If you are looking for instructional CD materials for Adobe's After Effects, you have probably looked around and seen the variety of materials that are online.

While there are several great tutorial options out there, Dean Velez's subscription based tutorial training CDs are engaging project-based lessons.  There are some instruction subscriptions that allow you to download materials, The Anvel series delivers like a magazine, coming about once a month.  Each lesson, or "issue" is a completely new project (or set of projects) with breakdown instructions explaining how each part of the project was assembled.

Each month the CDs (yes, plural) come in the mail with all of the associated materials on board.  The materials for instruction include a Lesson PDF.  Unlike some instruction which comes in the form of .swf, .qt, or .wmv, PDF format provides a nice "go-at-your-own-pace" format.  Using Apple's built-in PREVIEW application to look at the PDFs allows users to view the entire project (or at least several steps) at a glance, rather than scrolling around on a movie.

While I love watching DVDs, especially Brian's team at Total Training - while they explain the smallest (important) details of Adobe applications, The Anvel lessons are about using the software that you already know, rather than an instruction about where to find a button, or trim a layer.   If you're like me, and love burning through color ink cartridges for your printer, you can print the entire PDF to keep deskside for later reference.

Understand that this isn't a series for people who have just purchased the application, and haven't figured out what "animation" is yet.  While you could jump right into the lessons, a cursory understanding of the application is necessary to take steady and full advantage of the series.

So - while this series isn't geared for absolute beginners, the subscription has something for everyone.  Most lessons are set up for animations that are not unlike popular background animations and broadcast backplates, with plenty of effects and design techniques included to give even seasoned users a healthy dose of inspiration.

BEGINNERS' ADVANTAGE:

The great part about the series for beginners is the ability to look at all of the different parts of After Effects that you may have recently learned for the first time, and figure out how to apply it to an actual moving project.  Because the support materials are all provided for you, there aren't any additional software packages to learn right away (you don't even need to know Photoshop or Illustrator or 3D applications to pick these up and start using them).

INTERMEDIATE ADVANTAGE:

Many After Effects users who consider themselves "intermediate" are proficient in a specific part of the application.  They may even know a large portion of After Effects, but never move out of their "comfort zone".  There are parts of The Anvel which may help to move those users into other areas with After Effects, and introduce new tools to someone who will easily grasp the concept once they see where it is.

ADVANCED USERS' ADVANTAGE:

I think Advanced Users are the small core of After Effects artists who have a significant and substantial knowledge of the ENTIRE application, only to realize that they don't know nearly as much of the application's uses as they would like to, and are eagerly gobbling up as much information as they can.  Well, included on the issue's delivery is not only the lesson, but the process of the lesson as well.

Like so many After Effects artists, Dean experiments to find something new.

Those experiments are also included in the delivery.  While the main issue is a concise explanation of a specific project, what is sometimes more interesting in the delivery is the projects that helped to hone the lesson.  The latest delivery demonstrates the benefits of those experiments.

This month's "BioGenetics" lesson is cool.  The one thing that I don't fully agree with is why Dean's continued use of Photoshop to create layers that can be generated in After Effects itself.  While you may want to choose Photoshop in a production environment in order to quickly switch out layer elements, the images that he uses in his tutorials are usually easily created within AE.  Furthermore, you need to have Photoshop if you want to edit those layers yourself.  While I'm sure that most people using The Anvel tutorials have the software in order to do that,  some of these lessons would serve Adobe After Effects better by demonstrating that you don't need anything else in order to create the very same animation.

Although the lesson contains a bunch of excellent information from beginner to pro, everyone will appreciate the AniElements CD that accompanies the issue.  The CD includes several projects for unique background and foreground elements to put into any animation, built completely around a single black solid and several effects stacked on the layer.

NOTE: These are not items that are part of the lesson, but related projects, separate from the lesson precomps and source materials.  Other lesson goodies included with issues were Photoshop elements, 3D objects and alpha channels, glowing setups with animated lights and glows, demonstration of workflow, extra footage to play with, and much more.

Dean's not only the author of these tutorials, but is constantly on the road for Adobe, popping up just about everywhere in the country, and most definitely at the big trade shows in the Adobe After Effects booth.

In conclusion, although this series is targeted toward an INTERMEDIATE-user group, I think The Anvel tutorials offer something for artists at every level of After Effects talent.  The lessons are easy to follow, yet have a diverse range of elements; enough to keep any animator digging deeper.   While I would like to see the tutorials limit themselves to After Effects when they can, Dean provides all of the elements you need in order to complete each lesson.  One critique I would make regarding the elements is purely organizational:  Name the Photoshop layers and After Effects compositions rather than leaving them in their default naming convention.   While most intermediate - advanced users can see through this, it's important to provide newer users with a more obvious roadmap from project to source.

You can find all of the ordering information on his website: http://www.theanvel.com.  (Yes, "Anvel" is spelled that way as a play on the first part of his last name (Velez)).  Now is an excellent time to get in on the subscription (and receive issues you've missed) for a low $199 for a limited time.  I think it's a great offer for 12 super issues including the bonus CDs (whose elements will doubtlessly be showing up in broadcast animations in no time at all).


By Ko Maruyama
09/11/05