Merge paths after effects как работает
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- Merging Mask Paths
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I was wondering if multiple mask paths can be merged into one single masked path. In my screen shot, I imported a PNG file
and I chose to auto trace it, so it made all these masked paths. (Considering I want to put some sort of FX going through that mask).
So I tried to precompose the layer to see if that would work, but it didn't. I also tried track matte to see if it would work, in case the FX would see the precomposed layer as one mask. So is there a way AE can make all these paths into one mask?
PS: I know I can drag and drop the FX onto my PNG file and it works fine, but this is mainly for educational purposes I'm inquiring.
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No. Please send in a Feature Request.
Motion Graphics Brand Guidelines & Motion Graphics Responsive Design Toolkits Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn moreCopy link to clipboard
Hi Roland, sleek plugin for AE, something I wouldn't buy at the moment because I can use an alternative method to appease
my AE needs, but certainly worth the money, if someone works extensively with masks within AE. And I'll be for sure submitting a request if it'll be taking into consideration by Adobe.
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So what type of FX you want to use? because some FX are already see single mask or all mask together
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Its called CC light sweep. I don't need a mask for this, it'll work fine with any PNG image.
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You cant group paths together if they are masks but you can group Shape layer paths together. So depending on your reason for grouping them, this may be an option as you can then use the Merge Paths function. To do this, create a new shape layer, add a new path to it and select it copy the masks, then paste them into the shape layer. Select them all and hit Command/ Ctrl-G to group them. You can then use Merge Paths operator on whickever you need to merge. Alternatively, copy and paste your masks into Illustrator, use Pathfiner to merge them, then copy and paste back to AE.
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I did try a few of your options, but because this was a PNG file, the Shape layer options didnt seem to work. The only option which seemed to do the trick but needed amendments was the copy paste into illustrator. But the problem was, because the masked paths are not jointed together, once pasted into AE again, they get pasted on individual paths again. Meaning that next time Ill have to keep in mind the words, letters, shapes which I import to be joined from their initial design. As you can see here in the screen shot, the RED is the original PNG file autotraced, and the blue is what was copy pasted into Illustrator, once pasted again into AE I still get lots of masked paths again.
Thanks heaps for your input.
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It's also impossible to merge closed paths. You can join a bunch of open paths, but you cannot automatically merge them either.
As far as combining all of your Auto Traced paths into a single shape, you can only group them and apply animators to the group if you convert the masks to shapes. Unfortunately, there is no automatic way to convert a mask path to a shape layer. You'll have to copy and paste.
It would really help us help you if we knew what you were trying to accomplish. Just saying, " I want to put some sort of FX going through that mask," doesn't tell us anything useful. I can think of a couple hundred things I could do with just the PNG file without resorting to Autotrace as a first step. Explain as precisely as you can what you want to achieve and we can probably give you some good suggestions.
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My initial inquiry was mostly to see the behaviour of AE with Masked paths with the autotrace function, I was trying to see if it there was an option to merge specific paths into one like Illustrator does. But my PNG which I imported is different from AE native shape layers which can be merged.
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Now I don't know what you mean when you say, Merge Paths as Illustrator does. AE can blend two or more paths, group paths, or put a bunch of paths on a single layer but you cannot merge a bunch of closed shapes into a single new shape unless they all overlap. If you have two circles that don't touch they will still be two separate paths when you use the Shape Builder>Merge function. Your sample art contains no overlapping paths that I can see. If you did have overlapping paths you could select them in AE, copy them, paste them into a new AI document, run shape builder (Shift + m) and then copy the merged path and paste it back in AE. If you want to keep things perfectly lined up then start by double-clicking the Rectangle tool to create a layer sized mask on the outside, copy all masks, paste in AI, deselect the large rectangle, Merge, select all paths, then copy and paste back to AE. The last step would be to delete the layer sized mask the Rectangle tool created.
Download a sample file to practice with. This sample file is an Adobe Stock asset you can use to practice what you learn in this tutorial. If you want to use the sample file beyond this tutorial, you can purchase a license on Adobe Stock. Check out the ReadMe file in the folder for the terms that apply to your use of this sample file.
What you learned: How to create custom shapes with the Pen tool, then add complexity using the Merge Paths command and Repeaters
Create a custom shape with the Pen tool
- Make sure no layers are selected in the timeline and choose the Pen tool from the Toolbar.
- Adjust the Fill and Stroke options to set the fill and stroke colors and styles.
- Click in the Composition panel to add points that define the shape, and drag to round the shape of the path through the points you created.
- Click back on the first path point to close the path and create a custom shape.
- Use the handles and drag points to customize the appearance of the shape.
Add complexity to a shape using the Merge Paths command
- Select the shape layer in the timeline and press UU to open any previously customized parameters.
- Select the name of the shape to duplicate in the timeline and press Command+D (MacOS) or Control+D (Windows) to duplicate the shape.
- Adjust the shape transform controls of the duplicate shape so that it is no longer the same as the original shape.
- Select Contents on the shape layer, then choose the Merge Paths command from the Add button in the timeline.
- In the Merge Paths command, change the Mode dropdown menu to specify how the overlapping paths will operate with each other.
Add more complexity to a shape with a Repeater
- Select Contents from the shape layer and choose Repeater from the Add button in the timeline.
- Adjust the Repeater transform options to customize the appearance of the duplicate shapes created by the Repeater.
