User Manual

To create a mask using the Click Append mode, do the following:
1 Select Click Append from the toolbar or press Shift-C.
2 Click the pointer where you want to start the shape.
3 Move and click the pointer to append a point to the last one.
4 To close the shape, place the mouse pointer over the first point created and click when
the pointer changes shape.
When a shape is closed, the polyline is automatically switched to Insert and Modify mode.
Although the Click Append mode is rarely used with paths, it can be helpful when you know the
overall shape of a motion path, but you don’t yet know the timing.
TIP: Holding Shift while you draw a mask constrains subsequent points to 45-degree angles
relative to the previous point. This can be very helpful when drawing regular geometry.
Insert and Modify
Masks, which are created in Click Append mode, automatically switch to Insert and Modify
mode when the mask shape is closed. You can also manually switch to this mode by clicking
the Insert and Modify button in the toolbar or using the Shift-I keyboard shortcut. This mode
makes it easier to add additional points and refine the shape of the mask. Dragging the control
points or direction handles modifies existing points on the polyline.
The Insert Modify toolbar button (Shift-I).
Insert and Modify mode is also the default mode for creating motion paths. A new control point
is automatically added to the end of the polyline, extending or refining the path, any time a
parameter that is animated with a motion path is moved.
Draw Append
The Draw Append mode creates a freehand polyline shape directly on the viewer, like drawing
with a pencil or a paintbrush. This mode is ideal to use in conjunction with a tablet and for the
creation of garbage mattes and effect masks around complex shapes.
The Draw Append toolbar button (Shift-D).
Chapter – 71 Rotoscoping with Masks 1444