How to slowly reveal a cut-out circle shape in After Effects

[John Cuevas]

What I’d like to know is, in After Effects, how can I start off with a blank screen and then slowly reveal the circle layer, for example, if I wanted to show dots appearing on the screen going clockwise etc?

Use the Effect -> Transition -> Radial Wipe. Set the transition completion to 100% and change the Wipe to Conterclockwise. Now just animate from 100% to 0%

I suspect it’s something to do with using animated masks, but try as I might I cant think of a way to animate the mask so that it would work the way I want it to. How do you slowly “reveal” a complicated layer shape like say a long, twisted piece of string?

For a long twisted piece of string, I would probably use Effect -> Generate -> Stroke and create or copy the mask path onto the layer and choose for that mask for the path and then change the paint style to “Reveal Original Image”. Then just animate the End point of the stroke.

Johnny Cuevas, Editor
Thinkck.com

“I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
—THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb.

[Georgina Lord]

Many thanks Johnny. I just looked at how to use stroke with path and this is obviously the way to go”

G.

[John Cuevas]

Glad I could help.

Johnny Cuevas, Editor
Thinkck.com

“I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
—THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb.