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Illustrator Paths to Masks
Hello, how do you convert Illustrator paths to masks in AE, because I have the illustrator file as separate pieces and I don’t have illustrator on the same machine as AE.
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4 Replies
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if you want to keep the paths as editable mask in ae and you have photoshop on the same system that you have illustrator on, then you can copy and past the paths from illustrator into a photoshop file pasting the paths as shape layers.
take that psd to the ae system, import it as comp and keeping layers editable. you should now have the paths as editable masks in ae. (why ae can’t do this with ai files, i don’t know).
if you don’t have photoshop, then you could import the ai file as a comp an use the ai layers as track mattes for other ae layers… it should accomplish much of what layer masks accomplish, but will lead to a more complicated comp…
Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
The problem is when you fill the path, AE only fills the stroke of the illustrator file not the inside of the illustrator file, is there a way to overcome this?
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[Christopher Rotter] “The problem is when you fill the path, AE only fills the stroke of the illustrator file not the inside of the illustrator file, is there a way to overcome this?”
i’m not sure i follow you…
if you take an illustrator file that has been separated into layers (in illustrator) into ae as a comp it will make a comp with all those layers. if you wanted to fill one of those layers, you would just add the fill effect (or choose layer>layer styles>color overlay) and it will fill that with color but still maintain it’s transparency.
if you wanted to stroke the same ai layer, then you could use layer>layer style>stroke.
you could have both stroke and fill (or color overlay) on the same layer and would have separate control for the stroke and fill within ae.
is your ai layer just the outline of a shape and you need to fill that inner shape?
if so, then you can use the paint bucket effect. set fill selector to alpha and point the fill point to the area that you want to fill, it should then fill that area with the default red. adjust the color and tolerance level as needed.
Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
Thank you that has helped, I never knew there were layer styles like Photoshop until you mentioned them, there a good add-on for effects and so forth.
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