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AE 2018 first mask on a layer has no transfer function (boolean function)?
What happened there? I suppose one could assume you wouldn’t need a transfer function if there is only one mask, but I use the “none” feature all the time to turn that first mask off. While I’m sure there is another place to do it, why not keep the functionality where it was since all the other subsequent layers have theirs where they always were (right next to the mask name).
In addition, sometimes we want the first mask layer to be something other than “add” when other mask layers are present. Even with more than one mask there is still no boolean setting for the first mask.
Is Adobe restricting our creativity now? -
5 Replies
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I’m not seeing the behavior you’re describing. Can you post a screenshot?
Perhaps your first mask has an open path, not a closed path? Masks with open paths never have a mask mode available, no matter where they are in the mask stack.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Hey Walter,
Here’s a snippet of the masks opened up below the layer. I was kinda shocked that I hadn’t run into this yet but I think I see why now. This project was sent by a client for modification and was originally done in AE2016. So perhaps its an import error.
Both masks are closed shapes.
If I delete the masks and start again, still no boolean function for the first mask on that specific layer. If I swap the order of the masks the lack of boolean travels with the mask. If I swap the masks order and add a third, the second mask still has no boolean. But if I make a new layer, all is normal.
The layer is an outlined illustrator file set to continuously rasterize.
If I reimport that file as a new layer – all is normal.
So at this point no solve required, but one more oddity to add to the AE2018 growing list.
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Are you 100% certain the mask is actually closed, and doesn’t just look closed? If you select the mask and then go to Layer > Mask and Shape Path, is Closed checked? If not, does it work the way you expect when you check it?
If this was correct in a previous version but is broken on import, it’d be great to file a bug with Adobe.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Yes, check mark is there in the closed category of the mask/shape menu (and BTW, we still don’t have access to this in the right click menu after all these years?)
I also knew being closed wasn’t the issue because when I started again I just double clicked the mask icon to auto generate a closed square the size of the layer. Still no boolean on the first mask.
This seems to file specific and layer specific as its not happening with new layers or that same AI file reimported, and I’ve never run into this in all my years (going back to COSA) of doing this, so I’ll bet its an import clash with an older format. -
Its the “add”, “subtract”, “intersect” etc. functions that are missing. They are kind of transfer/blend modes but because they are used on masks they are closer in function to a boolean.
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