Sub Surface Skin Tutorial

Create an illuminated skin effect inspired by Iron Man 3!
No 3rd party plug-ins required.
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[@vanessaliang4]

For those who have issues when adding the tracking data to 'Illumination', this is the solution: 1. Export Tracking Data > After Effects Transform Data [position, scale, and rotation] 2. Create a Null Object and paste it there. 3. Depending on which frame your effect is aligned to, parent the 'Illumination' layer to the Null Object. This is because by exporting it as a Corner Pin from Mocha, the corner pins are actually on the edge of the mask itself. Since our 'Illumination' composition setting is 1920x1080, it gets shrunk to match the mask's corner pins when copied over.

[@chikoentertainment2909]

@dukesweden

[@alirazastudios4427]

Could you please elaborate on this more, I exported the tracking data into the null object but it just adds the corner pin effect and doesn’t acc track with the footage, could you please please provide any more info on what to do to make it work? Thanks

[@mastergrab44]

Hey Vanessa, thanks so much for the solution! Can I ask if you know the drawbacks from this solution?

[@tieanimation9876]

not working

[@martinhepp555]

Why am I watching that, I have school right now and I don't even have Aftereffects, but cool tutorial for sure!

[@shlok290]

Lol that's me but my laptop is not working and I have after effects

[@IlyaDerivatives]

veins links: www.4shared.com/photo/uKMUPQDX/white_veins.html www.4shared.com/photo/zBlj3t0e/vein_together.htm

[@WhyNotRight1]

Thanks Man

[@AfterLifeParkour]

i was getting annoying tryna find them thanks

[@WildGamer123]

+stalkert101 very very thanks :)

[@FearlessDesvan]

thanks !

[@PotatoesHappenin]

thank you so much!

[@danteisbrutal]

the depth is all that makes this realistic and it was the first thing i checked out andrew also talks about it in the beginning

[@Xenogenocide]

This is SO god damned cool. I watched the entire video, even though I will probably never use this technique anywhere. It's just very fascinating to know how this kind of art/rendering technique is done. Keep up the great work! :D

[@SCRPYTHELORD]

me2 lol

[@BGCGAGDG1]

u sir took that comment directly from my brain lol

[@CollateralPicturesOfficial]

Wow this is very cool! Can't wait to use this effect in my next short film! Great tips, thank you Andrew!

[@QuadNineEnt]

Appreciate the time you take on these tuts Andrew. I will be using some of the tips on this tut in one of my projects.

[@FunLion]

I love each and every tutorial you upload. This looks very cool indeed. Thanks a lot for sharing.

[@BakersTuts]

"We're not going to lunch later" "...what?"

[@davegray2428]

What?

[@xavi.9620]

What?

[@Bombasticentertainment]

How is this 7 years old? Man. Great stuff. I still use these root overlays for design elements all the time.

[@thesplaymedia9807]

Please where can I get the root overlays

[@juanito2829894]

you are great teachers designers, dreamers and visual artists. I admire them much.

[@meatybuns]

His voice makes me want to listen more for some reason

[@SoBoss300]

FOR ANYONE HAVING TROUBLE COPYING TRACKING DATA TO ILLUMINATION MAP: I had the same problem as many of you where when I tried to copy my tracking data over from my solid to my illumination map, it would resize it or just not work. So what I did was changed a few of Andrew's instructions. 1. Use the "X-Spline" tool in Mocha instead of "Bezier" pen. 2. When exporting your tracking data, choose "After Effects Transform Data [position, scale, rotation]" 3. Instead of copying the data to a "solid", copy it to a "null" layer 4. Instead of copying the data from your null to your illumination map, simply parent the "illumination map" to the "null" layer. Hopefully these changes help you guys as much as it helped me.

[@GenoGenerations]

I don't know why this isn't working for me. I'm so confused and sad right now.

[@sunsexstudio9747]

SoBoss300 I don't understand the 4th point? 🤔

[@derciotomasferreira6668]

it is not working with the null object. I can't copy it.

[@user-tp5pq3gw7x]

thanks, it is working!

[@krsNAMEK]

what is the point of the 2nd if it doesn't export perspective?

[@ramsy2]

i learned so much new in after effects because of your tutorials - thank you.

[@iliyavalaee8969]

You saved a man life with this video. I made this video by your tutorial and pass my motion graphic course in university. After that I'm just loving After Effect

[@BanishedFox]

"Feel free to make sound effects" - instant love! xD

[@ankurranjankakoty8382]

NINE YEARS AGO!

