Quick & easy liquid transitions in After Effects | Animation Tutorial

In this After Effects Tutorial, I'll show you how to animate liquid transitions in just a couple of minutes!
►Download the project file here: gumroad.com/manueldoesmotion
►Check out this new and improved liquid transition tutorial:
• Liquid Splash Transiti...
We're using solids and masks for our animation.
You might guess it already, it's rather a classic animation workflow and not a really effects driven task.
The only effect we're using, is "roughen edges" for more detail and a more liquid look.
►I use music from Artlist: artlist.io
The pics I used in the intro are from unsplash.com
Beach by Edwards Lee
Toy by Josh Withers
Liquid by Wengang Zhai
Cosmetics by Taisiia Shestopal,
If you have any further questions, let me know in the comments below. I do my best to answer all of them!
Subscribe to my channel here:
/ @manueldoesmotion
I am very curious how this tutorial inspired your work!
Put the link in the comments below or even better: tag me on Instagram.
@manueldoesmotion
/ manueldoesmotion
my website: www.stein-hauser.com
behance: www.behance.net/stein-hauser
#aftereffectstutorial #animation #motiondesign

[@traffiklight]

i've been searching for liquid transition tutorials and this is definitely the best one i've seen. thank you! :-)

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! You’re very welcome! So glad you liked it! :)

[@itzzuzair9517]

@@ManueldoesMotion I have a question for you, I am a little more than a beginner in after affect and want to get to your level and beyond so do you have any advise to help me remember and learn faster?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

@@itzzuzair9517 Hi! The best advice I can give you is to practice as much as possible. The more you practice, the better you get. So whenever you have time, do personal projects next to client work.

[@lakart1438]

wow !!! nice tutorial...I was actually searching for this same effect...You are straight to the point with any unwanted stuffs. Its awesome!!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hey thanks very much! So glad you liked it!

[@luca_takes_photos]

Excellent tutorial. I personally spent way too much time, learning how to cut professional video making and also with image editing and never got into animating until now. Danke Manuel für dieses hilfreiche Tutorial.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Sehr gerne! I once started my career as an editor, then later switched to animation. I think an editing background is very helpful because editors have a sense for timing and drama. And that's what you need in animation as well.

[@Inksploded]

By far the best tutorial ive ever seen on transitions

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thx very much! So glad you liked it!

[@HowToAnimateTutorial]

I'm fall in love with your tutorial. That's an art

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks very much! So happy you like it!

[@HowToAnimateTutorial]

Thank you so much for showing this to us! Amazing effect!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You’re welcome! Very happy you like it!

[@SpiritAquatics]

Great tutorial, clearly explained and it looks good too. Good job 😁

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks so much! 😊 Glad you like it!

[@jamesesparza6893]

Excellent tutorial and directly to the point, I love it.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Awesome! That's great to hear!

[@Rafaelrpaese]

That's so good! I really liked the proccess, I didn't see any other video you made yet. But I feel that there is a lot of transitions that can be done with this proccess

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks! Yeah it works with any kind of shapes.

[@joaquinoliverazuniga3758]

Really amazing and useful tutorial!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thx very much! So happy you liked it!

[@SharynAlice]

Very understandable and well delivered. Thank you.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That’s great to hear! You’re very welcome!

[@muhammadroqi1494]

Nice tutorial! Love it!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That’s awesome! Thanks very much!

[@juliasecches]

thank you so much this helped a lot!!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You're welcome! So glad it helped!

[@yungdavid8144]

thanks manuel!!!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! You're very welcome!

[@kadyultraviolet7042]

Great tutorial. I struggle with After Effects but this tutorial made it so easy to understand!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That’s awesome! Thanks!

[@asmaezzouate4722]

That was very helpful ! many thanks

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You're very welcome! So glad it was helpful!

[@jalaisgandarzada441]

Thank youuuuu!! Great tutorial

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You’re very welcome! Glad u like it!

[@theeffectsguy45]

Cool I love your tutorials..you actually inspired me to start creating content..Thx man

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! Thx so much! Very happy to hear that!

[@k4mezo]

Thanks a lot this really broadened my knowledge in AE. Thanks to you I now have more skills up my belt to use in my edits!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Awesome! That’s great to hear!

