Adobe After Effects CC 2020 v17.0.3.58 Free Download
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Adobe After Effects 2020 V17.0.3.58 Win MacOS: A Comprehensive Review
If you are looking for a powerful and versatile software for creating motion graphics and visual effects, you might have heard of Adobe After Effects. It is one of the most popular and widely used applications in the industry, trusted by professionals and hobbyists alike. But what exactly is Adobe After Effects and what can it do?
Adobe After Effects 2020 V17.0.3.58 Win MacOS
In this article, we will give you a comprehensive review of Adobe After Effects 2020 V17.0.3.58 Win MacOS, the latest version of this amazing software. We will cover everything you need to know about it, from its features and improvements, to its download and installation process, to its usage and export options. By the end of this article, you will have a clear idea of whether Adobe After Effects 2020 is right for you and how you can use it to create stunning motion graphics and visual effects.
Introduction
Adobe After Effects is a software that allows you to create cinematic movie titles, intros, transitions, animations, logos, characters, and more. You can also use it to remove unwanted objects from your footage, add realistic effects like fire or rain, or simulate 3D environments with depth effects.
Adobe After Effects is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which means you can access it with a subscription plan that also includes other Adobe apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, etc. You can also integrate it with other apps and plugins to enhance your workflow and creativity.
Adobe After Effects 2020 is the latest version of this software, released in February 2020. It comes with many new features and improvements that make it faster, easier, and more powerful than ever before. Some of the highlights include:
A new Tapered Shape Strokes feature that lets you create tapered, wavy, pointed, or rounded strokes on shape layers, and animate them over time.
A new Concentric Shape Repeater feature that lets you create copies of a shape layer that radiate outward or inward, and control their properties with offset parameters.
A new Content-Aware Fill feature that lets you remove unwanted objects from your video clips automatically, using the power of Adobe Sensei artificial intelligence.
A new Expression Editor feature that lets you write and edit expressions more easily, with syntax highlighting, line numbers, matching brackets, and code folding.
A new Dropbox Smart Sync feature that lets you work with files stored in Dropbox without taking up space on your local drive.
Improved performance and stability, with faster rendering, smoother playback, and better memory management.
Improved compatibility and integration with other Adobe apps and plugins, such as Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, Photoshop, Illustrator, Character Animator, etc.
With these new features and improvements, Adobe After Effects 2020 is a must-have software for anyone who wants to create professional-quality motion graphics and visual effects. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, you will find Adobe After Effects 2020 to be a powerful and versatile tool that can help you bring your creative vision to life.
How to Download and Install Adobe After Effects 2020
If you are interested in trying out Adobe After Effects 2020, you have two options: you can either download the official installer from the Adobe website, or you can download the trial version from the Creative Cloud app. Here are the steps for both options:
Option 1: Download the official installer from the Adobe website
To download the official installer from the Adobe website, you need to have an Adobe account and a subscription plan. If you don't have one yet, you can sign up for one on the Adobe website. Once you have an account and a plan, follow these steps:
Go to https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html and click on the Download button.
Sign in with your Adobe ID and password.
Select your operating system (Windows or Mac OS) and your language.
Click on the Download button again and wait for the installer to download.
Once the download is complete, run the installer and follow the instructions on the screen.
When the installation is finished, launch Adobe After Effects 2020 from your desktop or start menu.
Option 2: Download the trial version from the Creative Cloud app
To download the trial version from the Creative Cloud app, you need to have an Adobe account and the Creative Cloud app installed on your computer. If you don't have them yet, you can sign up for an account and download the app on the Adobe website. Once you have them, follow these steps:
Launch the Creative Cloud app from your desktop or start menu.
Sign in with your Adobe ID and password.
Go to the Apps tab and scroll down to find Adobe After Effects 2020.
Click on the Try button and wait for the trial version to download.
Once the download is complete, launch Adobe After Effects 2020 from the Creative Cloud app or from your desktop or start menu.
Note that the trial version of Adobe After Effects 2020 is valid for 7 days only. If you want to continue using it after that period, you need to purchase a subscription plan from the Adobe website or from the Creative Cloud app.
How to Use Adobe After Effects 2020
Now that you have downloaded and installed Adobe After Effects 2020 on your computer, you are ready to start using it. But how do you use it? What are the basic steps and concepts that you need to know? In this section, we will give you a brief overview of how to use Adobe After Effects 2020 for creating motion graphics and visual effects. We will cover some of the most common tasks and features that you will encounter when working with this software. Of course, this is not a complete tutorial, but rather a general guide to help you get started. If you want to learn more about Adobe After Effects 2020 in depth, you can check out some of the best tutorials and courses that we will mention later in the FAQs section.
