Hello everyone! In this tutorial we're gonna show you how you can create 3 awesome circle animations with a few simple steps and default plug-ins such as CC Circle and Radio Waves.
Step 1
Create a new composition clicking by Menu->Composition->New Composition. Name it "Circles", change the resolution to 200x200 and set the duration to 7 seconds.
Step 2
We don't need a background solid so we can skip that part and click on the Toggle Transparency Grid button.
Step 3
Create a new solid clicking by Menu->Layer->New->Solid. The color is doesn't matter. Change the resolution to 200x200 and name it "Circle".
Step 4
With the "Circle" solid layer selected, go to Effect->Generate->Circle. Under the effect properties we have to set the color to #302B2F and click on the Radius stopwatch to add a new keyframe. Move forward 2 seconds and change the Radius property to 93.
Step 5
Let's duplicate the "Circle" solid layers, offset them and change the circle effect colors on each layer.
Step 6
Let's duplicate the top "Circle" layer once again. Offset it and right click on it and go to Time-Reverse Layer or you can use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+alt+R). Now we have a looped circle animation. We can use this animation in Trapcode Particular as a custom particle for example, but because in this tutorial we're dealing with default plug-ins, I will use Foam.
Step 7
Create a new composition clicking by Menu->Composition->New Composition. Name it "Abstract circles", change the resolution to 1280x720 and set the duration to 7 seconds.
Step 8
Create a new solid clicking by Menu->Layer->New->Solid. The color is doesn't matter. Change the resolution to 1280x720 and name it "BG".
Step 9
With the "BG" layer selected, let's go to Effect->Generate->Ramp. Change the Start Color to #9BB58F and the End color to #FFA601 and set the Ramp shape to Radial Ramp.
Step 10
Create a new solid clicking by Menu->Layer->New->Solid. The color is doesn't matter. Change the resolution to 1280x720 and name it "Foam".
Step 11
With the "Foam" layer selected go to Effect->Simulation->Foam. Before we move, on let's drop the "Circles" composition inside of this composition and turn it off. In "Foam" I didn't change too much. I changed the Bubble Texture Layer to the "Circles" composition and changed the view option to rendered and that's it.
Step 12
Finaly I just add this crunched paper image and changed it to multiply. It's an optional step but it just gives a little more depth to the animation.
Step 13
Now you should see something similar to this... Let's go to the 2nd animation : ).
Step 14
Create a new composition clicking by Menu->Composition->New Composition. Name it "Radio waves fun", change the resolution to 1280x720 and set the duration to 10 seconds.
Step 15
Create a new solid clicking by Menu->Layer->New->Solid. The color is doesn't matter. Change the resolution to 1280x720 and name it "BG".
Step 16
Create a new solid clicking by Menu->Layer->New->Solid. The color is doesn't matter. Change the resolution to 1280x720 and name it "Radio waves".
Step 17
Go to Effect->Generate->Radio Waves and set the following properties. I used #FA0047 as the stroke color.
Step 18
Go to Effect->Time->Echo and set the following properties.
Step 19
Here's what you should see now.... Now, let's finish the 3rd and final animation.
Step 20
Create a new composition clicking by Menu->Composition->New Composition. Name it "Circle text Animation", change the resolution to 1280x720 and set the duration to 12 seconds.
Step 21
The method is almost exactly the same as what we did before. The only difference is that now we have to choose different solid layer colors.
Step 22
With the "Circle 1" solid layer selected go to Effect->Generate-> Circle and apply it. We need to animate the radius just like we did before, but in this case I need to change the Blending mode to Stencil Alpha.
Step 23
Let's duplicate the Green solid layer couple times, change the colors on every duplicated layer and offset them.
Step 24
Finally, I just put a text layer on top of all the duplicated layers.
Step 25
Let's select the Ellipse Tool to create a circular mask on the text. Hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift while dragging to create a perfect circle mask.
Step 26
Let's change the mask to Add mode and we'll need to animate the Mask Path as well.
Step 27
I am just trying to create a simple growing circular mask path animation as you can see here. You can add the previous paper texture to the top and change the blending mode to Multiply to create a more dramatic or realistic look and here's an another trick that I used..
Step 28
We can add a simple point light and then turn the 3D layer option on for all of the duplicated solid layers.
Conclusion
So this is it! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and learned some new things. Try your own variations or customize the free project file that you can download at the top. My name is Tibor Miklos, thanks a lot for your attention and I'll see ya next time! If you have any questions or just get stuck, just shoot me an e-mail. sir.tibor.miklos@gmail.com
Final Image
