Operation Manual

308
Drawing, painting, and paths
Last updated 12/12/2014
Creating shapes and shape layers
You create a shape layer by drawing in the Composition panel with a shape tool or the Pen tool. You can then add shape
attributes to existing shapes or create new shapes within that shape layer. By default, if you draw in the Composition
panel when a shape layer is selected, you create a new shape within that shape layer, above the selected shapes or group
of shapes. If you draw in the Composition panel using a shape tool or Pen tool when an image layer other than a shape
layer is selected, you create a mask.
Press F2 to deselect all layers before drawing in the Composition panel to create a new shape layer.
You can create shapes and shape layers using any of the following methods:
• Draw a path using the shape tools or Pen tool. Drawing a mask path is similar to drawing a shape path. (See Create
a shape or mask by dragging with shape toolsand Create a Bezier shape or mask using the Pen tool.)
• Convert a text layer to shapes on a shape layer by using the Create Shapes From Text command. (See Create shapes
or masks from text characters.)
• Convert a mask path to a shape path.
• Convert a motion path to a shape path. (See Create a mask or shape from a motion path.)
• Paste a path copied from another layer or from Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Fireworks. (See Copy a path from
Illustrator, Photoshop, or Fireworks.)
• Create a new, empty shape layer by choosing Layer > New > Shape Layer.
In most cases, a new shape has a fill and a stroke that correspond to the Fill and Stroke settings in the Tools panel at the
time that the shape is drawn. You can use the same controls in the Tools panel to change these attributes for a selected
shape after it has been drawn. Shapes created from text are created with fills and strokes that match the fills and strokes
of the original text.
Note: To draw a mask on a shape layer, click the Tool Creates Mask button in the Tools panel with a shape tool or Pen
tool active. For more information about creating masks, see Creating masks.
Aharon Rabinowitz provides a video tutorial on the Creative COW website that shows how to combine multiple paths
into a single compound shape using the Merge Paths path operation.
Vector Art Footage-to-Shape Conversion | CC, CS6
In previous versions of After Effects you could import an Illustrator (.ai), EPS (.eps), or PDF (.pdf) file, however you
could not modify the file. Now you can create a shape layer from a vector art footage layer, and then modify it.
With the ability to bevel and extrude objects in After Effects, you can extrude the artwork (for example, extruded logos),
as well. See
Extruding text and shape layers .
To convert a vector art footage layer to shape layer:
❖ Choose Layer > Create Shapes from Vector Layer. A matching shape layer will appear above the footage layer, and
the footage layer will be muted.
The following issues are known:
• Not all features of Illustrator files are currently preserved. Examples include: opacity, images, and gradients.
• Converted shapes ignore PAR overrides specified in the Interpret Footage dialog box.
• Gradients and unsupported types may show as 50% gray shapes.
• Files with thousands of paths may import very slowly without feedback.