How to create a new project and import media files
The first thing you need to do when you launch Adobe After Effects 2020 is to create a new project. A project is a file that contains all the settings, media files, compositions, layers, effects, and animations that you will use for your motion graphics and visual effects. To create a new project, follow these steps:
Go to File > New > New Project or press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).
A new project window will open, where you can name your project and choose a location to save it.
Click on the Save button or press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Mac OS) to save your project.
Once you have created a new project, you need to import the media files that you want to use for your motion graphics and visual effects. Media files can be anything from video clips, audio files, images, graphics, text, etc. To import media files, follow these steps:
Go to File > Import > File or press Ctrl+I (Windows) or Command+I (Mac OS).
A file browser window will open, where you can navigate to the folder where your media files are stored.
Select the media files that you want to import and click on the Open button.
The imported media files will appear in the Project panel, which is the area on the left side of the screen where you can organize and manage your media files.
How to use the interface and the tools panel
The interface of Adobe After Effects 2020 is composed of several panels and windows that allow you to access different functions and features of the software. The main panels and windows are:
The Project panel, where you can see and manage your imported media files.
The Composition panel, where you can see and preview your motion graphics and visual effects.
The Timeline panel, where you can see and edit your layers, keyframes, effects, and animations.
The Effects & Presets panel, where you can see and apply different effects and presets to your layers.
The Tools panel, where you can see and select different tools for creating and modifying your layers.
You can customize the interface by resizing, rearranging, docking, undocking, or closing any of the panels or windows. You can also switch between different workspaces by going to Window > Workspace and choosing one of the preset options or creating your own.
The Tools panel is located at the top of the screen, below the menu bar. It contains several tools that you can use for creating and modifying your layers. The most commonly used tools are:
The Selection tool, which lets you select, move, resize, rotate, or align your layers.
The Hand tool, which lets you pan around the Composition panel.
The Zoom tool, which lets you zoom in or out of the Composition panel.
The Pen tool, which lets you create masks or shape layers with bezier curves.
The Text tool, which lets you create text layers with different fonts, sizes, colors, styles, etc.
The Brush tool, which lets you paint on your layers with different brushes, colors, modes, etc.
The Clone Stamp tool, which lets you copy pixels from one area of a layer to another.
The Roto Brush tool, which lets you isolate foreground objects from background objects with a smart selection algorithm.
To switch between different tools, you can either click on their icons in the Tools panel, or use the keyboard shortcuts that are displayed next to them. You can also access more options and settings for each tool by clicking on the Tool Options button at the bottom of the Tools panel.
How to create compositions and layers
A composition is a container that holds your layers, effects, and animations. A layer is a single element that you can manipulate and animate in your composition. You can have multiple compositions and layers in your project, and you can nest compositions inside other compositions. To create a new composition, follow these steps:
Go to Composition > New Composition or press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).
A new composition window will open, where you can name your composition and choose its settings, such as width, height, frame rate, duration, etc.
Click on the OK button to create your new composition.
Your new composition will appear in the Project panel and in the Composition panel.
To create a new layer, follow these steps:
Go to Layer > New and choose one of the layer types, such as solid, shape, text, camera, light, etc.
A new layer window will open, where you can name your layer and choose its settings, depending on the layer type.
Click on the OK button to create your new layer.
Your new layer will appear in the Timeline panel and in the Composition panel.
How to apply effects and presets
Effects are modifications that you can apply to your layers to change their appearance or behavior. Presets are pre-made combinations of effects and settings that you can apply to your layers with one click. To apply an effect or a preset to a layer, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to apply the effect or preset to in the Timeline panel.
Go to Effect > [Effect Category] > [Effect Name] and choose one of the effects from the menu, or go to Animation > Apply Animation Preset and choose one of the presets from the file browser window.
The effect or preset will be applied to your layer and will appear in the Effects Control panel, where you can adjust its parameters and keyframes.
How to animate objects and text
Animation is the process of changing the properties of your layers over time, such as position, scale, rotation, opacity, etc. You can animate your layers by using keyframes, which are markers that record the values of your properties at specific points in time. To animate a layer using keyframes, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to animate in the Timeline panel.
Move the current time indicator to the point in time where you want to set the first keyframe.
Click on the stopwatch icon next to the property that you want to animate in the Timeline panel or in the Effects Control panel. This will create a keyframe with the current value of the property.
Move the current time indicator to another point in time where you want to set another keyframe.
Change the value of the property by dragging it in the Composition panel or by typing it in the Timeline panel or in the Effects Control panel. This will create another keyframe with the new value of the property.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 as many times as you want to create more keyframes and change the values of the property over time.
You can also use presets and expressions to animate your layers more easily and quickly. Presets are pre-made animations that you can apply to your layers with one click, and expressions are codes that you can write or paste to control your properties with logic and math. To use presets and expressions, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to animate in the Timeline panel.
