-
different kind of fading
ok here is what i am doing. i have an adjustment layer with a mask on it. i know how to make it fade in i just key frame the mask opacity. thats easy. but now i want it to fade in a different way. the mask on the layer is right around a face and i want to have it to start coming in right around the middle of the face and mask so it looks like its spreading starting with nothing. i have no idea how i can do this in after effects. please help me
-
9 Replies
-
Have you tried animating the mask expansion property? Or the mask shape property?
Darby Edelen
Lead Designer
Left Coast Digital
Santa Cruz, CA -
what exactly do you mean?
-
There are several properties that belong to each mask. If you select your layer and hit ‘mm’ it should reveal all of the properties of all of the masks on the layer. If you keyframe these properties you can animate their values to alter the mask’s shape, expansion, feathering, opacity, etc.
If you need more clarification then I will need clarification on what you need clarification on =)
Darby Edelen
Lead Designer
Left Coast Digital
Santa Cruz, CA -
One of those attributes is Mask Expansion. Maybe try keyframing that.
— TL
-
Why not use a radial gradient and do Effect>Transition>Gradient Wipe and soften the wipe, so that the center fades in before the outer edges. Much easier than manipulating a mask and if you do a ramp on a solid and precomp that, you can manipulate where the start of the effect happens.
I know it’s not a “fade” but a gradient wipe with soft edges is basically a fade.
-
Gradient wipes are much more versatile and powerful than masks. But I think a mask is easier to understand, especially early on in using AE.
Especially in this case, seeing as the mask and the radial gradient wipe would give exactly the same results.
Darby Edelen
Lead Designer
Left Coast Digital
Santa Cruz, CA -
i really like how key framing the mask expansion looked. a lot. i just wish i could set there it starts from. like where the expanding starts from
-
why not move the center of the mask to where you want to start it?
-
you could animate the mask shape instead. Set a keyframe with the mask at it’s final position, then move backward in time and set another keyframe, free transform the mask vertices and scale them down and position them where you want the start of the ‘fade’ to be. Don’t worry if you can’t get the mask scaled down all the way, you can animate the mask expansion as well to knock out everything.
Darby Edelen
Lead Designer
Left Coast Digital
Santa Cruz, CA
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up