Mobox Dissects a Simple Method for Creating an Abstract Waves Effect in Ae Using Animated Gradients.

Mobox’s Mike Ridolfi takes us through an interesting technique that has a lot of promise. Mike shows how you can create abstract waves by animating gradients in After Effects. The effect is not so much creating animated waves, but instead animating the wave growing and glowing. It’s a nice effect that Ridolfi accredits to the work of Erica Anderson @ericaofanderson.

The method that Mike shows is an excellent example of how a systematic and almost procedural approach to working in After Effects can get you excellent results without too much trouble. Mike notes that this type of abstract, looping animated GIF is pretty popular on Twitter and Instagram recently. “The looping abstract shape layers include a number of unique effects that result in a vintage looping animation,” Mike says.