is done for you.

[@Carlos-cm6ic]

great !😉

[@Crus0e]

damn bro! we need more tutorial like this

[@Suilujz]

Damn you just got yourself a sub

[@megansamps]

Ima need to take an adhd pill before I attempt these steps 😂😂😂 wish me luck 🤞🤞🤞🤞

[@DeegG]

im here before 5k subs.

[@crispyein8601]

Woah this is really useful! Great tutorial, I will use what I've learned to make dumb internet edits now :,))

[@schafiqdridi]

subbbed ❤

[@StarboyRomeo]

Subbed

[@engelos2863]

Great vid, u might save my ass in work :)

[@Crus0e]

also we need a tutorial for the candle lights!

[@kamudo999]

this tutorial is great, but is there a more detailed version of this? I didn´t get a few steps. could I use a green screen for the fog at the end?

[@MMS173]

Try content aware in photoshop for quick BG Plate

[@ArnoldVirtuoso]

how do i export this im new in after effects

[@kmkm-dp9wc]

Is there an updated version of this with the new 3D camera tools? I tried to complete this tutorial but got stuck at the XY Camera Tool because i couldn't find it. it seemed to be replaced with the 3d orbit, and a different 3d camera tool that didn't have the same effect on the still pictures

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Hey! I believe both the Track XY and the Track Z tools are still in the new version. Instead of Orbit, Track XY, and Track Z all being under one icon menu, they should be all next to each other in the new version. The icons will looks the same but the Track XY tool is called "Pan" and the Track Z is called "Dolly". Also keep in mind each of these tools have more than one setting (if you click and hold on their icon) which just change how they either Pan or Dolly to help you navigate better (for example the Dolly tool has "Dolly Towards Cursor" and "Dolly To Cursor" versions)

[@amyarnott7452]

I can't find the camera it's not an option for me on the top of the menu list. What do I do?

[@momoraven8577]

This video is helpful, thanks. But bro have you seen the animations of GWENT witcher cards? Can you please do a tutorial on how to do these kind of animations using Ae? Please?

[@lewis_malyrics]

I can't find the camera tool. Help me I'm using Ae 2021.

[@nicolaidna]

If you create a filter where you just drop a photo there and it dose that automatically. That would be amazing! I'm jot sure if it's been done by anyone.

[@aarontuggle3120]

is there any free software that does this kind of thing?

[@Alaniz_D]

2:12 These options aren't present for me. What do I do? How do I find this? I've tried for so long and nothing is working. It's just not there.

[@rum.runner5652]

so all you used for this tutorial was photoshop and after effects?

[@f.f.aurnob5452]

how can i make the hair wave?

[@AcademyOfEdits]

Depending on the photo and the hair you can try using the puppet tool if you haven't already!

[@f.f.aurnob5452]

@@AcademyOfEdits i've used wave warp. i think it's a better choice for hair.

[@Jmaxx91]

I think you missed a nice opportunity to show off proper depth of field at the end there. You could have adjusted the blurring using actual focus distance on the camera rather then gaussian blurring each layer. Otherwise great tut though.

[@ElwoodDowd]

At 7:58 you say you're gonna precomp, but don't tell us why you did so. What does a precomp do?

[@ElwoodDowd]

Nevermind, you tell us at 9:25. Also, thanks... for the feet.

[@icyjaam]

Witchcraft from GoT

[@VeekaysJourney]

let's just pretend this photo is a wall.