[@RYANFORRANSOM]

still coming back to this in 2020 your the G.O.A.T. Andrew!

[@MrJustHanz]

Andrew Thank you! You are awesome teacher and all of your tutorials are perfect :D

[@Fred13Mr]

14:04 I mean i gotta watch my kids, whereever the hell they are XD Great tutorial by the way!

[@soundsbyel1421]

I was about to mention how much I enjoyed that statement

[@joeshmoe9589]

Could anyone please help me? When I copy the tracking data from the solid layer with the Grid and Corner Pin applied to it; and Paste that info to my Illumination layer- it shrinks. To a point that makes it unusable.....I have gone back and redone it four times with the same results.... i'm loosing it. lol

[@idontcareproductions]

This was like a two in one with the veins and the eye glow! Thanks!

[@Vacated204]

You could also automate that evolution on the noise layer, creating a cool pulsing/blood moving effect

[@STRYKERof9KnuckleStriking]

"We're not going to lunch later!" lol! Great tip to get some emotions and facial expressions without even trying hard when doing a little acting. Great video. I'm new to this and this works perfect enough for me ;-) Thanks for tips and the wonderful tutorial.

[@jonopedersen6282]

+SOURCExRxE Pretty sure he was poking fun at the actor, but ok.

[@fareed006]

+Jono Pedersen hi can you tell me why my vein color change to skin color ? please please please i need help

[@bigboygandalf4147]

i do not have the align surface button and when i track it goes on my nose plz help someone

[@FVPhotography-hf3eh]

Dude..chills all over! Well done!

[@allegin1978]

I am fairly new to After Effects and I found this to be a great tutorial.

[@musicmixxer9815]

The fast blur is strong in this one.

[@jaydn_is_me_1485]

14:03 #1 DAD OF THE YEAR. lmaoo

[@viniciussanctus]

Greatest guy, awesome humor, priceless tutorial.

[@subhascse]

Just awesome Andrew! You are just great! Thanks for this tutorial.

[@joellawrence5890]

Hey ;) I really need a hand. What do I do if I don't have the panel in animation of "Track in Mocha AE" be awesome if anyone can tell me

[@TheAwesonymous]

*Half his face glows red* chewing tobacco is one hell of a drug!

[@HussainAlMarkhi]

I love these effects

[@historicalfolklore]

Awesome after effects. Good job.

[@jonopedersen6282]

**Brings his A game** **Only has to turn around**

[@jerempillot5348]

+Jono Pedersen That's the Mark Hamill acting method for you.

[@williamhartnell3096]

+Jerem Pillot heh

[@XxMrDAVIDA7xX]

OK, everyone like this so he can see please. After watching this and the Amazing Spiderman 2 trailer I would like you to make something of this sort but instead of these people Electro! If you could make a tutorial about this it would be amazing!!!

[@JonahJamroz]

Thanks for uploading these tutorials Andrew!!!!!!!!!

[@ChimeraProd]

Glad to see u back Andrew, its been a minute!

[@reebullard]

So everything worked like a charm until I got to copying and pasting the datatracking to the end of my clip. Its not following my face, its just sitting still in middle of screen. Any help?

[@3CamDawg3]

+reebullard that way isn't going to work anymore this is 2015 there are easier ways

[@vivekthakare4782]

did you got the help same problem hear

[@chankmangcastation3060]

yes i did it like u, its not following my face and it just move on the right top on the screen ,im so stress right now

[@dokirtan]

4:12 The main question is not "Why is the head without a skull?", but "Why the hell did Adobe remove that Brainstorm feature?".

[@silverfirestudios261]

I love your tutorials!!!!

[@AkshayJadhav-qb6zy]

hey this is really easy toturial and well explained got what i was looking for thank you

[@ChanWaikee]

i wan to ask why i cant creat a new project in mocha?i wan import a 6sec video but it say failed to open file

[@nickkaboo]

4 years hasn’t been answered by admin, well try to wait another 4 years and he might consider to answer, 😃😃

[@devendrapisda3528]

Install quick real time and restart

[@johanmacias7818]

i cant find the brain storm icon in AE CC 2017 Did they remove it or something? im kinda stuck now

[@AbhiMoz]

right after he does it manually. so just skip it coz "it's a waste of time"

[@EpochIsEpic]

wiz _0_Moz lol, this comment is a year old, I hope this guy figured it out by now lol

[@ActuallyArmaniProductions]

That was incredibly dope. Thank you so much.

[@brokenstudiotv]

Adding a displacement map to the whole effect would have made it a lot better, that way the texture would be deformed around his cheek and the corner of his eye. Either way, an amazing tutorial that I just watched for the 7th time. Much love Andrew!

