02-10-2008, 08:50 PM
I am coming in late on this conversation, but it would help -- I think -- to know a little more about what it is you are trying to do, and what versions of After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. you have available.
After Effects is a little more than "photoshop with keyframes" but if you are trying to do motion graphics, then it is the most powerful of the applications you've mentioned.
The learning curve is pretty steep, "...never used it" is a challenging place from which to start if you are doing something for a client, but there are good tutorials available on line. Trish and Chris Meyer's book Creating Motion Graphics With After Effects" is a good mix of tutorials and reference, and might get you to a point where you could fake it. I can also recommend the After Effects Visual QuickPro Guide, as a handy reference.
Good luck.
http://www.creativecow.net/articles/aftereffects.html
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials.html
http://aefreemart.com/category/tutorial/
After Effects is a little more than "photoshop with keyframes" but if you are trying to do motion graphics, then it is the most powerful of the applications you've mentioned.
The learning curve is pretty steep, "...never used it" is a challenging place from which to start if you are doing something for a client, but there are good tutorials available on line. Trish and Chris Meyer's book Creating Motion Graphics With After Effects" is a good mix of tutorials and reference, and might get you to a point where you could fake it. I can also recommend the After Effects Visual QuickPro Guide, as a handy reference.
Good luck.
http://www.creativecow.net/articles/aftereffects.html
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials.html
http://aefreemart.com/category/tutorial/