Fake 3D Cylinder - Adobe After Effects tutorial

Make a fake 3d cylinder in after effects using shape layers. It's almost 3d, but is more suited for abstract depth than actual 3d geometry. This is how you can make a more illustrative or abstract 3d look.
If you have any questions just let me know in the comments.
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the stroke not getting consistant due to a scale transformation (around 6:00) was KEY to me. Thank you so much man!

[@ECAbrams]

You are very welcome!

[@mordekaihorowitz]

Yes omg what a godsend

[@EnriqShockwave]

Damn dude, you always make me realize how much I dont know. Thanks as always for the in depth tutorial ya rockstar

[@ECAbrams]

You're very welcome. We try to get a little deeper here on this channel. Hopefully it's worth the time for folks to watch just a little longer :)

[@saketini99]

you seriously just blew my mind. amazing process!

[@omfgd]

It never ceases to amaze me that your videos are exactly what I need.

[@kingemmy8994]

This is simply the best fake 3d tutorial out here. "2022"

[@UnderWhalr]

6:00 = mind blown. Great tutorial

[@holguacamol8408]

completely n00b to ae here, and your work is godsend. the capability of ae is blowing my mind, and thanks for the amazing videos with very watchable commentary

[@LucasSchaffer]

07:20 "ohh look at this!" :D great tutorials, evan. best regards.

[@muhammedsabil]

thank you for the amazing tutorials, how about showing us how you did those cylindrical pattern lines

[@brynocerouss]

I'm (really) new to Ae, and this just demystified so many things. Thank you for this great tutorial!

[@Yuki-jg4wl]

Wow... You never fail to blow my mind...

[@rajatkashyap7085]

this is by far the most intelligent process. Will the expressions render the animation if i export this to a lottie ?

[@MrMindandMatter]

WOW, that was amazing, you opened a whole new can of worms for me in After Effects, I honestly had no idea that it worked in a layered system within the shapes, I always wandered why you could create multiple shapes inside shapes but now I see why. And the code aspect is amazing, i will love to learn more

[@ECAbrams]

That’s great to hear! Stay tuned for more. Shape layers and expressions make up a lot of what we get into around here :)

[@docvek]

This is amazing, I've only just found your channel. Subscribed! - I have a question, can you add details to the 'side' of the cylinder and make it look like it is rolling? (like the coin edge in the intro) thanks!

[@TheeKamHess]

Very good tutorial

[@ECAbrams]

Thanks Kam! Glad you enjoy it.

[@thisbretthall]

Based on the video's still frame, I was expecting to learn how you made that coin (I'm mostly interested in the ridged side)

[@iandoesdesign4827]

Awesome! Thanks Evan!

[@ahmetbaykara.mp3]

I think one of the reasons to make fake 3d animations is more CPU/GPU friendly and better preview speed (fps) because of the z-direction 🎞😎🎥

[@Wolfmoss1]

This is great!

[@jinnyj521]

Fantastic!!!!! thank you.

[@Tom10]

Thanks for techniques, Evan! Especially... I haven't ever thought about moving fills & strokes outside of the shape's group to pass it. You live and you learn! On the other hand, one thought! Even though the 'coin spinning' in the intro is faked - do you think it would be feasible to find the correct ratio of size, to rotate/link as it moves? Now it feels as slipping a bit - but the questions is based on the 'dark math' side, rather than a lash. Well done anyways! :)

[@ECAbrams]

Oh there is definitely a ratio. Any geometry can be expressed as math. That'll be for a whole other tutorial ;)

[@FrazNinja]

i didnt get a notification about this video and i have the bell clicked >:(

[@ECAbrams]

youtube is... not great about this stuff

[@Kaleubs]

I'm pretty sure you are motion design's equivalent of Bob Ross.

[@ECAbrams]

That would make me so happy. Bob Ross is one of my inspirations for his super chill attitude.

[@KenGreenMotion]

@@ECAbrams I think you're one level better than the Boss - you add a little more personality and wit to your talks.

[@ripppper2]

i've enjoyed

[@ivanchosse7707]

You are crazzy! hihihi

[@joshuaberkley6230]

Is there a way to set this up as a rig? Maybe one controller for each axis of rotation and one controller for the length of the cylinder?

[@forrestp8647]

Thanks for the great tutorial! I have an advanced question: How do I paste the text on the side of the cylinder?

[@ECAbrams]

Like the round part of the cylinder, or the flat part?

[@bengood5499]

Hi, can you do like a small Kurtzgesagt style animation tutorial? Thanks.

[@rr.studios]

Thought cafe has a playlist of video tutorials showing you something similar.

[@nseriously2704]

I can not find parenting of ellipse sizes, there is no icon.....how can I fix it??? I can see parenting icon only if I press alt +size, as an expression...

[@ECAbrams]

What version of Ae are you on?

[@nseriously2704]

@@ECAbrams AE CC 2017

[@7akawatyahmad]

amazing work, you skipped the bevel lines :D I think this part is the tough one

[@ECAbrams]

Which part?

[@7akawatyahmad]

@@ECAbrams the depth horizontal lines of the coin, you've shown in the intro :D

[@enricogheller6205]

@@ECAbrams up

[@ennijosebrusco4196]

Saludos desde Venezuela :D (y)

[@ECAbrams]

Hola desde Canadá!

[@ennijosebrusco4196]

@@ECAbrams 😂😂😂😂 👋👋👏👏

[@sadcadillac]

And what if I wanted to add a texture to the shape layers, how would I do that? Say I wanted to make the cylinder look like a tree trunk, for example?

[@ECAbrams]

there are a few ways. You might try to generate some bark like textures using effects, or simply import an image of texture, and use the "side" of the cylinder as a matte for it?

[@nadiiavytushko]

how do you make a cylinder proportionally more narrow? like the shape in your finished work

[@ECAbrams]

It's all down to the connective rectangle shape, and moving the circle closer. That's about it.

[@febrianramadhan8934]

expression disabled error at line one

[@kingemmy8994]

How can I replicate this for a square box???

[@kingemmy8994]

Done, I'd be happy to help anyone with this same problem. I managed to get a full 3d rotation out of this

[@jacklim7110]

what about a rectangle? or other shapes? do they share the same expression / technique to create ?

[@ECAbrams]

Yup, generally. But faking their rotation on certain axis is a little harder. But yes, the general technique is exactly the same.

[@jacklim7110]

@@ECAbrams I've sent an email to you regarding an animation video, and I really wish to learn the animation regarding the video that I've sent. Been struggling for months , stuck in the process of this :( Anyway thanks for the reply! :)

[@eklor]

At 3:00 your circle stick position to the side of your rectangle automatically, how do you set this option? thanks!

[@ECAbrams]

you're asking about the snapping I assume? If you're on a modern version of Ae you can cause that by holding command while dragging a layer.

[@eklor]

@@ECAbrams thanks!

[@lera_bstr]

Hi, and what is about 360 degree rotation of the cylinder?

[@ECAbrams]

on which axis are you looking to fake the 360 degree rotation?

[@saketini99]

@@ECAbrams I had the same question... what if I wanted to complete the rotation around the vertical axis? Thanks

[@kreative_kam]

So what I did was create another version but with the objects going in the opposite direction, keyframed the second rotation after the first with continuous keyframes

[@bumang]

What var stands for? can anyone tell me pls?

[@ECAbrams]

VARiable

[@MrMuffinLord]

what is this magic

[@ECAbrams]

The power of shape layers :)

[@tolokaearnmoney4645]

I've watched this twice and still not get it :(

[@ECAbrams]

Oh no! Where are you getting stuck?