Sparkling Star Animation in Adobe After Effects

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Sparkling Star Animation:

Step 1: Setting Up the Composition

1. Open Adobe After Effects.
2. Go to the Composition menu and create a new composition.
3. Rename it to “Twinkling Stars” (or your preferred name).
4. Set the resolution to 1920×1080 pixels, frame rate to 30 frames per second, and duration to 20 seconds.

Step 2: Creating the Background

1. Create a new solid layer.
2. Go to the Layers menu > New > Select Solid.
3. Rename it to “Background”.

Step 3: Adding Gradient Ramp Effect

1. Go to Effects & Presets.
2. Search for the “Gradient Ramp” effect.
3. Drag and drop the gradient ramp effect onto the solid layer.
4. Change the second color to dark blue. The color code is #26007C.

Step 4: Adding Twinkling Stars

1. Create a new solid layer.
2. Rename it to “Stars” (or your preferred name).
3. Go to Effects & Presets.
4. Search for the “CC Particle World” effect.
5. Drag and drop the effect onto the Stars layer.

CC Particle World Settings

1. Select both layers (Background and Stars) and drag them to the left side.
2. Set the birth rate to 3 and Longevity to 5.
3. Under Physics, set gravity to 0.
4. Go to the Particles section:
   • Set particle type to “Stars”.
   • Change birth and death colors to white.
   • Change birth size to 0.050 and death size to 0.135.
   • Change Max Opacity to 25%.
   • Set velocity to 0.
   • Set radius X and Radius Y to 1.

Step 5: Rendering the Composition

1. Select the Twinkling Stars composition.
2. Go to the Composition menu and choose “Add to Render Queue”.
3. Click the “Lossless” setting.
4. Change the Format to QuickTime.
5. Set the channels to RGB+Alpha.
6. Click OK.
7. Don’t forget to hide the Background layer by clicking the eye icon next to it.
8. Click the Render button to start rendering the animation.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created a sparkling stars background animation in Adobe After Effects.