Multiple Alpha Mattes to Create Checkerboard-type Pattern

[Kalleheikki Kannisto]

The easy solution is to create the needed shapes in Illustrator with the pathfinder tools, which allow you to create individual shapes from each of the triangles with the click of a button. Doing the same in After Effects, you’d need to draw a new mask for each shape you want to fill with gradients. Either way, you’ll end up with a bunch of layers with individual triangles with a gradient ramp effect.

The other option is to draw the whole thing, including the gradients, with Illustrator and bring it in as a single complete image, or as a comp with layers. I’d take this latter route myself.

Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer

[Alex Dickmann]

The only problem with that is that I have each triangle rotating at a different rate so the size and shape of the triangle changes – I apologize, I probably did not explain that very well. I’m trying to avoid having to keyframe the shape layers path frame by frame

[Kevin Camp]

you might try the Paint Bucket effect… it will allow you to position a ‘fill point’ in any of the triangle shapes and ‘fill’ it with a color. once that triangle is filled, you could add a gradient to the triangle with the ramp effect or gradient layer style…

try this:

duplicate the triangle design, add the pain bucket effect, position the fill point in a triangle and set the effects blending mode property to ‘fill only’. you should now have a single red triangle filled.

to add the gradient, try layer>layer styles>gradient fill and adjust as needed.

Kevin Camp
Art Director
KCPQ, KZJO & KRCW