[@kingroblox-gamingandmore7742]

I just say... THANK YOU! This tutorial was very good but i got one problem, when i paste the tracking data into the illumination map, it rescales. Do you know how to fix this?

[@Skatebedobiere94]

Don't forget to clic on "align surface" at your last frame in Mocha, the same thing happened to me

[@a0FJsl2acing]

When I'm tracking on mocha. I cant found align surface

[@telepathy90]

thank you!

[@IMuhammad1001]

this reminds me of electro in the amazing spiderman 2

[@destroyah321]

StevieG FanFights Iron man 3

[@Vf_alex]

Imaster1001 That was so cool! It was like there was a thunderstorm inside his head!

[@ParzivalTheThird]

same

[@Rehan4613]

imaster1001 ....Me too

[@ThePlaceForThings]

THIS WAS CRAZY INSIGHTFUL THANK YOU

[@sagrockers576]

OMG !! I really loves it ... thanks for sharing this ... I wanna learn more.... eagerly waiting for the next ... love you ... thanks ..

[@yebdah]

where can i find the align surface tool? button ? plz someone reply

[@TheAnimeYoungin]

Yebby thats what im trying to figure out

[@Dorasamudra]

In Mocha AE, go to layer controls which is in the left. There in the drop down, there is a option called "Align Seleced surfaces".

[@krsNAMEK]

I found the button. But I still don't know why everyone is looking for that. Is this somehow gonna help me with sizing issue when importing the tracking data?))

[@LuciaRodriguez-kq4pw]

@@krsNAMEK parece que si

[@RememberTheElephant]

Mocha isnt working, says file is corrupted or not supported. ive tried quicktime, any other suggestions?

[@stop.gravity]

try .mp4, quicktime renders huge file size and probably the worst way to edit

[@1sthumantraffic209]

same problem :(

[@MatthieuPesesse]

These tutorials are awesome

[@lucasskywalker]

Amazing as always.

[@mystic7splace]

When I add the tracking to the illumination layer my effect gets real small, it no longer covers half of my actor's face. Frustrating!

[@WILLSY_YT]

im having that problem too did you find out how to fix it?

[@Mus1calz]

same with me，thesolution is in mocha，you need click SURFACE BUTTON,then tracking surface become big

[@danielsilva9502]

I don't get it, at 9:09 when I set it to Luma matte, I get transparent veins over the fractal noise

[@LuciaRodriguez-kq4pw]

me too

[@arturovilho]

@@LuciaRodriguez-kq4pw could you solve it?

[@LuciaRodriguez-kq4pw]

@@arturovilho si, pero ya no me acuerdo como lo hice

[@haydenshu9961]

I have the same problem as well

[@HalloImMarley]

sweet tutorial! I've learned so much from your work and I got some laughs as well :D

[@parapraxisproduction]

The greatest tutorials!

[@NixPictures]

"We're not going to lunch later...what?!" Lol

[@edwinshark8652]

just drop dead lol

[@OfficiallyOToole]

14:48 Please don't hit me

[@Somba335]

Looks amazing! thanks

[@Augermedia]

Thanks! its just so clearly compressed

[@theDARKempror]

"Heh Classic"

[@hectorsantacruz1709]

He looks like the killian from Iron man 3

[@alienarmsminecraft]

In the description it says the effect was inspired by Iron Man 3

[@Albert12324]

It's inspired of the movie.

[@WilsonElias]

I love watching your videos Andrew thanks

[@kungfuzulu908]

Fantastic tutorial!

[@rasmushaversen]

Looks kinda flat. Would be cooler if you moved the vains a bit back i 'z' space, so it would have a bit more dimension to it. But other than that, nice effect!

[@soulextracter]

***** I think you could go on for hours trying to make something like this look almost pixel perfect, but it's a great start for beginners :)

[@rasmushaversen]

Omg i think i cried over your username :'( tragic story... But yeah you're right. When i watched this for the first time, that was my first thought. It is pretty cool though, but i know he can do better. In his "City Demolish" video, he uses that 3D placement, so it looks like the holes in the building is actually there, and not just like a painting.

[@EpochIsEpic]

The horrible story of a man that was forced to connect his youtube account to google+ tears are falling over this username

[@JuniorUnruly]

well, i just wasted my time. i could never do such thing. Great video

[@thrash4evr]

Practice makes the master!

