How to make a perfect cube in after effects

3D Cube can be a difficult to build in After Effects if the basic steps are not followed, in the past I tried to create a few 3D cubes in after effects by using different methods, some completely fail because of my approach of creating inaccurate shape size. So I have decided to share what I have learned and show one quick way to build a good looking 3D cube that you can use for your futur ae projects. At the end of this tutorial you should be able to create a kick ass animated 3D cube that open and close in 3D space.

Also as a free bonus at the end of this After Effects tutorial I am giving away the aep source project file for this tutorial so you can see how my version is and make a better cube!

Feel free to send me your comments / critics they are all welcome!

Let’s get started!

Open Adobe After Effects.
Create a composition 1920×1080
Click on View, Click Show Grid, your composition show look like this below
Make sure Snap Grid is turn on
Let’s create the cube faces, click on the rectangle tool
Create the each square faces base of the grid. Make sure you snap the edges by moving the edge near the other edge of the square

make the square face different color so it is easier to work with.
Turn on the 3D Layer for each square
Parent the faces to the main “skyblue” layer so later you can move the base and move all the layer at the same time
Move each square axis by pressing “Y”. to look like the picture below
Now let’s create the 3D cube by rotating each square faces, the first keyframes column are set to 0 and the next column are set to 90 so it can animate

Detail:
Orange square X Rotation:-90.0
Green square X Rotation:+90.0
Blue (dark blue) square Y Rotation:+90.0
Light Blue square Y Rotation:+90.0
Yellow square Y Rotation:-90.0
Create a Camera (Click on layer tab/click new/Click Camera)
Rotate camera and enjoy your work!