Introduction to VFX in Maya and After Effects
A course by John BashyamDigital Artist and Director
A course by John Bashyam, Digital Artist and Director
Learn the VFX pipeline from start to finish, and create a realistic video with surreal elements by rendering and compositing objects into live action footage
The art of **VFX (visual effects) and CGI (computer-generated imagery) **allows you to create seamless and mind-bending scenes thanks to software like Maya and After Effects. For renowned digital artist and director John Bashyam, this art form has led him to create striking visuals for Coachella’s top musical acts, as well as for Hollywood feature films.
In this online course, John teaches you to create surreal scenes that appear remarkably realistic step by step. He walks you through** Maya + Redshift, After Effects, and SynthEyes **to create a playful scene of giant, life-like donuts raining down on a classic American monument. Are you ready to amaze yourself with the power of VFX and CGI?
What will you learn in this online course?
30 lessons & 25 downloads
Skills Needed for the Project
6 minutes, 49 seconds
The Softwares
10 minutes, 11 seconds
Planning Out the Shot
10 minutes, 1 second
Prepping the Shot in After Effects
20 minutes, 42 seconds
Tracking the Footage in SynthEyes 1
20 minutes, 15 seconds
Tracking the Footage in SynthEyes 2
19 minutes, 35 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet John Bashyam, a digital artist, director, entrepreneur, and your teacher for this course. He shares his creative journey, which has led him to a successful career in VFX. Hear about his inspirations, from YouTube creators, film directors, artists, and more.
Get a brief overview of the whole VFX process. John then walks you through the basic functions of Maya + Redshift, After Effects, and SynthEyes, before moving on to planning your shot.
Learn how to** prep your footage in After Effects,** then export it to SynthEyes, so for tracking. See how to move your workflow onto Maya for the scene layout and animation.
Next, John shows you how to fix the materials and textures by setting up a rig and keyframes for your animation. See how to add realistic lighting and reflections, and render your video.
Finally, take your CG renders back to After Effects, where **John shows you how to composite the various layers, **and do any necessary rotoscoping and color correction.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Create a surreal video involving rendering and compositing giant life-like donuts into live-action footage.
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who wants to create realistic VFX and CGI from scratch.
Requirements and materials
Basic understanding of 3D software (preferably Maya), After Effects, and live-action filming and 3D tracking principles is required to take this course.
In terms of equipment, you need a reasonably powerful PC with Nvidia graphics card and access to Maya, Redshift, After Effects, and SynthEyes software.
Reviews
- 4 months ago
Thank you! very very nice and Useful!
- 7 months ago
messi
- 7 months ago
Corso molto chiaro! Ho apprezzato tantissimo tutte le info che l’insegnante ha inserito nel corso, non è affatto scontato, in quanto principiante assoluta ho la possibilità di seguire esattamente i suoi passi!!
- 1 year ago
Excelente curso
- 1 year ago
Es muy buen curso, muy completo y el paso a paso es muy fácil de seguir y volver a ver las clases cada vez que sea necesario.
His studio is on the cutting edge of digital technology, servicing some of the top brands in the world, including Nike, adidas, New Balance, Honda, Budweiser, Reddit, Facebook, NBC, Apple, Disney, and Lululemon, among others. He’s also worked on films like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant Man, Ghostbusters, The Finest Hours, The Shallows, The Walk, and Unbroken, and as a visual effects artist at Coachella for artists like The Weeknd, Muse, ACDC, Guns N’ Roses, Skrillex, Kaskade, Zedd, Kid Cudi, and many more.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Preparation
- Skills Needed for the Project
- The Softwares
- Planning Out the Shot
- U3
3D Tracking and Layout
- Prepping the Shot in After Effects
- Tracking the Footage in SynthEyes 1
- Tracking the Footage in SynthEyes 2
- Tracking the Footage in SynthEyes 3
- Importing the Tracked Camera to Maya 1
- Importing the Tracked Camera to Maya 2
- Placing 3D Models in the Scene 1
- Placing 3D Models in the Scene 2
- U4
Animation, Lighting, and Rendering
- The Animation 1
- The Animation 2
- The Animation 3
- Lighting 1
- Lighting 2
- Materials and Textures 1
- Materials and Textures 2
- Materials and Textures 3
- Materials and Textures 4
- Rendering Setup 1
- Rendering Setup 2
- Rendering Setup 3
- U5
Compositing the VFX Shot
- Importing the CG Renders
- Color Correction 1
- Color Correction 2
- Color Correction 3
- Export for Social Media
- FP
Final project
- Introduction to VFX in Maya and After Effects
What to expect from a Domestika course
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FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for learners with intermediate experience in visual effects and animation, focusing on advanced workflows, industry-standard tools, and emerging technologies.
You’ll need access to Maya, After Effects, Redshift, and SynthEyes. Basic familiarity with these tools is recommended for following along with the course projects and workflows.
You’ll learn how to track live-action footage, import tracking data into Maya, integrate 3D animation, and composite everything in After Effects for seamless visual effects.
Yes, the course explores emerging technologies like NFTs as well as augmented and virtual reality, showing how they impact digital art creation and distribution.
Yes, you’ll learn export settings, aspect ratios, and best practices for optimizing videos and animations for platforms like Instagram and other social media.
You should be comfortable with the basics, as this course is aimed at intermediate users ready to expand into advanced VFX, animation, and compositing workflows.
Key topics include 3D tracking, camera matching, scene layout in Maya, realistic lighting and rendering in Redshift, animation rigging, rotoscoping, color correction, and social media content creation.