Layer Window

[Mike Clasby]

If I understand your question, try this. Don’t double click the layer you’re rotoscoping, thus opening the Layer Window, instead do you roto in the Comp Window, where you can see all the layers.

You can do that by setting the mask you adjusting to None, then animating the mask Shape,, setting an initial keyframe with the Mask Shape stopwatch, then changes down the timeline will set new mask shape keyframes.

I am assuming by Roto you mean changing the mask over time.

Does that do what you want?

[Nathan Mills]

I mean rotoscoping like using the paint tool, clone stamp, or eraser.

[Joey Foreman]

Well, you don’t rotoscope with those tools – for that you use articulated masks.
But if you want to paint, you do it directly on the layer in the Layer window. If you want the layer to contain one or all of the layers below it, precompose them. If you’re opening the layer window and just seeing transparency instead of the contents of the layer, make sure Paint On Transparent is off in the Paint effect control.
If you don’t need to clone, you can paint directly in the Comp window with the Vector Paint effect.
Another approach is to open the layer window and position it next to the comp window. Paint in the Layer window and see the results over your other layers in the Comp window.

Joey Foreman
Editor/Animator
Nowhere Productions, Athens, GA