How to make teardrops run down an image

[Bill Clotz]

I did this once using the caustics effect and masks to create and animate the tear shape. I think I may have also used emboss to give it a bit more depth, and I had another masked layer behind the tear to animate a trail of wetness as it rolls down.

Sorry I can’t remember the specifics any better than this, but that might get you off to a start.

[Jacob Tamari]

So did you use the waveworld firt to create the teardrop?

[Mike Clasby]

CC Blobbylize (referencing a white teardrops on Black Background), with Radial Shadow does the trick

You need three layers.

Dup the Image layer.

For the third layer (White Drops on a Black Background) to be place above the two Image layers:
Make a new comp, add a white Solid, create a mask on that solid the shape of your water drop. Now animate the Mask Shape to get the flow of the teardrop.You can double click the mask points to change the Mask Shape over time (it’s like Transform in Photoshop), as it grows and flows, or animate points on the mask individually. Feather the mask to about 5 or so.

Add this comp above the two Image layers, turn off its eyeball.

Here’s the teardrop:
In the Image layer, second down:

Blobbylize:

Blob Layer: Layer 1 (your Animated Tear Shape)
Property: Alpha
Softness: Lower a bit, maybe 10
Light>Light Intensity: Up to 300 or to taste
Light Height and Direction:To taste to fit your Scene Lighting

Radial Shadow (If you like, give a bit more depth)
Softness : 15 or so
Render: Glass Edge

The third and bottom layer is your original image.

Of course all of this is to taste, hope it works for you.

[Chris Smith]

My buddy did the effect for the Corona spot where the drop runs down the side of the beer bottle and drips on a plant. It looked as real as it gets and all it he did was use AE paint to create a greyscale map that was used as a displacement map.

Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com

[Greg Cole]

Check out this link (Rustboy site)… There is a cool little tutorial on page 3 under ‘Making Of’ that shows/explains how to make rain drops run down a windowpane. You could use this technique the same way.

Basically, create your ‘teardrop’ clip then use a displacement map to distort the path of your tears…

https://www.rustboy.com/rustweb.htm

[Justin Productions]

Hey Chris,

Tryed several ways to get the tear effect with your displacement advice, and it just doesn’t seem to work. I made a 2 seconds vid’ with AE Paint where the paint go from up to the bottom, then precomped it, applyed it over my video footage, applyed the displacement map effect on the video footage, turned down the eye of the precomped layer; nothing.

Played with the displacement map settings. The AE Paint effect was applyed on a adjustment layer so I could get my alpha. Was that wrong?

Thx.

Justin Productions
Tangerin01@hotmail.com
Adobe After Effects 6.0 Professional

[Chris Smith]

Hmm, not sure, but as a quick test, render the paint animation out so it’s just a greyscale movie. It should look like a fuzzy whitish drop over black. Import this back in. Add the displacement map effect to your BG video. Add the greyscale movie to the comp and turn off the visibility. Now in the displacement effect select the greyscale map. It should displace the BG using your tear.

But really pre-comping should do the same as rendering out and re-importing.

Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com

[Justin Productions]

[Chris Smith] “render the paint animation out so it’s just a greyscale movie.”

What do you mean? Turn the saturation down to -100% to the tear?

If yes, it just doesn’t to work, hmmm…I don’t get it, weird.

Justin Productions
Tangerin01@hotmail.com
Adobe After Effects 6.0 Professional

[Jacob Tamari]

yikesmikes: the drop looks great! how would you make a smudge (trail)?

[Chris Smith]

Well there should be no color in the first place. You are just painting a soft white brush onto black to create the map. Where r u getting color from?

Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com