How to render animation - batch rendering

Once your render settings are setup correctly, save your scene file, and then open up an explorer/finder window to see your frames as they render. Check the top of the render settings for the location, the default is:

Documents>Maya>Projects>Default>Images

When you are ready, go to render>batch render. Maya will begin rendering your frames and you should see them collect in the images folder. Make sure to check the first couple of frames to see if your animation is rendering correctly.

Once the rendering is completed, open Adobe AfterEffects and go to:

File>Import>File

Find the location of the rendered image files and click on the first one. AfterEffects should have a check box called "Image Sequence" - make sure this is checked, then click open.

The images should show up in the project window (Upper left of the AfterEffects screen layout). At the bottom of this window is an icon that looks like a filmstrip with a few shapes in it. Drag your image sequence onto this icon and AfterEffects will put them into a new composition that is the resolution and duration of your sequence.

Scrub through your animation to ensure it looks correct. Then, go to composition>add to render queue.

In the "Output Module", click on "based on "Lossless"" and change the format to .h264

In the "Output To:", select the name and location for your rendered movie.

Click "Render" on the right side of the render queue, sit back, and watch AfterEffects render your film!