Mastering Clock Animation: A Comprehensive Guide in After Effects

Introduction – “Infuse Life into Your Designs: Step-by-Step Clock Animation in After Effects

Embark on a captivating journey into the world of clock animation with Adobe After Effects. This comprehensive guide will navigate you through the intricacies of each step, transforming your static designs into dynamic, lifelike animations. Let’s breathe life into your clocks and elevate your design game!

Step 1: Create a New Composition

Create a new composition and configure the settings.

Step 2: Choose the Ellipse Tool

Select the Ellipse Tool and double-click on it.

Step 3: Configure Ellipse Parameters

Adjust parameters such as fill, stroke, and pixel size. Set the shape’s size and rename the layer to “Rim.” Lock the layer.

Step 4: Choose the Rectangle Tool

Select the Rectangle Tool and double-click on it.

Step 5: Configure Rectangle Parameters

Rename the layer to “Ticks” and adjust fill, stroke, size, position, and roundness settings.

Step 6: Add Repeater

Click on “Add” next to the contents line and choose “Repeater” from the submenu.

Step 7: Configure Repeater 1 Parameters

In the transform repeater 1, set the “copies” parameter to 12. Choose position 0 and rotation 360/12. Lock the layer.

Step 8: Choose Rectangle Tool

Select the Rectangle Tool and double-click on it. Rename the layer to “Minute Hand.”

Step 9: Configure Minute Hand Parameters

Adjust fill, stroke, size (20), and position (400).

Step 10: Align and Modify Roundness

Use the “Title/Action safe” button and align the minute hand. Modify the roundness parameter.

Step 11: Duplicate the Layer

Duplicate the layer using Ctrl/Cmd + D and rename it to “Hour Hand.” Reduce the size of the hand on the composition panel.

Step 12: Apply Motion Blur

Next to the hour and minute hand layers, click on the Motion Blur button and simulate shutter duration.

Step 13: Apply Rotation Animation

Select both hour and minute hand layers with Shift, press R, and set the rotation at the beginning of the composition. Create two keyframes.

Step 14: Set Intermediate Rotations

Move the time indicator to the middle of the composition. For the hour hand, set rotation to 0×180; for the minute hand, set rotation to 6×0.

Step 15: Undo the “Title/Action Safe”

Unpress the “Title/Action Safe” button to revert the last change.

Step 16: Preview Animation

Use the preview feature to ensure the correctness of the animation.

Congratulations, your clock animation is complete!

Conclusion: Unleashing Creativity in Motion

As you streamline your workflow with valuable tips and tricks, this guide doesn’t just teach clock animation; it empowers you to infuse creativity into your motion graphics projects. Dive into this exhilarating journey and bring your designs to life with the professional touch of Adobe After Effects. Your creative possibilities are boundless!