[@k4mezo]

@@ManueldoesMotion and i think adding a bit of turbulence displacement would make it better, right? i tried it and it looks fine

[@geethugeorge1761]

Helpful tutorial

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks very much!

[@dindafitriyanti1135]

so helpful. Thanks! :)

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That’s awesome! You’re very welcome!

[@parsagity6710]

great! thank you very much

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You’re very welcome! Glad u like it!

[@virginiatenoriovelasquez2019]

Thanks for this great tutorial. I'll finally be able to have a good transition in my vídeos. You're the best. I'm a beginner btw 😅

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That's awesome! YOu're very welcome!

[@khiziee_]

i think thats more than great bro

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks very much!

[@mvd_mua]

Thank u!!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You’re welcome!

[@minhazneon8681]

Nice tut ❤️

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks!!

[@BitsGits]

So good

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks! That's great to hear!

[@alenajalakas6710]

Thank you very much) Great!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Welcome! Glad u like it!

[@techboyvinny1024]

Excellent

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks very much!

[@user-fs8nk5cj9h]

good idea！😊

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thank you! 😊

[@shriefadel3816]

You are the best

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thx very much! Really appreciate it!

[@tatarstitchkitty]

I found it . Thank you so much😍😇

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Glad you found it! You’re very welcome!

[@BUBAKABRA]

Brilliant! Thanks!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! Very glad you liked it!

[@MUSTAFADZN]

Thank soooooo muchhhhhhh

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You’re very welcome!

[@MUSTAFADZN]

@@ManueldoesMotion thanks

[@yuribolognini]

great tutoo.. thanks, I d like to know the quick way to make it appear from the center of the screen like you did.. thats more of a challenge than having stuff out where you can't see them. cause it seems u have way more things distorting from a single point to edit and control.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You're welcome! There's no trick behind it. I did it the exact same way.

[@veraniasantin6373]

After 6 attempts I did it. It's easy, I just didn't remember how to use the program. Excellent transition.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That's awesome you kept trying and finished it! Keep it up!👏🏻👏🏻

[@veraniasantin6373]

@@ManueldoesMotion Thanks for the video

[@harton_pictures]

how do you make a transition in after effects to use in premiere pro like seamless. waiting for the video. Thank You

[@luciano.gonzalez]

Cool

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! Thx very much!

[@abisalmanhidayat]

waw ... keren sangat membantu ... terimakasih banyak

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You're very welcome! Glad u like it!

[@RyoFilm]

you can do it in premiere pro too

[@m.a8735]

Thank you for sharing this cool technique Manuel! I have a question, what's the fps of your comp in this tutorial? I noticed the animation has an almost hand-drawn timing to it, is it 12 fps?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

It’s 24fps.

[@yrp2345]

sir can you teach us how to convert a heart shape into word. I have been trying to convert a heart shape into V for valentine purpose but can't make it. will you help me with that?

[@Geregamo]

brother the intro is going to give someone a seizure lmaoo

[@andreluizgollo9083]

How do you achieve that "twisted" transition (3rd transition on the intro)? I tried using a Warp effect, but it didn't worked well.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

It's the same principle. The shape of the masks is twisted. No effects...

[@josef9601]

very nice! i bought them! but how i change the black screen to be transparent to use on videos?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You have to render it with a straight alpha channel to make the black parts transparent.

[@fscoelho22]

How do you do the alpha inverted matte part because it doesn't work for me it doesn't switch to black and white lick your it just stays fully white the screen

[@ManueldoesMotion]

The solid needs to be 100% white and it needs to be hidden. You could also try luma inverted matte.

[@minaseif7051]

I want the project file for all videos u did it before

[@priyamarora9731]

pls tell me how can i make its preset and use in premiere pro videos?

[@giyu.mp4449]

i love you

[@ManueldoesMotion]

😊

[@madithomp7]

Do you have a tutorial for the very first liquid transition that is shown in the intro?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Unfortunately not. But is the exact same principle. The only difference is the mask shape and the movement from the centre to the edges.

[@_itsvanessa]

Firstly thank you for this lovely tutorial, but just wondering can you add colour to the mask? Because I tried and I cannot do that? And how can you make the background not a black colour, just like how the beginning of this tutorial show? Please let me know, much thanks!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You can add colour to the transition by changing the colour of the "transition in" layer. Or you can add a colour gradient to the solid as well. You can add any picture, movie or solid below that layer to change the background.