Back to: Create shape layers | Up next: Animate 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 shapes within that shape layer. By default, if you draw in the Composition panel when a shape layer is selected, you create a 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. For more information, see Create masks in After Effects.
Shortcuts for Shape tool is Q, and Pen Tool shortcut is G.
Before drawing in the Composition panel to create a shape layer, press F2 and deselect all layers.
Usually, 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.
Convert Vector Art Footage to Shape
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. For more information, see Extruding text and shape layers.
To convert a vector art footage layer to shape layer, choose Layer > Create > Create Shapes from Vector Layer . A matching shape layer appears above the footage layer, and the footage layer is muted.
Known issues with converting vector art footage to shapes
- 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 slowly without feedback.
- The menu command works on a single selected layer at a time.
- If you import an Illustrator file as a composition (multiple layers), you cannot convert all those layers in one pass. However, you can import the file as footage, and then use the command to convert the single footage layer to shapes.
Create a shape dragging with shape tools
The shape tools are the Rectangle , Rounded Rectangle , Ellipse , Polygon , and Star tools.
To activate and cycle through the shape tools, press Q.
A polygon is a star without an Inner Radius or Inner Roundness property. So, the name of the shape created for a polygon or a star is the same: polystar.
You can create a mask by dragging with a shape tool on a selected layer in the Composition panel or Layer panel. You can create a shape by dragging with a shape tool on a selected shape layer in the Composition panel. If you drag with a shape tool in the Composition panel with no layer selected, you create a shape on a new shape layer.
To draw a mask on a shape layer, click the Tool Creates Mask button in the Tools panel with a shape tool active.
When you create a shape by dragging with a shape tool in the Composition panel, you create a parametric shape path. To instead create a Bezier shape path, press the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key before you click to begin dragging. You can release the key before you complete the drag operation. All mask paths are Bezier paths. (See About shapes and shape layers.)
Dragging starts when you click in the Composition panel or Layer panel to begin drawing, and ends when you release the mouse button. Pressing modifier keys at different times during a single dragging operation achieves different results:
To reposition a shape or mask as you are drawing, hold the spacebar or the middle mouse button while dragging.
To scale a circle, ellipse, square, rounded square, rectangle, or rounded rectangle around its center while drawing, hold the Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) key after you begin dragging. Don’t release the key until you have released the mouse button to finish drawing.
To cancel the drawing operation, press Esc.
Each shape tool retains the settings of the most recent drawing operation with that tool. For example, if you draw a star and modify the number of points to be 10, then the next star that you draw will also have 10 points. To reset settings for a tool and create a shape with the default settings, double-click the tool in the Tools panel. (See Create a shape or mask the size of the layer.)
Draw rectangles, rounded rectangles, squares, and rounded squares
- Select the Rectangle tool or the Rounded Rectangle tool , and do one of the following:
- To draw a rectangle or rounded rectangle, drag diagonally.
- To draw a square or rounded square, Shift-drag diagonally.
Эффекты — одна из самых сильных сторон программы After Effects. Многие приступают к изучению программы именно из-за возможности применения большого количества эффектов как от разработчиков Adobe, так и от сторонних разработчиков. Рассмотреть все эффекты, в рамках одной статьи, мы разумеется не сможем. Но вполне сможем научиться с ними обращаться. Давайте приступим!
Чтобы добавить какой-либо эффект мы можем использовать либо меню Effect либо панель Effects & Presets. Все эффекты делятся на группы, что безусловно облегчает поиск нужного эффекта.
С меню Effects все просто: выделяем один или несколько слоев на панели Timeline, к которым хотим применить эффект, заходим в меню Effects, выбираем группу и эффект. После выполнения данной команды эффект будет добавлен к выделенным слоям, а рядом с панелью Project появится вкладка Effect Controls, в которой производиться настройка эффекта. Возьмем например эффект для цветокоррекции Color Curves и рассмотрим панель управления эффектом.
Для каждого эффекта набор параметров разный, поэтому и панель управления для различных эффектов будет выглядеть по-разному. Если к одному слою применено несколько эффектов, то они будут располагаться друг под другом, как слои на панели Timeline.
Слева от имени эффекта расположена вертушка позволяющая свернуть параметры эффекта.
Если Вы произвели все нужные настройки эффекта и хотите ускорить процесс работы над проектом, Вы можете на время отключить эффект сбросив флажек рядом с названием слоя. Помните, чем больше применено эффектов тем дольше будет выполняться предварительная визуализация и вцелом работа программы над проектом.
После добавления эффекта в панели Timeline тоже произошли изменения. Если развернуть свойства слоя, то кроме свойств трансформации мы увидим новую группу свойств — Effects. Здесь отображаются почти все параметры примененных эффектов, что и на панели Effect Controls.
Если Вам известно название нужного эффекта проще будет найти его через панель Effects & Presets. Вводим название в поле поиска и программа сразу же показывает все подходящие варианты.
Применить эффект можно двойным кликом по его названию, тогда он будет применен к выделенным не Timeline слоям. Так же можно «перетащить» эффект, зажав его левой кнопкой мыши либо на нужный слой на панели Timeline, либо просто на изображение на панели Composition.
Как оказалось добавить эффект несложно, гораздо сложнее разобраться как этот эффект настроить чтобы изображение выглядело наилучшим образом. Об этом Вы сможете узнать уже из уроков по Adobe After Effects. Но не стоит спешить, сначала разберитесь с базовой функциональностью программы, чтобы эти уроки были Вам понятны. Желаем удачи!
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