[@thrash4evr]

There are many free options like Hitfilm (mixture of editing & compositing) ,Natron , Fusion ... and even Blender can be used like that, so there are no excuses :P

[@omar619kamis]

Alpha Blaq but this is pro type of Editting and next level shit it takes years to get into this guy level,.... so it's really hard ..

[@sunsexstudio9747]

Junior Unruly dude I did just check my comment... Copy the tracking data with property link and it will attach to it..

[@emsolis]

hahaha pro type level? This software is children stuff compared to real software used in films.

[@MyMusicIDTV]

Amazing work !

[@FcSteezey]

You make great tutorials. Thanks

[@SpectrumTheOriginator]

iron man? You mean iron fist!? 😊🤗

[@valonecreed4434]

He meant the bad guy in Iron man 3.

[@justblaze4707]

Oh mygawd i can use this for an iron fist short! thanks for the spark of inspiration

[@VikrantSingh-vq7km]

He meant aldrich killian in iron man 3

[@WACOMalt]

Very cool. Add a little spline warping for the reveal and it'd look perfect! I use Nuke as my daily driver but your tutorials still help me out a ton.

[@AsimNauwag]

11 Year past but still the goat.... one of the first guy that got in After effects

[@Silpheedx]

Wowzers. Thats some magic sauce for doing it all in comp without doing any 3d rendering. Well done sir, well done ^^

[@ngame7845]

Thanks! Was my first try in AE and went well thanks to you ;)

[@WhyNotRight1]

That was really good man....you explained it very well....keep it up....can you do a tutorial for Harry Potter spells

[@iggy35]

Awesome techniques

[@congruityproductions]

From 2013 to 2021 this tutorial is still helpful

[@CupidtigerX]

Can't wait to do this

[@Globeversal]

This tutorial WAS very exciting.

[@arluam]

Thank you! great tutorial

[@brianhunt4704]

when i finish making the veins and go to the start and add the tracking data when the actor turns around you cannot see the glow or veins all you see is a little glowing dot

[@rubrickmanlives]

Great Tutorial!

[@CirqueitOfficial]

Videocopilot has AMAZING tutorials! I love em all... exept this one.. the effect simple does not work.... Maybe because its 5 years old and both Mocha and AE have hade some changes since then. but the changes are too big to figure out without a professional by your side... Been smashing my head behind a keyboard for the last 4 days now, working over time, and finally.... I just drew the masks frame by frame.... and it STILL doesnt look like this tutorial...

[@GriffinOlis]

This was a really good tutorial

[@sezrules]

I'll be using this for an Iron Fist effect

[@EdEditz]

Yes, Mocha comes with After Effects, standard. It's a light version though. Mocha Pro or Mocha AE (which is NOT the version that ships with After Effects although it sounds like it) are capable of much more awesome things like object remove and 3D Camera Tracking.

[@AnthonyEpes]

wow that is an intense tutorial but great for a beginner to see also. Thanks Andrew!

[@sallapsira]

great tutorial. thanx

[@Sorkai341]

Best Tutorial On youtube. Keep Uploading my friend

[@Doggypaws59]

I cant wait to try this

[@TNThomas44]

Incredible tutorial! I have a request. I am trying to figure out how to make skin to metal morph effect. Sorta like in Terminator 3. Not only does the character need to have his skin change to metal but parts morph to look like other objects. For example have his hand turn into a blade. I know they used practical and CG in the movie. I want to know how to do it using 3d max and AE. Any links to tutorials would be helpful.

[@lso9393]

This is so helpful!! Thanks a lot :)

[@vinegarfly]

Indeed amazing! Kudos

[@GCG113]

Bro u are amazing for this tutorial!!!

[@jodezza3381]

I am very much a beginner in AE so this stuff is a little above my station for now but I just wanted to say thanks for the excellent videos. It is fascinating what is possible and the explanation of technique is super helpful, top stuff, please keep up the great work, thanks again :)

[@OneDerscoreOneder]

I'm a complete novitiate as well, but imo the best way to learn this stuff w/o forgetting it is to follow him along slowly and just do the stuff even if you don't understand EVERYTHING beforehand.

[@jodezza3381]

I would agree with that, no use watching, if you're not gonna have a tinker yourself :D

[@OneDerscoreOneder]

Jodezza :D

[@gokulram9188]

chazy it is installed in after effects when you are going to te animation tab select your layer then go to it then you will find it,if you still cant find it then you wil have to install it seperately

[@thestinefilm]

Bro you just earn a subscriber ! nice tutorial ! THX

[@BakhtiyorKarimov]

still useful, thank Mr.Kramer you are the king of AE users