After Effects Tutorial: Display a Progress Indicator

 A progress indicator is a great way to keep your viewers informed about the progress of a task. It can be used to display the progress of a loading process, a download, or any other type of task that takes time to complete.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a progress indicator in After Effects.

Step 1: Create a New Composition

The first step is to create a new composition. To do this, go to File > New > Composition. In the New Composition window, set the Composition Name to something like “Progress Indicator” and set the Width and Height to the desired resolution of your video. Click OK to create the composition.

Step 2: Create a Rectangle Layer

Next, we will create a rectangle layer to display the progress bar. To do this, select the Rectangle Tool from the Tools panel. Click and drag on the Composition window to create a rectangle.

Step 3: Add a Trim Path Effect

Now we will add a trim path effect to the rectangle layer so that we can animate the length of the progress bar. To do this, go to Effect > Matte & Keying > Trim Paths. In the Trim Paths effect controls, click on the Path property and select the rectangle layer.

Step 4: Create a Null Object

Next, we will create a null object to control the progress of the progress bar. To do this, go to Layer > New > Null. In the New Null Object window, set the Name to something like “Progress Controller”. Click OK to create the null object.

Step 5: Add an Expression

Now we will add an expression to the Trim Path effect to link the progress of the progress bar to the Position property of the null object. To do this, click on the Trim Path effect controls and click on the Stopwatch icon next to the End property. This will create a keyframe for the End property.

In the Expression window, type the following expression:

progress = thisComp.layer("Progress Controller").transform.xPosition;

This expression will get the X value of the Position property of the null object and store it in the progress variable. Then it will use the progress variable to set the End property of the trim path to the desired length of the progress bar.

Step 6: Animate the Null Object

Now we will animate the Position property of the null object so that the progress bar animates from 0% to 100%. To do this, click on the Position property of the null object and click on the Stopwatch icon next to the X property. This will create a keyframe for the X property.

Move the timeline cursor to the end of the composition and click on the Stopwatch icon next to the X property again to create a new keyframe. Change the X value to a number that is greater than the width of the composition. This will make the progress bar animate to 100%.

Step 7: Preview the Animation

Now you can preview the animation by pressing the Spacebar. The progress bar should now animate from 0% to 100%.

Step 8: Add a Text Layer

If you want, you can add a text layer to display the progress percentage. To do this, create a new text layer by going to Layer > New > Text. Set the Font, Size, and Color of the text layer to your liking.

In the Expression window, type the following expression:

progressPercent = progress / thisComp.width * 100;

This expression will calculate the progress percentage and store it in the progressPercent variable. Then it will use the progressPercent variable to set the text of the text layer to the desired percentage.

Step 9: Render the Composition

Once you are happy with your animation, you can render the composition by going to Composition > Add to Render Queue. In the Render Queue window, set the Output Module to the desired format and click the Render button.

Conclusion

Displaying a progress indicator is a great way to keep your viewers informed about the progress of a task. With a little practice, you can create all sorts of different progress indicator animations in After Effects.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful.