Hello and welcome to a special effects tutorial from Aroha media. In this assignment, we are going to learn how to animate lightning. Open a new document. To open the dialog box. Double click on 25 FPS of document properties. To show lightning select background color black instead of white.

Do not change the document settings. Add new layer. using the brush tool, select white on the first layer. Create some brushstrokes on layer one as seen in the video. Follow the steps as shown on the screen. In this assignment, creative senses more important than technical sense, trying to create the effect of lightning in the sky.

After drawing with the help of brushstrokes, create some nodes using the selection tool and control key. Delete the unnecessary parts. Give it a crisp feel while Creating such effects, it's easy to work with snap to object switched on. We have already seen how snap to object works in our earlier tutorials. Now, using all these tools, please work out a nice design for lightning. Okay, I'm gonna shape of lightning is created, freeze the frame.

The Flash file of this drawing is provided to you, but try to create your own lightning is done from the starting point. Use Zoom tool, hand tool selection tool to edit the patch. Try to achieve the shape from thick to thin. As you can see in the video here, thickness is more and it decreases when it is scattered. Draw one rectangle, delete its outline use a rectangle instead. Grass strokes.

It is very important to understand these techniques in order to create such illustrations. The second patch drawn is on the new layer. scale down the graphic using the free transform tool. change its position to the center. The upper portion is outside and the starting point is not visible. add one more layer, layer three.

Set five frames length by pressing f5 select green, decrease its opacity on a new layer, drop One rectangle. Delete its outline. shift its position slightly towards the lightning. Press Ctrl plus shift plus W to open the work area and unlock it. Outside the work area, place the patch at the first key edited using the selection tool, add keyframe f6. Drag the same patch and enlarge it so that it will overlap on lightning.

Create a mask which will animate key by key. The whole lightning is not visible. Though it is fast. It comes Step by Step. Create animation of its formation on the graphic. add one more keyframes.

Using the shortcut f6 enlarge the patch which will act as mask. There are no specific rules that it should overlap on the patch and timing. keep experimenting on the creativity, timing sense as well as designing. The techniques used for this are the same. Add fourth keyframe, add just the patch. cover all the patches, complete all the graphics in the four key frames.

If we observe the keys will come to know how the patch is created. On the fifth keyframe, copy second key by pressing ALT plus shift or right click and select Copy frames. Paste it on the fifth frame. shortcut key for copy is Ctrl plus alt plus C and for paste is Ctrl plus alt plus V. Copy the fourth key and paste it on sixth key. Right click on the remaining layers to insert the frames. Press f5 to add new frames.

Copy the first key and paste it right click and create mask. layer one is not mask so shifted on layer two and then shifted on the lower side again, as seen in the video. Lightning is not visible on the first key because mask lightning is visible. When next keys are played. Lightning is continued. preview it by pressing Ctrl plus enter.

Still, we need some impact on the animation. Add more frame so that we hold the last frame of the animation a little longer. Lock the layer. Add one layer and shift it towards the upper side. Copy the second patch of lightning of the second layer on the upper side of the upper layer. Flip it on the opposite side using free transform tool.

Use the same graphics and edit it. create one more batch of lightning on the opposite side. The lightning is visible on the left and right side. I add one more layer. Copy the batch. Delete the unnecessary batch.

Add one keyframe. Drag it animate the mask as we did it in the previous steps by giving keys go In each part from which lightning effect is created. Add keyframes as you see them in the video. animate the lightning in almost four or five keys. In most cases, the lightning is very fast. Take some time to consider the speed of lightning and then work on the animation.

This batch is now ready, copy the second keyframe as we did it before and paste it In the same way, copy the fourth keyframe and paste it on the next key. On first key lightning is visible. We see two different lightning animating at two different times. Apply mask lighting is animating from both the sides from left and right. Increase the time delay between the two lightnings extended, add more frames after the second lightning. You can surely experiment with different timings and come up with your own style of lightning.

Keep experimenting to get the best result. Thank you