AE Freemart

Making a cube in AE is easy and yet difficult at the same time. It’s difficult if you don’t have your settings right. I’ve found that a few things can really streamline the task.

First, make sure the sides of your cube are the same size. Yes, that ought to be obvious.

Second, it seems to be easier if you use even numbers and especially a size that the width and height are divisible by 4. That may all be in my head, but it really does seem simpler. Maybe it’s the values in the Position settings - it’s obvious if they’re spot on because you’ll have a whole number value, not something with a decimal point.

Third, and most important, work in square pixels! Set up both your comp and your layers as square pixels.

I’ve built the cube in one comp and placed it in another comp. I’ve clicked the continuous rasterization button so that I can still move it about in 3D space, seeing all my sides. The bonus here is that I do not have to worry about accidently clicking and moving any of my sides. Of course, I could lock them, but this is just more elegant.

I’ve also thrown another solid wall layer, a camera and a couple of lights to make it a little more exciting. Wheee.

Download project file (AE 7) | View movie sample (pops)

Also, LME Amazing Video Walls & Displays has some comps that do exactly this but are 10x cooler and with much more ease. Check out the gallery link on that page. I’m partway through a review of the product and I find it to be extremely useful, both for the comps and the stuff one can learn by reverse engineering it. I’ll get the review finished and up after the craziness that is NAB.