How would i animate this? (probably simple)

[FilmBoy77]

i have a vector image of a background of a skyline/city and i want to add the silhouette of birds flying in the distance (just black images of birds). what's the best way to go about doing this from scratch?

 

[clarkage]

Stock footage if u can find it. If not you can make a new black solid and mask out a shape of a bird with the pen tool. Once u have your shape. Key frame movements in the shape that simulate flapping. Take your mask duplicate it. Take the duplicates re size them so that there is variation. Then, maybe go back and alter the key frames a bit in the other birds just so they aren't all flapping at the same time. Then add some motion blur and set a few more keyframes up on the position of them all so it appears they are flying off.....

I would keep the birds at a very small size and in one of the upper corners of the frame.

Hope this helps.

 

[oneinfiniteloop]

Here's a good tutorial on how to animate birds and flock them with Illustrator, AE, and Particular. If you don't have Particular you can still do the flocking by hand.

http://www.gomediazine.com/tutorials/animating-birds-with-after-effects/

 

[Hawk Teflon]

I always liked this one:

http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rabinowitz_aharon/bird_flock1.php

-and-

http://library.creativecow.net/articles/rabinowitz_aharon/bird_flock2.php

 

[FilmBoy77]

oh that looks perfect and very straightforward. love video tutorials. thanks guys.