In this tutorial we’ll be taking a look at the Animated 3D Reveal template from Mixkit.
This how-to doc is for Adobe After Effects users who have downloaded the free After Effects files from Mixkit and are ready to import into After Effects to start creating!
To follow along with our how-to article, you will need the following:
– The latest version of After Effects by Adobe
– The Free Logo Reveal template – project file
Opening the project file in Adobe After Effects
Before we can get started you’ll first need to open the file that you downloaded from Mixkit.
Inside you’ll find a single folder containing a further two files. The first is an assets folder called footage, the second is the project file itself, titled 3D Logo Animation. It’s important to export the main folder containing the two files to your computer. As both will be required for After Effects to locate the assets used in the project. Simply drag and drop the main folder or manually export it to somewhere on your desktop.
With this done you can open the folder which should now be saved locally on your desktop and double-click on 3D Logo Animation. This will open the project with After Effects. If for any reason your computer does not recognize this as an After Effects file by default. You can open it by navigating to file, open project and finally selecting it manually from within the After Effects interface.
Editing the logo or replacing it with text
Now that the project is open in After Effects we can start editing! First look to the project management section of After Effects, where the files used in this composition are located. You’ll find a composition called “Logo Here”. Double-click on this to open it. You’ll notice the interface updates and you’ll now see only the logo image isolated in the preview.
In the timeline panel below choose the graphic by clicking on it and then simply press the delete button on your keyboard or alternatively click the small eyeball icon to the left of the layer name to hide it. With this hidden or removed. We can now look at replacing it with a new graphic.
We now have two options. We can add a new graphic or alternatively we can simply use the text tool within After Effects. For this tutorial, we’ll show how you can do both but we’ll be using a new logo ourselves.
Before you can add a new logo you’ll first need to import one. Return to the project section of After Effects, where you clicked on “Logo Here” moments ago. In an empty area right-click and choose Import and then File. From here you can browse your local files and select a saved image that you wish to import.
This will add the newly imported image to the project manager. Simply click on the new image and drag it down to the timeline panel where the old logo file was previously.
You’ll see your new graphic appear in the preview window. Here you can also resize it by dragging the four points located in each corner of the image if you need to.
If you would rather just have a text heading instead of a logo
Once the preview image has been deleted. Select the text tool from the top of the After Effects interface. Then click anywhere inside the preview window. This will create a new text layer that you can edit by typing your chosen word or phrase. If you would like to adjust the placement. Choose the selection tool, highlighted in our screenshot and then click and drag the text to the desired location.
You can change the font, sizing, and color by choosing the options under the character window. Which is found on the left by default with the text tool selected. Make sure you have the text highlighted otherwise any changes will not be applied to the existing text.
If you’re unable to see the character interface. Choose Window and then Character from the top navigation window within After Effects. This will add the panel to your user interface.
Changing the background color and tagline
Now with either your new logo or text finished. Let’s make some final changes to our design. First, click on “Render Me” to bring us back to the full project view and double-click on Text_01 from the timeline panel. This will quickly allow us to edit the tagline. Here you can replace the existing text or simply delete the tagline if you would prefer.
Finally, we can use the built-in controllers to edit the background and other small details of the design. In the timeline panel choose the small arrow to the left of the layer called “Main Controller” this will expand the options below it. Then do the same for “Effects”. Here you’ll find a large collection of settings for you to explore.
We’ll be updating Background 2 in this example. However, the process is the same for each of the options provided. Repeat the same step again, clicking the small arrow to the left of Background 2. This will reveal the color options for this section of the template. Click in the color viewer and another panel will appear. From here select your favorite color and click OK. You’ll see your template now has a bright new background.
Save and then it’s rendering time
With the work done it’s time to save your changes. You may have been doing this as you went along but just in case you have not saved your work yet, it’s best to do so now. Navigate to File in the top right corner of the interface and choose Save from the drop-down menu.
Now let’s render our project. We’ll be using the base render method in this example. To get started choose File once more and this time Export. Within Export choose “Add to Render Queue”. A new interface panel will appear where the timeline was previously. Here you’ll want to click on two options and set them up as your project requires. In our example we’ll be saving this as a Quicktime .mov file.
First, click on the Output Module. Which will be “Lossless” by default. This will bring up a small menu, now under format you’ll want to change this to Quicktime before pressing OK. Finally under Output To click the link and this will allow you to choose the location your new render will be saved to within your computer.
When you’re finished, click render. This is located to the top right of the render panel.
We’re done! You can now open your newly rendered video and watch it back. If you’re unhappy with the outcome you can always open the saved version again and edit it as much as you like.
If you wish to expand your After Effects collection or add more to this project head back to the growing library of After Effects projects, renders and presets on Mixkit.
Help & Troubleshooting
- If you would like to render the final project as a specific format, you can refer to the official render documentation from Adobe. You may wish to use the Media Encoder Queue instead.
- You may receive a notification upon first opening the project file. Stating that the file must be converted. You can just click OK. This means you have a more recent version of After Effects.
- You may be missing the fonts used in the project. If you are missing them a window will appear letting you know the name of the missing font. You can then search online or your favorite font repository for a copy and install it or choose a different font entirely during the editing process. With most Mixkit Templates, if an Adobe Font has been used, Creative Cloud will automatically activate it.
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