change origin of layer on motion path

[Mike Clasby]

I) So did you make a circular mask and then paste the mask shape into position keyframes of the merry go round of images?

Is there one complete revolution for the two keyframes (or is it four keyframes)? If so you can continue the circular motion with a loop expression. (Copy the expression, Alt-click the Position Stopwatch, Paste, click outside the box). Here’s the expression:

loopOut(“cycle”)

Extend the layer to the right and now the rotations will loop. if you slide the layer to the right it will rotate part way around the circle, making it start from there.

II) If you used the pasting a mask into position keyframes that’s kind of the hard way to do it. Most folks do this:

1) Make the layer’s 3D

2) add a Null (3D also)

3) Move the merry go round layers the distance away from the null they want the radius of the circle to be

4) Parent the merry go round layer to the Null

5) Rotate the Null

III) Here is an earlier thread on spacing layers around a merry go round with several methods. I’d just discovered a new script that does the job almost automatically:

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/915391

There are several other methods mentioned, read the whole thread to find out all they ways people came up with.

[Mike Clasby]

In case I wasn’t clear that last part, with the script create a merry go round by selecting the layers, then running the script, put the number of layers to be in the merry go round in that top box of the script’s control panel (when the script runs), then the next one is for the radius.

It makes the layers 3D. creates a Null, and parents them to the Null. Rotate the Null and the merry go round, goes round.