Wave Warp can be used for various applications, and one such use is to give an illusion that a flag is waving in the wind.
First, I started off by selecting a graphic from Envato Elements and working it in Photoshop to separate the flag layer from its background layer while keeping some rope from its pole in tact. Next, I filled in the background behind it on this background layer before importing into After Effects to apply “Wave Warp,” an effect used for distorting layers like flags.
The Wave Type can come in various forms. From random noise, fluid Sine waves, jagged or jagged Sine waves (use Sine for flags). Experiment with Wave Height, Width, Direction and Speed until you find one you like best!
Set “Pinning” to “Left Edge”, since our flagpole is located to its left. However, we still experience some movement on the left side of the flag; Wave Warp seems to be only pinning its edges instead of pinnable areas like this flag itself. To address this problem, precompose this layer; open its precomp and drag its flag all the way over to its original position on its pole from there before returning it back into main comp mode and returning the flagpole back into view.