After Effects Video Tutorials: Adding 3D Depth to 2D Pictures

Give your 2D images surprisingly realistic depth with these awesome After Effects video tutorials.

You’ve probably seen the popular effect where an animator will take the foreground and the background and separate them in 3D space. The result when the camera moves is an awesomely realistic parallaxing 3D effect.

In the following After Effects video tutorials, we’ll take a look at a few different ways to create that effect. If you know of any other great 2D to 3D tutorials we would love to hear about them in the comments below.

1. 2.5D Parallax Effect

• Technique Used: Arranging layers in 3D space with slight camera movements.
• Created By: Ignace Aleya 

2. A Displacement Map

• Technique Used: Using a bump matte with the displacement map effect.
• Created By: Mikey Borup for PremiumBeat

3. Camera Projection Mapping

• Technique Used: Camera projection mapping.
• Created By: Bhanu Pratap 

4. Photoshop + After Effects

• Technique Used: 3D parallax using photoshop and After Effects with major camera movements.
• Created By: YourTVPlanet

Quick Note: This tutorial doesn’t have a voice over, but it is full of helpful tips via text.

5. Photos + Video

• Technique Used: Photo and video integration with 2D layers in 3D space.
• Created By: reTooled.net

Want to learn more about creating 3D effects from 2D images? Check out a few of the following resources:

1. 3D from 2D Image Using Displacement Maps – Creative Cow
2. Tutorial: How to Animate Still Photos in After Effects – No Film School
3. Video Tutorial: 2D to 3D in Adobe After Effects – PremiumBeat