This motion graphics tutorial will teach you a method of creating shiny chrome text or objects with an animatable reflective texture using After Effects and only the free effects that come with it (Ramp and CC Light Sweep) You can also download the After Effects project and the elements used in it.

Tutorial Link

In this excellent tutorial you will learn how to track facial features (though the techniques could apply to all kinds of tracking) and apply them to easily animate everything from cartoon faces to full face replacements using nothing more than a video camera, a magic marker and After Effects. The tutorial uses the puppet tool to animate the tracked features. The source footage used in the tutorial is available to download for free.

Motion Graphics Tutorial – Facial tracking

Download this free tone mapping plugin, available for MAC OS as well as Windows.

From the website:

So what’s this “tone mapping” you ask? According to Wikipedia:

Tone mapping is a technique used in image processing and computer graphics to map a set of colours to another; often to approximate the appearance of high dynamic range images in media with a more limited dynamic range.

The technique is particularly useful if you have high dynamic range images, such as rendered 3DCG imagery or HDR photographs, and you want to bring their broad spectrum into a range more suitable for display on a computer monitor or television screen.

Download Free After Effects Plugin

Learn how to recreate the big head effect seen in Alice in Wonderland using keyin, masks and the Warp Effect in this After Effects tutorial

Tutorial Link

Download 5 free plugins for After Effects and/or Final Cut Pro from the link below. Watch a tutorial here.

The free plugins include:

Earth Plugin
This free plugin generates a 3D earth including clouds and city lights.

Intersect Plugin
Places two planes in 3D space with independent XY and Z controls. Optionally creates rounded corners and soft edges.

iSight Live plugin
Creates a live video input into your timeline

Rack Focus plugin
Create a rack focus effect where the blur area (out of focus) moves from one area to another. You can independently control the amount of blur on the start and end points.

Opposites Plugin
Link two parameters so that they move inversely. fade one item up and the other fades out, move one left and the other moves right, etc.

Download Free Plugins

Motion Graphics Tutorial

Motion Graphics Tutorial

Here are half a dozen or so tutorials that show off some of the new features of After Effects CS6 as well as some AE CS6 demos (Read the Full Post Here)

(Above) 3D Text Ray Tracing in After Effects CS6. The project file itself will be available for download in May.
Tutorial Link

A quick 3D Camera Match Move example, one of the most impressive new features of After effects that allows you to ‘attach’ any AE element to your 2D video footage to make it appear as it is part of the shot
Tutorial Link

After Effects CS6 3D Camera Tracker has some impressive features, it analyzes your footage attempt to track 3D features enabling you to composite and track elements to any plane in the shot. Here’s a quick overview of the
After Effects CS6 3D Camera Tracker

Overview of the new Frame Caching system (major performance enhancement) more 3d camera tracking, mask edge feather tool, importing vectors as 3D shapes and more

Link

And finally (for now) an After Effects CS6 Mask Feather Tool Tutorial. This is perhaps not the best application for it, it’s really more valuable in shots with motion blur for example, but it is a great overview of how to use the tool.

Tutorial Link

In these 3 quick After effects 6 Tutorials from Eran Stern you will learn just a few of the great new features in After Effects 6 including 3D extruded text, HDR environment mapping, Illustrator to AE shapes and the new Mask Feathering tool similar to those found in Shake and Nuke. Check back for more After Effects 6 Tutorials as they show up.

Motion Graphics Tutorials

This motion graphics tutorial will teach you how to create the Diablo III intro. You can also download the Blade 2 Font, the vector image as well as the After Effects project itself!

Tutorial Link

All you want to know about creating stereo 3D motion graphics in After Effects in a 3 part tutorial. This tutorial includes a downloadable after effects project

Tutorial Link