Are you a Star Wars fan? Do you ever wonder how they created those swords?
Or are you a Marvel fan? Ever wondered how fascinating the portal that Dr. Strange uses or Thor's lighting is?
Just to let you know, you too can create such incredible visual effects. Wondering, how? The answer is simple: Adobe After Effects!
With the Saber plugin in After Effects, you can easily create any exciting sci-fi visual effect you want. Saber is a super cool-looking and creatively animated After Effects plugin that contains different styles of video animation.
With this easy-to-use plugin, you just need to edit the text, customize the colors, drag and drop in your new media, and simply hit render. You can use these sci-fi visuals to add an appealing touch to your movies, trailers, and teaser videos.
Excited to learn more? Read on to explore how to use Saber in After Effects and get ready to create your favorite sci-fi visuals.
What is Saber?
Saber is a free plugin for Adobe After Effects. Once installed, the plugin creates an “artificial light source” that can be used to create and control effects like fire or energy. Things will become really interesting once we learn how to use this effect on Layer Mask or Text, depending on the path you create.
This third-party plugin is free to use and can be downloaded easily. You need to apply it on a solid layer, and then you will have to play with its setting, such as deciding which preset suits your idea, adjusting the glow intensity, glow color, glow size, customizing its core, etc.
And voila, you have your desired look! With Saber, the possibilities are endless; all you have to do is open up the doors of your creativity.
Getting started with Saber
We can also create some crazy text visual effects or titles using Saber. Now, let's see how the magic happens.
First, we need to write text, then create a solid layer and place it under the text layer, as shown in the picture below.
Now select the solid layer, and look for Saber in the effects tab and apply.
Once you apply Saber on the solid Layer, by default, it will appear like this.
Now we need to give the solid Layer a path by going to Customize Core settings under the Saber in the effects panel. We can select a layer mask or a text layer; here, I select the text layer and apply the Source to 1—my text (i.e., the text you need to apply effect on).
Once you complete the 4th step, it will look a little weird, as shown in the picture below, but you don't need to worry.
Now, we need to fix this and give it an impressive look to make it as amazing as what we see on our favorite sci-fi shows or movies.
So first, we need to select the preset according to the effect we want. In Saber, we get many default presets that are very impressive and can pretty much do half of the work for us.
So, for instance, I have applied, Burning preset, which gives us the effect that the text is burning in real-time, and after selecting the preset, we need to hide the text layer as shown in the picture below.
Now we need to adjust the setting in the effect panel under the Saber effect. Here we can adjust the glow color, glow intensity, core size, etc., to make it look good according to our idea or need.
Now we will animate this text layer by going to the customized core settings under the Saber Effect panel.
Here we need to apply keys to the end offset settings under the Customize Core, as shown in the picture. We need to give the keys values so that they can be animated.
Now we have created our effect, and we need to make it look transparent so that we can place any layer behind the animated text. We need to create a solid layer and then place it under the saber layer. Then we will go to the Saber Effects panel, go under the Render settings, and then change its composite setting from black to transparent.
So, just to be clear, we can change the preset anytime by changing the other settings such as preset and can adjust them accordingly to our needs. Besides the fact that we can change the text easily by editing it, here is the cherry on the cake: you don't have to go through the entire process all over again.
Hope, now you have gotten a basic understanding of Saber, and now you can try these on your own.
You can do similar things to a layer mask by customizing its core to the layer mask, and once you learn how to do it, you can create great visual effects with Saber, and believe me, it is very user-friendly.
Watch this video to find out how the magic happens!
Wrapping Up
Once you start using Saber, you will soon realize that it’s tough to let go of this incredible plugin.
This Plug-in works seamlessly and fast on a fingertip. You just need to install it for quick and playful results, add a text layer, and try out what happens. With some creativity, you can definitely do incredible things with Saber, and the best is that it is absolutely free.
So what are you waiting for? Use it sparingly and get ready to impress your audience with this chic and dynamically animated plugin.
To use the Saber plugin mask in After Effects, follow these steps:
First, create a new solid layer in your composition.
Apply the Saber plugin to the solid layer by going to “Effect” > “Video Copilot” > “Saber.”
In the Saber plugin settings, you'll find various options to customize the appearance of the mask, such as selecting a preset, adjusting core properties, and changing the saber's glow and color settings.
To create a mask with Saber, select the “Mask” dropdown and choose “Mask Path.” You can then draw or animate the mask path by clicking the stopwatch icon next to the “End” property.
Customize the mask's appearance further by adjusting parameters like “Core Size” and “End Offset” under the “Core Settings” section.
Experiment with blending modes and additional effects to achieve the desired visual effect.
The Saber plugin is not a native plugin in After Effects. It's a third-party plugin developed by Video Copilot. To access Saber in After Effects, you need to install the plugin separately. Once installed, you can find it in the “Effect” menu under “Video Copilot” > “Saber.”
To add a Saber effect to a shape layer in After Effects:
Create a shape layer by selecting the “Rectangle,” “Ellipse,” or “Polygon” tool from the toolbar.
With the shape layer selected, apply the Saber plugin by going to “Effect” > “Video Copilot” > “Saber.”
Customize the appearance of the saber by adjusting the plugin's settings, such as preset selection, core properties, and glow options.
If you want to animate the saber along with the shape layer, you can use keyframes to control the “Start” and “End” properties under the “Core Settings” section.
To apply the Saber effect to text in After Effects, follow these steps:
Create a new text layer in your composition by selecting the text tool and typing your text.
With the text layer selected, apply the Saber plugin by going to “Effect” > “Video Copilot” > “Saber.”
Customize the appearance of the saber, including presets, core properties, and glow settings, to achieve the desired visual effect.
To animate the text with Saber, you can use keyframes to control properties like “Start” and “End” under the “Core Settings” section. Experiment with different animations to achieve your desired result.
