Animating Ash

This week I want to share with you a peek into an animation technique.

After Effects is an industry standard animation program, and a program I use a great deal when making videos, both professionally and for my personal YouTube channel. This week I was tasked with simulating a fire-scape for a friend’s project. As with many animation projects (and creative projects in general) I started looking for inspiration online. YouTube has yet again proven itself a valuable source, as I easily found this tutorial for generating cinders and ash particles in a simulated breeze.

I’m not sharing this because you might want to animate it; I’m sharing because it’s fascinating to me how simple and accessible these tools can be. I’m constantly floored by how much information is out there. Tutorials exist for every look, motion, and sound – to not take advantage of them is almost certainly a means of working harder, not smarter.

Guest Blogger: Sam Mooradian Creative and Ash Animator

Work smarter, not harder.

— Carl Barks