How to create a 2D animated smoke effect in Adobe After Effects

2D Smoke Animation effects are fantastic for adding a fun motion to your 2D animations. 

• Learn how to create 2D animated smoke effects in Adobe After Effects.
• Understand how to use the Loop Out Expression to save time with repetitive animations.
• Discover our top 3 Smoke Animation effects available to download from Motion Array.

How to use a 2D Smoke Effect

2D Smoke Animations are a lot of fun and can be used in a variety of ways throughout your projects. You can add your smoke effects to titles and create transitions between your video clips with an excellent billowing effect.

Smoke is also fantastic for emphasizing movements in your scene and can be added to any element where you want to give the impression of speed. You can use smoke effects behind stationary vehicles, people, and objects to indicate motion and direction in your compositions. 

Creating a 2D Smoke Effect from Scratch

Creating a smoke animation in Adobe After Effects is relatively straightforward, but it can take a little time. To create a smoke effect, you only need to use circle shapes. 

Creating Your Base Layer

The first step is to create your base circle animation. It would help if you took the time to get this element right, as it will be duplicated many times to make the billowing smoke effect. It is in this first step that you need to choose the direction and speed of your animation.

1. Create a new Composition to your chosen size using Command/Control + N.
2. Using the Ellipse tool, draw a small circle in the Media Viewer.
3. Go to the Effects Panel and search for Roughen Edges – add the effect to your Shape Layer.
4. In the Effects Control Panel, adjust the Amount of the effect to suit the style you want to achieve.
5. While holding Alt, click the Evolution Stopwatch.
6. In the Expression box, type Time*1000.
7. Move the circle to where you want the smoke coming from.
8. Select the Layer in the Timeline and hit P followed by Shift + S to open the Position and Scale properties.
9. Create a Keyframe for both the Scale and Position at the start of the Timeline.
10. Move along the Timeline for around 2 seconds, and move the circle to where you want the smoke effect to finish and fade away – think carefully about the direction of your smoke compared to the source of it in your composition.
11. Create a second Scale Keyframe at the endpoint and reduce the Scale to 0.
12. Move the Playhead between the two Keyframes and increase the circle scale to around 105%.
13. Select all the Keyframes and right-click > Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease.
14. Next, grab the Position Handles and create a curved Path for the circle to travel along.

Adding a Loop Out Expression

The Loop Expression is incredibly helpful for After Effects Animators, as it allows you to create continuous animation from just a couple of Keyframes. Ensure you bookmark this page, as the Loop Out Expression can be used with any Keyframeable property of effect in AE.

1. Hold Alt and click the Position Stopwatch.
2. In the Expression Box, type Loopout().
3. While holding Alt, click the Scale Stopwatch and add the same Expression.
4. Watch through the animation and check the speed. If you want to slow down or speed up the movement, select all the Keyframes, and while holding Alt, drag the last one up or down the Timeline.

Duplicating your smoke to create a Billowing effect

Next, we will create the billowing effect using duplicates of your original animation – you can create as many duplicates as you like to build your smoke effect layer by Layer.

1. Select the Layer in the Timeline and hit Command/Control + D to duplicate it.
2. Select the new Layer and adjust the path across your screen slightly.
3. Open the Scale settings and go to the middle Keyframe – adjust the size by 1 or 2 %.
4. Keep building your circle layers until you have a smoke-like effect.
5. When you have as many duplicates as you want, move each Layer by a few frames within the Timeline to offset the animation times.
6. Finally, select all of the layers and right-click > Pre-Compose.

Adjusting the Color of your Smoke

The last step will be to adjust the colors to match your composition. By using the Fill Effect, you can adjust the color of your entire smoke composition in one go rather than having to change each circle individually.

1. Search for the Fill effect and add it to your Smoke Pre-Composition.
2. In your Effects Control Panel, adjust the color of your smoke to match your composition.
3. Duplicate the Layer using COmmand/Control + N.
4. For the duplicate, adjust the color to a darker tone.
5. Adjust the Position and Scale of the Layer and offset it in the Timeline.
6. Create more duplicates of your Smoke Layers, and adjust the timing, Position, and Scale until you create a beautiful billowing smoke effect.

Top 3 Smoke Effects Available to Download from Motion Array

If you don’t have the time or energy to produce your smoke effect, Motion Array has you covered. Check out our top 3 Smoke Animation packs available to download today.

2D Cartoon Smoke

The 2D Cartoon Smoke Pack has 12 stunning elements ready to use in your projects, such as motion effects, title effects, and transitions. The plumeing smoke effects offer customizable color options, including a smoke shadow.

Download 2D Cartoon Smoke Now

2DFX Smoke Elements And Titles

The 2DFX Smoke Elements and Titles pack includes 12 beautiful full-screen smoke animations that can be scaled to suit your project. This pack focuses on explosion smoke, giving you a range of cool puffs and clouds to add to your compositions.

Download 2DFX Smoke Elements And Titles Now

Smoke And Fire VFX Simulation Pack

If you’re looking for a more realistic 3D smoke effect, then the Smoke and Fire VFX Simulation pack is the ideal solution. The 12 stunningly rendered directional smoke effects include 4-way gradient colorization and scaling up to 4K.

Download Smoke And Fire VFX Simulation Pack Now

2D smoke is a fantastic option for adding movement and interest to your compositions. Creating your 2D smoke effects can take a little time and patience, but the full control you have over the effect allows you to build your compositions exactly as you want them. If you want to learn more cool animation techniques, check out our 2.5D Orbiting Object Tutorial.