This is your sign, it’s time to start your own channel, business, brand your gifts. Whatever little voice that’s been telling you to “try it” we are hear to shine a light on that part of you.
Here’s why:
• Life is too short, you don’t have to live a life of what ifs. Trying is better than failing on any level. You won’t know until you try.
• It’s a new year baby, you’ve made it this far… what if this is the year that elevates you in the way you’ve always dreamed of?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
— Albert Einstein
• B.F.S encourages all of our besties to enhance your skills this year, what if you can turn that hobby into multiple streams of income? ✨💰
• The social media aesthetic is changing, people are craving authenticity and normalcy. People want to connect and relate to what they are consuming, what if you’re holding on to the content / products needed to help someone else?
IN MY 6-YR LOVE/HATE AFFAIR WITH AFTER EFFECTS and 8-yr love/hate affair with video editing, i think one of the things i’ve heard come up the most is this fear of, or anxiety about, after effects.
people are intimidated by the look of the application, the mechanisms, the graphs, the holy-shit-why-are-there-so-many-options, the what-the-fuck-you-can-code-things-???, and so on and so forth. and u know what? sure, as an application, it’s definitely unique, and the math behind everything can be intimidating.
but in a practical sense? nonono. nooo nono. this thing is baby food. especially if you’re already familiar with photoshop! in fact, i’d argue that it’s easier to learn than photoshop, but i’m biased, because i learned ae first.
so here are three major comparisons between the programs so that u can see that adobe’s beloved behated is really quite similar to photoshop, and that the learning curve is! very not steep! and once you get over the whole after-effects-makes-no-sense frustration, it’s exciting to properly learn things and move onto animation, vfx, and more.
NB: this is not an introductory tutorial to after effects! just pointing out stuff that should make it less intimidating for photoshop users :)
#1. THE INTERFACE
this is photoshop, which, with variations in your workspace, you should be very familiar with. hello!
and this is the default after effects interface. i’ve changed my workspace so much that it doesn’t look like this lol but for simplicity’s sake, we’ll go off this one.
right off the bat, you may be uneasy, and that is fair! where’s the toolbar, where’s the timeline? but there are similarities already!
on photoshop, your tool bar is on the left; on after effects, it’s still on the left, just along the top instead of the side
the timeline is at the bottom
your workspace is in the middle
some of the things you use to edit with are along the right, moreso in ae than in photoshop
now let’s add some footage—one major practical diff is that with photoshop you work on one project, but with ae you have a workspace in which you can make multiple projects. we call ‘em “compositions,” and you can think of them as photoshop files, if that helps.
i went ahead and created a composition, and i imported some footage from race of champions 2022. i also created an adjustment layer, which is probably what photoshop users have the most trepidation with, but we’ll get to that later.
this should look slightly more familiar! you’ve got layers stacking up on the bottom—a white solid layer below the roc 2022 footage is invisible because the video is on top of it, just like how layers work on photoshop. your timestamp is on the left, just like in photoshop, and the timeline is marked in increments, and your playhead works the same as in photoshop. even the way your timeline layers work is the same in that you can slide them left and right to go forward and backward in time.
as far as your interface goes, i hope this shows that it’s really not that different! obvs there are additional things to learn, but knowing photoshop means you're halfway there.
#2. ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
photoshop uses adjustment layers to make changes to the layers beneath, like if you wanted to make a photo brighter or darker, you’d use an adjustment layer. it has a separate feature for effects, which you can apply to individual layers. in a way, it separates adjustment layers from layer effects.
after effects gets rid of the distinction. the adjustment layers feature exists, as illustrated in the screencaps above, but they don’t quite work the same. i think the most apt comparison is that every layer in after effects is a smart object. you can add "adjustments" to the layers themselves, and they stack up the same as smart layers do in photoshop, and they only affect the layer they’re placed on. we don’t really call them adjustments, bc in a practical sense, they’re the same as effects. it’s a levels effect, not a levels adjustment layer.
see: the selected layer is the footage itself. the adjustment layer is empty. and to repeat, the way the effects stack in your effect controls is the same as the way adjustment layers stack in photoshop.
if you wanted to make adjustments to your whole composition (or below a certain layer), that’s when adjustment layers come in handy. below, i used an effect called twitch, and the adjustment layer makes the transition between the two clips look smooth. i could have added twitch to each layer and added a couple other effects to compensate, but the adjustment layer made life easier.
#3. KEYFRAMES
keyframes are like, the fundamental base that makes the house of after effects. it’s like the dirt beneath the house. idk how houses are built. but it’s important and holds everything up that you will ever do on ae, because ae gives users the power over literally everything. luckily, the principle is the same as on photoshop:
and once you’ve got the hang of basic keyframes, then you can play around with fun stuff like the graph editor, keyframe interpolation, etc.
so those are the three big things!
i know a lot of gifmakers stick to photoshop and only use ae for animated text, and that’s valid, like any work on this program makes my ae propagandist heart go doki doki in respect. but there’s also a whole world of vfx at your fingertips!! photoshop is still very powerful, don’t get me wrong, but because after effects is a program designed for time-based media, it offers more (and imo, easier) ways to execute your creative endeavours. (nudges gently. ur gifs.)
so i hope this guide eases some anxieties and demonstrates that ae is nothing to be afraid of! if u have any questions, my ask box is open <3
If you are working on a project, whether it be writing, drawing, programming, or something else, if you start to feel stressed, frustrated, or all around burnt out, try taking a break.
Sit back, let yourself do something else. Maybe something you haven’t done in a while? Try doing some stretches or meditation? Go for a nice walk, read a book, watch a movie, tv show, or streamer? Distance yourself from the project for a while, try not to think about it. I know it sounds hard but trust me.
Then after all the stress and frustration has left, try coming back to the project. You will find that it is much easier looking at it with fresh eyes and a clear mind. It won’t feel like as much of a burden as it did before.
Sometimes we get tired of thinking or doing the same thing over and over again. We get burnt out. We lose that excitement we get when we start something new. And that is ok. All you need is some time away from it all so that when you come back to it you get feel that same excitement again.
Spring Reset: Why This Season Is the Perfect Time to Work With Me 🌷
Spring has a way of making everything feel possible again.
The air feels lighter. The days get longer. And suddenly, you start thinking about the version of yourself you actually want to be. Not the one shaped by survival, but the one shaped by intention.
And if you’ve been feeling stuck, inconsistent, or unsure about your next step… this might be your sign.
Because spring isn’t just about…
Watching competitors is normal. It can spark ideas, highlight gaps, and even motivate you to improve your own strategy. But there’s a line between research and obsession, and many creators cross it without noticing.
Refreshing someone else’s metrics every day rarely builds your own brand. Comparing follower spikes without context can also lead to risky decisions. Fast growth always looks attractive from the outside, yet it often hides trade-offs that are not obvious at first.
This piece on the risks of fast follower growth explains why chasing numbers can backfire:
https://www.unsustainablemagazine.com/the-risks-of-fast-follower-growth/
Curiosity can sharpen your strategy. Obsession can blur it.
