How to Make a Liquid Logo in After Effects | Adobe Creative Cloud

“Create an animated logo for your video.

Start from scratch, or download practice files [https://adobe.ly/2OlYoBm] for a head start. Steps below.

Prep your project:

1. Open the sample project (File – Open Project – make-a-logo_practice.aep).
2. Drag the artwork (Swan_Logo.ai) file from the Project bin (Window – Project) to the Timeline (Window – Timeline).
3. Right-click on the swan layer and choose Create – Create Shapes from Vector Layer.
4. Delete the Swan_Logo.ai layer from the Timeline.

Prep the vector logo:

1. Expand the Swan_Logo_Outlines layer.
2. Click the arrow next to Add in the Contents sublayer. Choose Offset Paths.
3. Expand the Offset Paths 1 sublayer.
4. Click the stopwatch icon next to Amount to add a keyframe. Set the value to -50.
5. Drag the playhead to frame 02:12. Set the Amount to 0.
6. Drag the playhead to the beginning (0:00f) on the timeline.
7. Collapse the Contents sublayer.

Add a twirl effect:

1. Type ‘twirl’ in the Effects & Presets (Window – Effects & Presets) search bar.
2. Drag the Twirl effect onto the Swan_Logo_Outlines layer.
3. Tap ‘e’ on your keyboard to highlight the Twirl effect, then expand the twirl effect settings.
4. Click the stopwatch next to Angle to add a keyframe.
5. Change the first value (0x) to -1x.
6. Drag the playhead to frame 02:12. Change the value back to 0x.
7. Change Twirl Radius to 40.
8. Drag the playhead to 0:00 on the timeline.

Add a turbulent displace effect:

1. Search ‘turbulent displace’ in the Effects & Presets panel.
2. Drag the Turbulent Displace effect onto the Swan_Logo_Outlines layer.
3. Expand the Turbulent Displace effect settings.
4. Click the stopwatch next to Amount to create a keyframe. Set the value to 300. Change Size to 20.
5. Drag the playhead to 02:12.
6. Set the Amount to 0.

Define the effect easing:

1. Tap ‘u’ on your keyboard to collapse the timeline layers to show the keyframes.
2. Drag to select the keyframes for the Twirl and Turbulent Displace effects at the 02:12 frame on the timeline.
3. Right-click on one of the keyframes (diamond icon), choose Keyframe Assistant – Easy Ease In.
4. Drag the playhead to 0:00.
5. Drag to select the keyframes for the Twirl and Turbulent Displace effects at the 0:00 frame on the timeline.
6. Right-click on one of the keyframes and choose Keyframe Assistant – Easy Ease Out.
7. Select the Swan_Logo_Outlines label in the timeline.
8. Tap ‘e’ on your keyboard to collapse the layer group.

Add a bubble effect:

1. Use Command+D (macOS), or Control+D (Windows), to duplicate the layer group.
2. Search ‘CC bubbles’ in the Effects & Presets panel.
3. Drag the Turbulent Displace effect onto the new Swan_Logo_Outlines 2 layer.
4. Expand the CC Bubbles effect.
5. Set the Bubble Amount to 4000.
6. Click the stopwatch next to Bubble Amount to create a keyframe.
7. Drag the playhead to 02:12.
8. Change the Bubble Amount to 0.

Add the finishing touches and test:

1. Set Shading Type to None.

Tip: Shading Type is a few rows below Bubble Amount.

2. Drag the playhead to 0:00.
3. Tap ‘p’ on your keyboard to show the Position setting.
4. Click the stopwatch next to Position to create a position keyframe.
5. Drag the playhead to 02:12.
6. Change the Y value (2nd position value). We used 440.
7. Drag the playhead to 0:00 and press the spacebar to preview the animation.

That’s it!

Check out more After Effects tutorials to continue learning: https://adobe.ly/2nebW6S

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