• Adobe After Effects

  Disappearing Layer/Comp

  Posted by Clay Stearns on August 10, 2013 at 4:27 am

  I’m reasonably sure this is a different problem from the other guy who’s having this problem today…

  I have a layer in a comp that doesn’t display in parent comps or when the layer is precomped. It’s a 2d layer and none of the usual suspects (eyeball, opacity, masks) are at fault.

  The other thing that’s weird is that when I try to render the comp it renders without that layer, but when I play the comp inside AE it’s there…

  I’m not using any unusual plugins here, the only effects on the layer are Black and White, frame blending and a bunch of roto.

  I can post screencap later if you guys think it’ll be helpful but it’s just a layer not showing up when I precomp it or render the comp…

  Appreciate any ideas.

  Clay

  Clay Stearns replied 12 years, 9 months ago 3 Members · 5 Replies
• 5 Replies

• 

  Clay Stearns

  August 10, 2013 at 4:59 am

  Also as an update, there is no permutation of collapse transformations I could try that seems to fix my problem.
• 

  Roland R. kahlenberg

  August 10, 2013 at 9:08 am

  [clay stearns] “The other thing that’s weird is that when I try to render the comp it renders without that layer, but when I play the comp inside AE it’s there.”

  How are you “playing the comp”?

  Post your screen caps. Ensure that you include the Comp, Timeline and Layer Panels and that all applicable property values are distinctly visible.

  Cheers
  RoRK

  Intensive mocha & AE Training in Singapore and Other Dangerous Locations

  Imagineer Systems (mocha) Certified Instructor
  & Adobe After Effects CS6 ACE/ACI
• 

  Clay Stearns

  August 10, 2013 at 10:23 am

  By playing in After Effects I mean Ram Preview. Screencap of the relevant comp and disappearing layer:
  6391_aewindow.jpg.zip

  Here’s video capture of how it plays in the ram preview, and how I want it play when as a precomp/render…
  

  Correct Ram Preview

  Here’s my AE window for the precomp:
  6392_aewindowprecomp.jpg.zip

  And here’s the video result:
  

  precomped/rendered

  Hoping I got enough info here. It’s really frustrating because I can’t find any reason for this layer not to display. Collapse transformations is on in these caps but I have the same problem when it’s off (in both the comp and the precomp).

  Thanks again!
  Clay
• 

  Walter Soyka

  August 10, 2013 at 11:07 am

  Your mystery layer is a “guide layer.” Note the cyan icon next to it in the timeline. Guide layers are visible in the comp viewer, but do not render or appear in precomps. You can toggle a guide layer via the Layer menu or via right-click.

  See help.adobe.com/en_US/aftereffects/cs/using/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7dd2a.html#WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7e76a for more.

  Walter Soyka
  Principal & Designer at Keen Live
  Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
  RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
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• 

  Clay Stearns

  August 10, 2013 at 6:33 pm

  You sir, are correct. I have no idea how that happened. Thank you so much!

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