How to Create a 3D Box with Wiggle Position Effects and Shape Animation in After Effects

 

How to Create a 3D Box with Wiggle Position Effects and Shape Animation in After Effects

Creating animated 3D objects in Adobe After Effects is a fantastic way to add depth and dynamism to your motion graphics. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to create a 3D box using shape layers, add wiggle effects for natural-looking movement, and animate it to add some flair.

This step-by-step guide assumes you have some basic experience with After Effects, but we’ll keep things simple and clear so everyone can follow along. Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Setting Up Your Composition

Open After Effects and create a New Composition. Set the desired dimensions, frame rate, and duration for your project.

Name your composition (e.g., "3D Box Animation") and click OK.

Step 2: Create the Box Sides with Shape Layers

Create a New Shape Layer by going to Layer > New > Shape Layer.

Add a Rectangle: With the Shape Layer selected, open the Add dropdown next to the layer and select Rectangle. Adjust the Rectangle Path to set the size of one side of the box. For example, if you want a 200px by 200px box, set the Width and Height to 200px.

Duplicate the Shape Layer: This will be the second side of your box. Rename each layer to make it easier to track (e.g., "Front Side," "Back Side," etc.).

Create All Six Sides: Repeat the duplication process until you have six layers (front, back, top, bottom, left, right).

Step 3: Position Each Side to Form a 3D Box

To position each side, adjust the 3D Position and Rotation properties. Here’s a quick guide:

Enable 3D for each Shape Layer: Click the 3D checkbox (a small cube icon) next to each layer in the timeline. This allows you to control the X, Y, and Z axes of each layer.

Position the Sides: Using the Position and Rotation settings, arrange each side:

Front: Leave at the center (0, 0, 0).

Back: Move along the Z-axis (e.g., Z = 200) and rotate if necessary.

Top: Adjust Y and rotate -90° on the X-axis.

Bottom: Adjust Y and rotate 90° on the X-axis.

Left: Adjust X and rotate -90° on the Y-axis.

Right: Adjust X and rotate 90° on the Y-axis.

Take some time to refine each layer’s position until they all align properly to form a box.

Step 4: Add a Wiggle Position Effect

To give your box a more dynamic, slightly organic feel, we’ll add a Wiggle expression to the Position properties.

Select the Position Property of each side by pressing P on the keyboard.

Add the Wiggle Expression:

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and click on the Position stopwatch.

Type wiggle(2, 10), where 2 is the frequency (how often it wiggles per second), and 10 is the amplitude (how much it moves).

Experiment with these values. A higher frequency will make the box wiggle faster, while a higher amplitude will increase the movement distance.

Step 5: Add Rotation Animation to the Box

Pre-compose the Box Layers: Select all six sides, right-click, and choose Pre-compose. This groups them into one layer, which makes it easier to animate the entire box.

Animate Rotation:

With the pre-composed layer selected, press R to open the Rotation properties.

Set keyframes on the X, Y, or Z Rotation properties to animate the box spinning, tilting, or rotating as desired.

For a complete rotation, start at 0°, set the ending keyframe at 360° (or -360° for reverse rotation).

Adjust Timing: Experiment with the timing of your keyframes to achieve the desired pacing for your box animation.

Step 6: Finishing Touches

Add Lights and Shadows (Optional): If you want a more realistic 3D look, you can add a light layer (Layer > New > Light) and enable Cast Shadows on each side of the box.

Add a Camera: For even more control, add a camera (Layer > New > Camera) to navigate around the box and create interesting angles.

Preview and Refine: Adjust the wiggle frequency/amplitude or refine the rotation speed if needed.

Step 7: Render Your Animation

Once you’re happy with your animation, render your project.

Go to Composition > Add to Render Queue.

Choose your desired Output Module and Render Settings.

Click Render to create the final video.

Final Thoughts

Creating a 3D box in After Effects with wiggle effects and shape animation is a great way to learn about 3D positioning, shape layers, and expressions. This project gives you a lot of creative freedom to experiment with movement, rotations, and lighting.

With practice, you can extend this technique to create more complex 3D objects or even add textures for more realism. Keep exploring and experimenting with these tools to unlock even more possibilities in After Effects!