Good After Effects book???

B

benson

Member
Can anyone recommend a good book for After Effects? I love my Avid book by Sam Kauffmann (Focal Press) and like most Focal Press books. I think their only AE book is Creative AE 5.0 by Angie Taylor and the 6.5 version of the book won't be released until October.

I'm looking for a beginner to intermediate book that can be used mostly for reference.

Mike
 
Re: Good After Effects book???

I found this really good book at borders and am planning to get it it's got a dvd with a whole bunch of hands on tutorials it's called "After Effects in production" Check it out.
 
Re: Good After Effects book???

Is that a good book for someone with no knowledge of AE or is there another book I should start with. Sounds like this book might be an advanced type book.
 
Re: Good After Effects book???

"Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects" (vols. 1 and 2) and the previously mentioned "After Effects in Production" are both by Trish and Chris Meyer, fairly respected authors on the subject of After Effects. They also write a regular column for DV Magazine.

I have "CMGWAE" vol 1 and "AE in Production" (both are AE 5.5 versions) and they are both great books. "Creating..." in particular is a better introduction to AE, especially if you have the Standard version. It is easy to understand and jumps right into hands-on tutorials (as mentioned above) -- my favorite way to learn. The books also come with free plug-ins (some full-version, some demos), which is an added bonus.

I would defintely recommend the Meyer's books. Also, if you have any experience with Photoshop, you will find After Effects a little easier to dive into.
 
Re: Good After Effects book???

Thanks all,

It looks like the Creating Motion Graphics line leans more to what I am looking for. I have decent experience with Photoshop but am not sure about the differences between v5.5 and 6.5. In your opinion, would you choose the 5.5 "CMG" book over a differenct 6.5 book - I'm not sure what updates took place and if it would affect the book that much???
 
Re: Good After Effects book???

"Creating..." vol 1 is available for AE 6.5 as of Sept. 2004:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...103-9622379-6287806?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

If you can order from somewhere like Amazon, I'd go ahead and get the 6.5 version (I'm assuming, from your post, that you have 6.5)

I actually checked out the 6.5 version of "AE in Production" last night and it looked pretty much the same as my 5.5 version.

I recently upgraded from 5.5 Standard to 6.5 Pro, so I've haven't gone through everything and I'm not always sure which differences are due to the Stnd to Pro upgrade and which are due to the 5.5 to 6.5 upgrade. One thing I have noticed is a difference in how you work with text, but it's nothing too major (except for the nice pre-built text animations you get now). Also, there are a lot more effects than I had in 5.5 Standard.

But to answer your question -- if you absolutely can't get the 6.5 version of "Creating..." vol 1, you'll probably be ok with the 5.5 version (and I'd choose that over any other non-Meyer AE book)
 
Re: Good After Effects book???

I picked up the 5.5 version of Creating Motion Graphics Vol. 1. Although I've only worked through 2 chapters, I'll definitely vouch for it. I wish I had a full week to devote to it, so I could really soak up the knowledge and start becoming proficient in this great program.

After Effects in Production is also by Chris and Trish Meyers. Something to check out after finishing Vol. 1 perhaps.
 
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