5.5

541Motion User Guide
Create replicators
Intro to replicators in Motion
The Motion replicator builds complex patterns of repeating elements—from a simple line of
animated shapes to flowing kaleidoscopic imagery—without manual duplication or tedious
keyframing.
You can add a preset replicator to your project from the Library, or you can create your own
custom replicator using nearly any image layer in your project, including video, still images,
shapes, or text.
Replicators consist of two basic elements:
• Replicator: A special type of effect that generates multiple duplicates of an image layer,
then arrays the copies in the canvas, creating a complex pattern. You specify the shape
and arrangement of the pattern, such as a spiral, circle, or box.
• Cell: The image layer that’s duplicated and assembled as a pattern in the canvas.
The replicator and its cells have separate sets of parameters that control the look of the
mosaic pattern you see in the canvas. Changing the replicator parameters modifies the
overall onscreen pattern, allowing you to create rectangular, circular, spiral, and other
geometric layouts. Changing the cell parameters affects each element in the onscreen
pattern, allowing you to modify attributes such as the angle, color, and scale of the
pattern pieces.
You can also modify elements in the pattern by making changes to the source layer used
to create a cell. For example, if you use a rotated rectangle shape as the replicator source
layer, the replicated elements in the canvas appear rotated. If the source layer has applied
filters, the effects of the filters are retained in the elements of the replicator pattern.