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arrow follows path, pointing in same direction
I can’t recall where I saw a tutorial for drawing a path on a map. The path is easy, with masking.
The neat part was that there was an arrow shape at the leading edge of the path, which followed the same direction as the path despite all its twists and turns.
Does anyone recall seeing this tutorial — and could you let me know where it is?
Thanks!
— BC
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3 Replies
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Dunno about the tutorail, but you should simply paste the mask path as position keyframes and then use auto-orient on the arrowhead. All that’s required then is to match up the timing of your stroke drawing the path and the arrowhead’s motion.
Mylenium
[Pour Myl
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Try this recipe.
1) Create a Solid the same size as your comp
2) Use the Mask tool to create a path. If it’s a closed Mask Shape, then set the mask’s Transfer Mode to None
3) Apply Stylize->Write-on to the same Solid
4) Copy the Mask Shape and paste it into the Brush Position property for Write-on. Set Paint Style to On Transparent
5) RAM Preview to see the Write-on creating a stroked effect along the path. Adjust brush properties to taste.
6) Create a small Solid for the arrowhead. use the Pen tool to create the arrowhead.
7) Pickwhip the arrowhead’s position property to the brush position property.
8) Initiate Auto-orient for the arrowhead layer.If you want the arrow’s tail to remain at a constant length, then set Stroke Length to a number other than zero. This works well if the animated sequence ends with the arrow and its tail off screen.
If the tail still lingers on screen, then you need to animate Stroke Length to ensure that the tail remains on screen. Just create a keyframe at the end of the animated sequence. Then move ahead in time to the end of your composition. Create a keyframe here but with the following settings – (current time + first keyframe value)-(time at first keyframe). This will ensure that the length of the tail is consistent and stays so for the entire duration of your composition.
HTH
Roland Kahlenberg
broadcastGEMs – customizable animated backdrops with Adobe After Effects project files -
Thank you both. What I have to start from is a .psd map with an existing path drawn on it as a separate layer. I was intending to simply draw a mask to reveal the path as it proceeded. I can see that the auto-orient needs data from which to work.
Thanks for the kind assistance. You’ve given me something to work on.
— BC
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