[@_itsvanessa]

@@ManueldoesMotion it meant a lot that you reply me and it really helps with my project I am working on thank you so so much!!

[@Boomk27]

Thanks for your video ! How can I export this effect to premiere pro ?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You're very welcome! I would render the transition with an integrated (straight) alpha channel and use the movie in premiere pro.

[@madithomp7]

I downloaded the project file and made a couple changes. How do I export the file so I can place it over a video in Premiere Pro so you can see the video underneath the animation?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! I think the easiest way is to render out the bottom solid (the one you can see) with a straight alpha channel, then render out the top one (the white one that reveals the new footage) and use it as mask.

[@ImAdamRyan]

how can I change the color of the splash as well as make the before and after transparent? so essentially using this as a twitch transition

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You can change the colour by changing the solid colour. You can render it out with an integrated alpha channel, so you can use it as a live overlay.

[@joemmm867]

Is the tracking matte option different for anyone else? When I click the drop down menu, its lists all the other layers in my project, rather than the alpha matte/alpha inverted matte options.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

The track matte system changed with after effects 23. In this earlier version of after effects, your track matte layer had to be above the layer you wanted to use it on. In the drop down menu you chose the matte options.

[@joemmm867]

@@ManueldoesMotion Oh okay, I ended up just creating another layer and reversing the colour manually, but I see how this works now, thanns

[@starcostuff6792]

hi, when i make a duplicate of the transition in, it doesnt give me an option to change the duplicates trackmat to alpha matte???

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! If you don't see the option, you have to click on "Toggle Switches / Modes" at the bottom to see the Track Mattes.

[@dariajolota]

hey! just a small question for the holes in the liquid, wouldn't it be easier to parent link the mask holes to the liquid's mask so that they move at the same time without having to do it manually?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hey! I think if you link a mask path to another it takes on its shape. I am not sure if it's that easy to link mask path positions to each other. You probably would have to create a new shape for each mask and link the shape positions to each other.

[@dariajolota]

@@ManueldoesMotion ah, that makes sense, alrighty, thank you for responding!

[@user-zx8iq5mt5d]

한글자막 감사합니당

[@KannazukiiCH]

Can you make tutorial like this but in border type smooth liquid move

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thx for your suggestion! For a more liquid transition, you might want to check out this tutorial: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYbPhoOBncyMaNU

[@user-ip4kj5ty5z]

Thanks for this tutorial!! It really helped. Can you suggest me a good quality editing app for beginners? Thanks a lot.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That’s awesome! It depends on what exactly you want to do. Do you want to edit videos or do you want to animate?

[@user-ip4kj5ty5z]

I would like to edit youtube videos

[@barbarakozbia4649]

Hi, I have a problem, when I scale it at the end those leftovers from roughen edges effect don't disappear, it gets even more visible :( Is there any other way I can fix that problem?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That's strange... Maybe reduce the Border value?

[@skywarrior5322]

Hi! i bought your project file. do you happen to know how to change the color of the transition?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! Thanks! You could change the colour of the solid, or you could also add a gradient ramp effect to it for example.

[@ayoublens2108]

Hey can I have this file of transition please

[@MaxedZerkerBlondy]

I bought this. PLEASE help me as I've been trying for so many hours to make the 'transition out' actually wipe over everything on the screen. It doesn't... as the transparent layer wipes over you can still see all of the stuff I had appear on the screen beforehand.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Do you mean you can see the footage through the shapes? Or the footage doesn’t disappear? In all transitions there is a moment when the screen is fully covered. That’s where you need to cut the footage.

[@MaxedZerkerBlondy]

@@ManueldoesMotion It's all good I worked it out. The 'transition out' has to be set to 'Silhouette Alpha' mode - this way the sweeping transparent layer actually wipes over the top of anything you'd had appear on the screen beforehand. Massive thanks for the quick reply though. Appreciate that.

[@GosbKom]

0:52 how do you do it? when I press v the mask starts to change its location and it doesn't affect solid in any way

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Did you select the mask property?

[@haydenstevens9746]

How do I then use this in premiere pro to transition between two clips though?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You could render it out with a straight alpha channel.

