footprints on a path…

[Grant Swanson]

I would try using Motion Sketch, draw out your path, and parent the position of the footprints to the data from the motion sketch using auto-orient. Then you can animate the opacity of the footprints using hold keyframes, just create two to animate them on and off, and duplicate them as many times as you need.

Hope this helps!

Grant Swanson
Visual Effects Supervisor
Video Apex
videoapex.blogspot.com

[Kevin Camp]

if you wanted to leave a trail of footprints (like tracks in snow), the easiest way might be to make it in illustrator…

illustrator has a decorative brush that is already footprints (human, animal and bird), it is in the borders-novelty, i think. just draw a path the way you need it with the pen tool, load the borders-novelty brush from the brush menu, then with the line selected choose the footprint brush.

now you have a line of footprints. select it and choose object>expand appearance (i think… i’m trying to do this from memory). ungroup the line a few times, you may want to remove the invisible path line, but you don’t have to. make sure the footprints are ungrouped to the point where you can select each individual print, but not so much that you separate the toes.

now select all the prints and, from the layers palette, click the menu arrow button in the corner and choose ‘separate to layers (build)’. this will separate all path groups on to separate layers in a way taht will ‘build’ the line. in the layers palette, select all the layers that are within the ‘parent layer’ and drag them above the parent, then delete the empty parent layer. now you basically have a cell animation in layers, just save the ai file with pdf compatibility.

now import that file into ae as a comp. open the comp, determine which layer is the first frame (it’s usually the bottom layer), select it first then shift click to select all the other frames. advance one frame and then trim all the layers (the keyboard short cut escapes me, but it’s something like ‘alt-]’… i think my fingers know it better than my brain). then, with the layers selected, right click on a layer and choose keyframe assistant>sequence layers, no overlap.

ram preview and the footprints should ‘write’ on one by one. if you need to stretch the length (right now they are each one frame), take that comp into a new comp and use either time remapping or time stretch (time stretch is probably a bit easier).

it seems like quite a process, but it’s really pretty easy after you’ve done it a couple times and you will have great control and precision creating the path in illustrator.

Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW

[Craig Hellen]

thats a briliant idea on how to do it, im at home now but when i get back in the office on monday ill be sure to try it! thanks a lot I love the COW and the professional responses!

I do try and contribute back on the beginners forum!

You guys never fail me!

Craig Hellen

https://bexmedia.net (the final comp will probably make its way onto there in the next few weeks!)

[Neil Walia]

This is an awesome thread!

I need help isolating the footprints to a single right footprint and changing the color of the footprint.

Please help…

[Steve Stoddart]

Greetings 🙂

Nigh on 5 years after your original post, I hope you are still checking things out here 🙂

I am having trouble following your instructions after the point where you import the AI layers as a comp into AE… After the import, all layers are in the Project frame.. No problem there.. Your description then says:

“Select (the first layer) first and then shift click all the other frames. Advance one frame and then trim all the layers..” My questions are:

1) Where are the layers being selected? In the project panel?
2) I presume by frames you mean layers?
3) What do you mean “advance one frame”? In the timeline?
4) How do you “trim all the layers” when no option to do so seems visible?
5) The remaining instructions (keyframe assistant >sequence layers, no overlap) are a closed book because I can’t follow the preceding steps…

You may have gathered I am not all that familiar with AE 🙂

Cheers 🙂

Steve

[Craig Hellen]

I made this tutorial, https://vimeo.com/4571890

Co-Director Podchains Ltd
Video Producer / Motion graphics designer https://bexmedia.net

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[Steve Stoddart]

Greetings 🙂

I seem to have worked out the answers to my earlier questions..

The issue I have now is the pattern of footprints are building from the centre of the composition. I need to have the pattern build from the lower left but am getting nowhere 🙁

I assume it has something to do anchor points but setting the composition anchor point does nothing to correct the issue…

Suggestions would be appreciated…

Cheers

Steve