I'd like to simulate a rubber stamp coming down from the top left of screen into the middle of the screen with the word VOID on it. AE came with the software bundle but I have yet to use it (I know it's a super powerful tool but it hasn't seemed very intuitive to me). Anyone care to give me a couple of pointers on how to accomplish? Just to make it a challange, is there any way to make the text appear somewhat incomplete like occurs with a stamp that is not well inked?

Thanks in Advance for any input.

The most recent version of AE I've used is 5.5, but I don't think much has changed in the way the program operates primarily, which is to say as compositing software, i.e. you have to have everything you want to make the clip from before you start your project(for the most part). To make the effect you described (in 3D), I think you'd have to have a rendering of the final stamp from something like Lightwave or Maya. You can then animate the stamp in AE, but unless the bundle/plug-in came with the stamp as some sort of ready-made art, I don't think you can just make one in AE. If you can, much has changed. As far as the level of ink goes, simply changing the saturation of the color (say, from bright red down to a more pinkish hue).

you could make a 2d layer of the top of the stamp in photoshop, and then animated using the position properties. then when the stamp comes down, have your letters hide under it, and when the stamp comes back up the leters are reveled. If you want to make it look like the letters are not all there from the stamp, you can go to effects-transitions-block dissolve; and set the different properties for style of layer you want.