Digital Artist Creates Animated Portal Using After Effects Plugin

In February 2019, a digital artist documented their process of adding motion to a static image using Adobe After Effects. The artist had previously created a Photoshop composition featuring a portal on a dark road, inspired by science fiction themes. Seeking to animate this image, they discovered the Saber plugin from VIDEO COPILOT, which specializes in generating various light effects such as neon glows and energy distortions. The plugin allowed for customization and relatively quick implementation, though rendering and adjustments required several hours. The artist detailed their workflow, which involved importing the Photoshop file into After Effects, creating a new composition with an ellipse shape, and applying the Saber effect to generate animated light around the circle. They used presets like Patronus and adjusted distortion settings to achieve flickering energy animations. Additional techniques included duplicating compositions for reflections and applying masks with feathering and Gaussian blur to control visual depth. The artist expressed enthusiasm for further exploration of motion design tools, indicating plans to continue learning and sharing progress in future posts.