Volume n' Tricks 2

Volume n' Tricks 2 is an After Effects extension for crafting isometric projections, volumes, and animations with ease. This iteration introduces functionalities that ensure your animations are Lottie-compatible, a distinction not achievable with AE 3D renders.
It's a new, straightforward and efficient tool for animation needs.
New: Add as many strokes (borders) as you want in a single click  with the : " +] " icon

With Lottie Compatibility , transitioning from After Effects to web and mobile applications has never been smoother. It enables seamless integration of animations into diverse platforms where 3D is not an option.

Projected Isometric Shadows brings a new level to animations, offering a visually enhancement that breathes depth into projects. Live Visualization ensures immediate feedback on your creative decisions, streamlining the design process by eliminating the need to toggle between panels.

• Lottie Compatibility:  
  Seamlessly export your After Effects creations with Volume n' Tricks 2 in Lottie animations, quickly preparing your content for web and mobile applications.
• Multiple Layers Projection:  
  Amplify your creative possibilities by projecting onto multiple layers simultaneously. 
• Projected Parented Isometric Shadows:  Add depth and realism to your animations with accurate isometric shadow
• Improved Pivot/Rotation Feature:  
  Animate in all directions in limitless Extrusion and apply keyframes even to the Isometric Rotation feature.
• Live visualization:  
  See the result of your creations immediately and fine-tune your animation in your Effects Controls Panel
• Optimized Resource Usage:  
  Volume n'Tricks 2 is designed to be poor demanding on your system's resources. The results are optimized, focusing on performances.
• Dynamic User Interface:  
  Dive into a completely revamped, intuitive UI
• Enhanced Controls:  
  Experience precision at its finest with newly introduced controls. Adjust, tweak, and perfect your creations with powerful, easy-to-use pro features.
• Simplified Process:  
  Volume n' Tricks 2 streamlines your Isometric Design, making bringing your visions to life effortless.

Select Your Layer(s):
Click on the layer or select multiple layers you wish to project. Volume n' Tricks 2 allows for multiple selections, offering flexibility from the start.

Launch Volume n' Tricks 2:
Navigate to the 'Window' menu, then « Extensions », and click 'Volume n' Tricks 2' to open the extension panel. If you haven't docked it already, consider doing so for easier access.

Apply Faux-3D Projection: 
In the extension panel, you'll find a CUBE. Clicking one of its faces initiates the magic, applying an isometric projection to your selected layers.

Adjustment Controls: 
After projection, new controls have been added to your layer(s) under the Effects panel. These controls allow you to tweak the depth, angle, moves, and other properties of your faux-3D object. Please spend some time experimenting with these to understand their impact.

You've taken your first step into Isometric Design with Volume n' Tricks 2. You should now have a basic understanding of how to transform 2D layers into faux-3D objects. You'll see this tool's potential as you experiment with the various controls and adjustments.

Important:
If your design is a single color, adding a stroke of any color can help define the edges more clearly, ensuring the sides remain visible and distinct.

Having transformed your 2D layers into faux-3D objects, placing them in an isometric world is time.

Creating Your IsoMap:
Clicking the Isometric Grid Button of Vn'T 2 will automatically generate or delete (toggle) a customizable isometric grid within your composition. This grid acts as your canvas for placing isometric objects. Once created, you can adjust the IsoMap's size in the Effect Controls Panel at your convenience.

Your IsoMap is a guide layer and will not appear outside your precomps and in your exports.

Remember, isometric projection doesn't automatically manage which objects appear before others. You should manually adjust the layer order in your timeline to stack objects in the scene correctly.

Tip:  Consider creating multiple IsoMaps with different properties, such as spacing or orientation, for complex scenes. This can be useful for designing multi-level structures or intricate landscapes. But you will need to rename each IsoMap you want to keep. Otherwise, it will be removed.

One of Volume n' Tricks 2's most dynamic features is the Rotation & Faux Shadow. These functionalities add depth and realism to your isometric projects and offer the flexibility to bring your creative visions to life. Let's start with rotation.

Rotation: The Pivot of Animation:
Rotation in isometric design traditionally posed a challenge, especially when aiming to maintain the integrity of the projection. Volume n' Tricks 2 simplifies this with its enhanced pivot/rotation feature, allowing you to animate objects using its isometric axis.

Selecting Your Object:
Begin by selecting the layer or group of layers you wish to animate. Ensure they've been adequately converted to faux-3D, as outlined in the previous chapters.

Applying Rotation:
Navigate to the Volume n' Tricks 2 panel and locate the rotation controls. Here, you can specify the angle and direction of your rotation. The tool supports complete 360-degree rotations, enabling previously complex or tedious animations to achieve.

This feature is instrumental in achieving the dynamic positioning of elements, simulating depth.

• X-Axis Movement: Dragging an object along this axis shifts it diagonally across the grid. Use the Moves> 'Move X' slider in the Effect Controls Panel to adjust the object's position.
• Y-Axis Movement: The Moves> 'Move Y' slider allows vertical adjustments to be perceived as closer and farther in your isometric world.
• The Faux-Z Movement: By leveraging the Moves> 'Move Z' slider, you can make an object appear closer or farther away from the viewer. 

Practical Applications:

• Use the movement controls to position objects in a way that guides the viewer's eye through the scene, creating a narrative flow.
• Animate the movement parameters to simulate interactions between objects, such as an item being picked up or moved.
• To animate an object's movement, keyframe the position sliders at different points along the timeline. 

• Lottie Files: Learn more
• Bodymovin - Lottie: Learn more

Volume n' Tricks 2 provides a seamless bridge from the rich visual capabilities of After Effects to the versatile world of Lottie files.

Before you export your project as a Lottie file, ensure your animation adheres to Lottie's compatibility requirements:

Optimize Your Composition: 
Simplify your animation where possible. Lottie works best with more straightforward paths and fewer layers.

Check Supported Features:
Verify that Lottie supports your animation's features (effects, expressions, etc.). Volume n' Tricks 2 is designed with Lottie compatibility in mind, but it's always good practice to check.

Using Bodymovin:

• Install the Bodymovin extension if you still need to do it. It is available as a Name Your Own Price on the website aescripts:.com https://aescripts.com/bodymovin/ or through Adobe Exchange.
• Open the Bodymovin panel by navigating to 'Window' > 'Extensions' > Bodymovin.
• In the Bodymovin panel, select the composition containing your Volume n' Tricks 2 animation.
• With configured settings, click the 'Render' button. Bodymovin will process your composition and create a .json file in your specified location.