Animate 3D Materials in After Effects

Swap textures on 3D models for animated precomps, with only a tiny element of Blender needed.

In this tutorial, I build on the technique I demonstrated in "Animate color changes of 3D Objects in After Effects" (    • Animate color changes of 3D Objects in Aft...   ) to create a 3D Luma Matte copy of a mesh / model. By setting all the textures to be black except for the screen, it's possible to use this as a track matte within After Effects. Unfortunately you cannot apply mattes directly to 3D layers, but with a little extra set up, you can create a precomp to drive this. All you need to do is link the camera from one comp to another.

I break down all the steps, from importing your model Blender to editing the materials in the Shading area's node editor, then bringing these models in After Effects and linking them to a null object. Once that's done, we create a precomp for the screen, position it correctly and finally look to apply the luma matte using the Set Matte effect and a Glow effect for some screen glow.

Despite the 10 minute runtime and the many steps, I promise this is a simple process and easy to follow.


#AfterEffects #3d #tutorial ‪@AdobeVideo‬

Get ShiveringCactus VFX as phone cases, T-shirts, mugs: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Shiv...

Or buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/shiveringcactus

Tutorial: Step by step guide to using 3D Model in After Effects:
   • Step by step guide to using 3D Models in A...  

Blendin' FX playlist
   • Blendin' After Effects  

*TV Bars Shape Layer Preset*:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ksjork...

Models featured:
"Apple Watch Ultra 2" (https://skfb.ly/oLpRF) by polyman Studio is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b....

"Game Boy Classic" (https://skfb.ly/6YNov) by Georg Klein is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b....

"Asus Laptop" (https://skfb.ly/oAs7t) by My_Leea is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b....

"Samsung S21 Ultra" (https://skfb.ly/o7BT9) by bendjama1986 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b....


Chapters
0:00 Showing off animated screens
1:10 Blender materials
4:00 Parenting to a null in After Effects
7:44 Duplicating the composition to apply the matte

I'm an Adobe Community Expert - which means you can find me on the Adobe forums if you need any help. https://community.adobe.com/t5/after-...


#AdobeCommunityExperts