ABSTRACT
One of the richest areas for exploration in After Effects is its “effects” side. The variety of effects supplied with After Effects ranges from the extremely utilitarian to the extremely wild, each with anywhere from one to over 100 parameters that can be adjusted. Virtually all effects share the same basic methods of adjusting and animating those parameters. This chapter presents an overview of how to apply and edit effects. It focuses on some more sophisticated tricks using effects, such as animating their Effect Point, using adjustment layers, exploiting mask paths, and adding blending modes. The chapter explores the layer styles: a powerful alternative to common effects such as bevels, glows and shadows, borrowed from Photoshop. There are two approaches to applying an effect to a layer: using the Effect menu, or using the Effects & Presets panel.
