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COW Tutorials: After Effects Scaling a Motion Path in After Effects
&page=https://www.creativecow.net/articles/rabinowitz_aharon/scale_path/index.html”>Scaling a Motion Path in After Effects In this tutorial Aharon Rabinowitz shows you the secret to scaling a motion path in After Effects. If you’ve ever created motion in after effects that you needed to confine to a smaller area, but also needed to keep the exact same shape, this lesson will show you how you can easily do just that, through the use of After Effects’ layer masks.
Click on the link above to watch Aharon’s tutorial.
Kathlyn Lindeboom
Creativecow.net -
12 Replies
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Sweet tutorial, I have a question on the same theme. Is there a way to convert illustrator file that is exported into after effects into a mask shape w/o first opening it in illustrator getting your preferences right and copy, pasting it.
Thanks in advance, great job with tutorials, the z scale one was pretty sweet too 🙂 -
I don’t think so. post this in the regular AE forum, and maybe someone knows better. Pretty sure you have to open AI or PS tp dp this.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
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Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
yes you can.
1. In Adobe Illustrator, create your path, select all of the points along the path, and then choose Edit > Copy.
2. In After Effects, open the Layer window for the layer into which you want to import the path.
3. Choose Edit > Paste.Important: You must select the AICB option in the Files & Clipboard section of the Adobe Illustrator Preferences dialog box for this method to work.
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his question was how to do it without opening illustrator.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
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Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
for the record I’ve already submited a 4 minute tutorial on using illsutrator and photoshop to create motion paths and masks in AE, along with some of the issues that pop up when doing it.
However, once again, it requires that you open the programs.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
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Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
Cool tutorial on using masks for paths (and vice versa), but for scaling, wouldn’t it be easier to parent to a null layer, then scale the null?
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that would also scale the layer. Of course you could also inversely scale the layer to counter it – But only if if the scale atribute wasn’t already animated, and if only if you could figure out the exact amount to inversely effect the scale, so that it doesn’t change. Seems a lot easier to me this way.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
You
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plus, you can’t give the position data to any other layers or effects, or expressions, becasue it is still the original position data.
It’s not a perfect method, and like I said in my tutorial, neither is mine.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
How about this (much simpler than what I said before):
Go to first scale keyframe (or first frame if there are none). Note value of scale.
Parent to null.
Scale null.
Unparent from null.
Select all scale keyframes.
Drag scale value back to original (scrub, using command or alt to fine-tune).
All scale keyframes should scale proportionally, leaving you with just a scaled motion path.Whaddya think?
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