Is there a way to subtract the background effects of an object with a multiplied layer effect over others in an effort to create shadows?

[Darby Edelen]

There’s not enough information to give you a useful answer. Is the character made up of layers or is it a footage item? Is the pink background a layer or is it part of the same footage item as the character? Basically: how is what we see here put together?

Darby Edelen

[David Wolf]

It’s just a sample, if it can be done any other way I’d like to know that too, but these are just shape layers. If there’s a way whether it’s a footage item or whatever, I can always change the method of creating the layers as long as it gets the result I’m looking for. The pink background is just there, not really a core part of the sample project, but I’m looking for a way to get a multiplied layer to not show on a background layer and only the layer it’s trying to affect, kind of like a clipping mask so it doesn’t affect the background of another object in Illustrator.

[Darby Edelen]

If both layers are continuously rasterized (like Shape Layers) you can apply the Set Matte effect to the shadow layer and point the effect at the layer you want it “clipped” to.

If you’re working with non-composition sized footage items then you could try one of these:

A) duplicate the footage item that needs the shadow and use this as an alpha track matte for the shadow layer. More info here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/alpha-channels-masks-mattes.html#track_mattes_and_traveling_mattes

B) Pre-compose each element that needs a shadow with its corresponding shadow layer and use the Preserve Transparency layer switch. This works like a clipping mask but clips to ALL of the layers below it:

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/alpha-channels-masks-mattes.html#preserve_underlying_transparency_during_compositing

Darby Edelen

[David Wolf]

Thanks! I’ll try it.