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Sci-fi Digital Makeup Using Facial Tracking in After Effects

by Evan Clarke James

In this After Effects tutorial, we'll learn how to transform an ordinary human actress into an alien creature. Software required: Adobe After Effects CC 2015, Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.

What you'll learn

In this After Effects tutorial, we'll learn how to transform an ordinary human actress into an alien creature. We'll start off by tracking the face of the actress with the facial tracking system in After Effects. We'll then use that information to stabilize the face. Then, using Mesh Warp, we'll warp the face, beginning our alien transformation. We'll go over reversing the stabilization of the face and then move into Photoshop and create some textures to use in After Effects for digital makeup. Back in After Effects, we'll get the textures to move with the actor's face by using tracking data from the facial tracker. Finally, we'll learn some tricks on how to handle textures for heads rotating in 3D space. By the end of this After Effects training, you'll have created a very impressive-looking alien woman and learned some techniques you can start using right away to create a huge variety of digital makeup effects in your own projects. Software required: Adobe After Effects CC 2015, Adobe Photoshop CC 2015.

About the author

Feeding his obsession with film making since he was 13 years old, Evan has built a mountain of industry experience from working on things like 300, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and South Park. Before that, he fed his obsession by devoting his time to learning, and earned a degree in film from NYU, as well as a MFA from CalArts in Experimental Animation. It’s safe to say your creative education is in good hands! As he continues expanding his passion for telling stories, let Evan help yo... more

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