[@onelpeiris]

I did everything right, watched it back, but for some reason when I duplicated the "transition_out" and moved it to 11 frames, it wont do the "alpha inverted matte" ? Please help

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hey! What happens instead? Is the "transition out" layer invisible (the eye icon on the left)? I know it probably isn't the case... If your comp background is white, you wouldn't be able to see a result at first.

[@onelpeiris]

@@ManueldoesMotion Hello Manuel, It showed literally nothing. But I somehow managed to get it to work by going into "Windows -> Workspace -> Default"! I don't know why it worked but Thank you for reaching out!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

That’s great you found a solution 👍🏻 Sometimes After Effects is just weird. Another thing that might help in these cases is to empty the disk cache in your preferences. That erases cached data which might be faulty.

[@matthisbcr7442]

hi! i just bought the pack, can we change the colour of the splash? i want pink

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks! Sure! You can change anything you want! Simply change the solid colour.

[@killestone]

"This is a bit of everything"

[@kaushikr8104]

after making the transition can we import that to Premiere pro ?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Yes you can. You could render it out with a straight alpha channel for example and then import it to premiere. Or add it to the "essential graphics" window.

[@RyliePassey]

setting it to alpha inverted matte or luma inverted matte doesnt make the transition reverse, any idea why?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

The solid needs to be 100% white and it needs to be hidden. Then it should work.

[@RyliePassey]

@@ManueldoesMotion The solid as in the background layer you added or the actual liquid layer? The liquid one was 100% white. When I added the background layer like you did, The liquid layer blended into it

[@elisabellapym6438]

@@RyliePassey did you figure it out? the same thing is happening to me

[@fakepeople5347]

Hello. Can I ask yoi something about your device to make a motion graphic? what device are you using? types and specifications?f I'm using a Macbook Pro MD 103 15 inch with 16GB of RAM and 500GB but I'm still having trouble using 3 effects in After Effects. I really am very annoyed. What do you think? And I don have any money to buy new device 😫😫😫 Thank you so much

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hey! Maybe it is the 16GB of RAM that is a bit too small? You could try and empty your disk cache in After Effects -> Settings -> Media & Disk Cache

[@joemmm867]

Brand new to after effects, is there a way to change the colour of this after I've done it all? Im trying to double click on the little white square but that isn't working. Thanks

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You can back into the solid settings and change the solid colour anytime.

[@joemmm867]

@@ManueldoesMotion Thanks

[@khairulyz50]

Hai Mate. I am a less than beginner. Can I ask? Then how to apply to video using that alpha? Thanks for your help.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

You need to render it out with a straight alpha channel.

[@adeth.fearwhale5455]

Hi, I bought these transitions but I'm a Windows user and I cannot open it. Can you help me, please?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

For After Effects it doesn't matter if you use PC or Mac. Write me an Email with the exact error message.

[@saycode5769]

I would've kissed you If you were in person. amazing bro love it

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Awesome! Glad you like it!

[@Max-bh1wg]

Hi there! I downloaded the project file. How do I change it's color from white?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! You could simply change the colour of the "transition_in" solid or add a "fill" effect and change the colour in there. Or even add a "gradient ramp" or a "4-colour gradient"...

[@Max-bh1wg]

@@ManueldoesMotion Thanks! I finally figured it out! Thank you!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Awesome 👍🏻

[@slinossier]

How do you change the color of the transition?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Change the colour of the solid.

[@estelliiaa4095]

I'm having a little trouble when I move the mask up at the start of my composition it doesn't animate back down at my next key frame.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! Maybe you moved the solid accidently, instead of just the mask?

[@estelliiaa4095]

Manuel does Motion thanks! I figured it out!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

👍🏻

[@negarkhosh]

I'm having the same problem. It doesn't animate it between the first and 5th frames. When I drag it up there is a red rectangle outline also coming up with the shape. Can you help please?

[@syedtajimhossain6904]

which text to voice are you using ?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

None, it's my voice.

[@abruh2963]

I need transition liquid of blue and white colour

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! You could simply change the colour of the "transition_in" solid or add a "fill" effect and change the colour in there.

[@LinPorcelain]

can you use them in resolve?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

I don’t know… It’s an After Effects Project File.

