Mobox Graphics shows how you can make a water ripple effect using a displacement map in Ae.

Displacement maps are pretty useful for a lot of things in After Effects. It’s an easy way to get a bit of dimension or animation on the cheap. In a new tutorial, Mobox Graphics’ Mike Ridolfi shows how you can easily create a water ripple effect using Displacements.

Super-Easy Water Ripple.

The tutorial covers creating a custom greyscale animated map in Ae using some simple effects. It’s this map that then establishes the ripple in the displacement effect. Additionally, you will learn how to loop the animation, and add a retro TV-style to the animation.