Go to Animation > Browse Presets or press Ctrl+Space (Windows) or Command+Space (Mac OS) to open the Adobe Bridge app, where you can browse and preview different presets.
Double-click on the preset that you want to apply to your layer. This will apply the preset to your layer and create keyframes for it in the Timeline panel.
Go to Animation > Add Expression or press Alt+Click (Windows) or Option+Click (Mac OS) on the stopwatch icon next to the property that you want to control with an expression.
A text box will appear below the property, where you can write or paste your expression code. You can also use the Expression Editor feature to write and edit your expressions more easily.
How to use masks, keying, and rotoscoping
Masks, keying, and rotoscoping are techniques that you can use to isolate or remove parts of your layers, such as backgrounds, objects, or subjects. Masks are shapes that you can draw on your layers to define the visible or invisible areas. Keying is the process of making parts of your layers transparent based on their color or luminance values. Rotoscoping is the process of manually tracing the edges of your subjects frame by frame. To use masks, keying, and rotoscoping, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to apply the mask, key, or roto to in the Timeline panel.
Go to Layer > Mask > New Mask or press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Shift+N (Mac OS) to create a new mask on your layer.
Use the Pen tool or the Shape tools in the Tools panel to draw a shape on your layer that covers the area that you want to isolate or remove.
Go to Effect > Keying and choose one of the keying effects from the menu, such as Keylight, Color Key, Luma Key, etc.
Adjust the parameters of the keying effect in the Effects Control panel until you get a clean and transparent result.
Go to Window > Roto Brush & Refine Edge or press Alt+W (Windows) or Option+W (Mac OS) to open the Roto Brush & Refine Edge panel.
Use the Roto Brush tool and the Refine Edge tool in the Tools panel to paint over the edges of your subject and refine them frame by frame.
How to use expressions and scripts
Expressions and scripts are codes that you can use to control and automate your properties, effects, and animations. Expressions are codes that you can write or paste in the text boxes below your properties. Scripts are codes that you can write or paste in a separate window and run as commands. To use expressions and scripts, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to control with an expression or a script in the Timeline panel.
Go to Animation > Add Expression or press Alt+Click (Windows) or Option+Click (Mac OS) on the stopwatch icon next to the property that you want to control with an expression.
A text box will appear below the property, where you can write or paste your expression code. You can also use the Expression Editor feature to write and edit your expressions more easily.
Go to File > Scripts > Run Script File or press Ctrl+Shift+O (Windows) or Command+Shift+O (Mac OS) to open a file browser window where you can select a script file that you want to run.
The script will run and execute its commands on your layer or project.
How to use 3D space and cameras
3D space and cameras are features that allow you to create and manipulate layers in three dimensions, rather than two. You can use 3D space and cameras to add depth, perspective, and realism to your motion graphics and visual effects. To use 3D space and cameras, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to convert to 3D in the Timeline panel.
Click on the 3D Layer switch next to the layer name in the Timeline panel. This will enable the 3D properties of the layer, such as position, rotation, scale, anchor point, etc.
Use the Selection tool or the 3D tools in the Tools panel to move, rotate, or scale your layer in 3D space. You can also use the Orientation and X Rotation, Y Rotation, and Z Rotation properties in the Timeline panel or in the Effects Control panel to adjust the angle of your layer.
Go to Layer > New > Camera or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+C (Mac OS) to create a new camera layer in your composition.
A new camera window will open, where you can name your camera and choose its settings, such as type, focal length, zoom, depth of field, etc.
Click on the OK button to create your new camera layer.
Use the Selection tool or the Camera tools in the Tools panel to move, rotate, or zoom your camera in 3D space. You can also use the Point of Interest and Position properties in the Timeline panel or in the Effects Control panel to adjust the direction and location of your camera.
How to use motion tracking and stabilization
Motion tracking and stabilization are techniques that allow you to track the movement of an object or a camera in your footage, and use that information to attach other layers or effects to it, or to smooth out shaky or jittery shots. To use motion tracking and stabilization, follow these steps:
Select the layer that you want to track or stabilize in the Timeline panel.
Go to Window > Tracker or press Ctrl+5 (Windows) or Command+5 (Mac OS) to open the Tracker panel.
Choose one of the tracking options from the Tracker panel, such as Track Motion, Stabilize Motion, Track Camera, etc.
A tracker window will open, where you can see your footage and a track point that you can position over a feature that you want to track.
Adjust the settings of the tracker window, such as track type, track point size, search region size, etc.
Click on the Analyze Forward or Analyze Backward button to start tracking the feature frame by frame. You can also click on the Analyze 1 Frame Forward or Analyze 1 Frame Backward button to track one frame at a time.
When the tracking is done, you can see the motion path of the