In this lesson, Trish and Chris Meyer introduce you to a series of creative tools inside After Effects: Paint, Puppet, Brainstorm, and Cartoon. The centerpiece is Paint, where Trish will demonstrate how to use the Brush, Eraser, and Clone Stamp tools to draw on a layer, remove portions of it, or repeat elements around a composition. These can be used for artistic purposes as well as to repair problem areas in footage. Chris then shows off the Puppet tools for distorting layers, Brainstorm to break through creative blocks, and the Cartoon effect to lend an illustrative look to live footage or 3D renders.

Topics include:
  •  creating, erasing and animating brush and clone strokes
  •  using Paint to reveal a layer over time
  •  creating animated distortions to flat artwork with the Puppet tools
  •  employing Brainstorm to explore complex effects and alter keyframed animations
  •  getting the most out of the Cartoon effect, including pre- and post-processing