[@sarahcsanchez]

When I try to rotate this to do this on a diagonal, I cant scale the entire solid without also scaling the shape, any tips?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

I would always adjust the masks, never the solid itself. I know it’s more work, but I think there’s no other way...

[@blackbunny9221]

help! I already made it to the transition out part but the alpha inverted matte is not working! I followed all the instructions so far!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! That’s weird. The layer needs to be invisible and the color of the top layer needs to be white...

[@blackbunny9221]

@@ManueldoesMotion fixed it! Another question, for the sake of the tutorial, I made the wave transition white, but I want it now to be light blue, how do I change the solid color then?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

@@blackbunny9221 You could either go into the solid settings of the bottom solid (shift - command - y) and change the solid color or you could add a gradient ramp or a fill effect to the bottom layer...

[@mickpeterson3722]

@@blackbunny9221 how did you fix it? I'm having the same issue

[@oyuncakoyuncakmavioyuncak]

@@ManueldoesMotion how do people fix this? I emptied my cache disk as you mentioned above, also changed it to luma inverted matte. none worked. I just see my composition background. followed along nicely till now.

[@mickpeterson3722]

after duplicating the solid at the end, I see nothing past the 11th frame

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi! Did you change track matte to "Alpha Inverted Matte"? The transition out layer should be hidden. You could also try to use "Luma Inverted Matte" instead of Alpha.

[@Radiant_Veiner]

can you make it green?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Sure. You just need to change the color of the "transition_in" layer.

[@AldoAston]

how to apply in our video?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Render it out with an integrated straight alpha channel and add it on top of your footage.

[@kevinlamberts9908]

Is it easy to make a blue and light blue water gradient version of this? Anyone want to help me with that for some money?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

If you just want to change the colour, you could add a colour gradient to the solid. If you want to add more depth, you could add a layer style like inner shadow or bevel and emboss...

[@kevinlamberts9908]

@@ManueldoesMotion so great! Thats really helpful thanks😌🙏🏼

[@killwzve6876]

ayo wheres the vertex tool

[@ManueldoesMotion]

It’s in the tool panel. Click and hold the pen tool to reveal it.

[@edvardstepanyan1164]

Best tutorial I've seen. Too bad i wasn't able to hear or understand shit due to the techno music.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Thanks! It’s one of my older tutorials… If I could now, I would tone down the music quite a lot... It has subtitles though;)

[@edvardstepanyan1164]

@@ManueldoesMotion yeah man! Already learned and used this technique! +1 Sub!

[@ManueldoesMotion]

@@edvardstepanyan1164 That’s awesome! Thanks! 👍🏻

[@dang3517]

How long "transition_in" needs to be

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Around two seconds.

[@SejutaTutorial]

It's free sir ?.

[@LYN4X]

What's up with those random robotic reverbs on your voice?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Can’t remember :-D I stopped adding it a while ago…

[@iyasuo]

How to do make your voice sound like a robot?

[@ManueldoesMotion]

I use Adobe Audition to mix my tutorials. The robot effect is done with an effect called "Flanger" in Adobe Audition.

[@iyasuo]

@@ManueldoesMotion I love to see a tutorial about that if you have time.

[@santallow]

@@ManueldoesMotion Can u make guide about sound effects?

[@amermahmoud6602]

Martin Mystery Transitions (؛

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Just googled it :-D Didn't know the series, I'll check it out.

[@manuelhenrique6083]

Hi, my name is Manuel.

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Hi Manuel! :-)

[@mrfinnerty06]

"by pressing command Y" it litterally ended there for me

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Why? On a PC keyboard it's the "control" key instead of "command".

[@youtubechannel12371]

@@ManueldoesMotion that’s too confusing for MrFinnerty apparently 😂

[@elysiumoeuvre_]

bro you're explaining it too fast

[@ManueldoesMotion]

Sorry! My new tutorials are slower.

[@D-X-Neil]

you speak way too fast

[@ManueldoesMotion]

My new tutorials are much slower...

[@D-X-Neil]

@@ManueldoesMotion That’s good to hear lol. I had to play this at 0.75 playback speed

[@flexingfn5292]

YOUR MIC IS AWFUL

[@ManueldoesMotion]

It's one of my oldest tutorials. The audio settings where awful.