Want to learn more about After Effects? Links to some great books and tutorial resources are below.
This book gives a great overview of the AE CS3 interface. Best for someone new to After Effects, it lays a solid foundation of the fundamental concepts needed to get the most out of the program. Some of the examples are a little cheesy, but what counts is a solid grounding in the concepts necessary to understand the interface and functionality of the program. After Effects is an incredibly flexible and multifaceted tool, and learning the basics will serve you well and save you much time and frustration as you move on to create more complex and interesting compositions.
Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, 4th Edition
A much expanded view of After Effects, written by the same authors of After Effects Apprentice above. Suitable for those who are ready to tackle things a little faster, or already have some experience working with After Effects or other Adobe software. Many of the same concepts are covered here by way of review, but not in the same detail as in After Effects Apprentice.
Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Studio Techniques
Perhaps the best thing about this book is that its full of solutions-based approaches for problems most commonly encountered in a studio work environment. It has a basics chapter, but this book is probably best for someone who already has a basic command of the interface.
I would highly recommend one or more of these books because they explain in detail the concepts you need to understand to have a good experiences with After Effects. Once you’ve built a foundation and want to explore specific effects, there are a multitude of tutorials freely available online. Here are two great resources with dozens of high quality tutorials. Enough to keep you busy for a very long time.