I’ve always said that After Effects is the quickest to learn, and the fastest to grow out of. A jack of all trades and an expert at none, Ae is a great general application that handles a bit of compositing, a bit of 3D, a bit for animation and a bit for motion graphics. If you feel that compositing is your jam, maybe now is the time to step up into something a little more powerful, such a Nuke.
Hugo’s Desk recently kicked of a new tutorial series that is geared towards helping people move from After Effects to Nuke compositing. Hugo Guerra is a visual effects supervisor that used to run the Nuke compositing team at The Mill, so he knows a thing or two about that subject.
The first in the series is a basic introduction where Hugo offers a quick-start guide showing things in each application, side by side on one screen. It is interesting to watch trying to achieve the same results in each application. Layers versus nodes withstanding, there is a lot more to the jump than a simple production premise. Hugo covers the interfaces, project settings, importing clips, playback, merging and blend modes. A great introduction for Ae users who either want to supplement their skills or completely move over to Nuke.
