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Perfect aligned masks
I want to break up a clip into multiple masks( for a kind of glass break effect), but I was curious if there is a way I can break them up so the edges align perfectly. With the pen tool there will still be some inconsistencies. Can I use some sort of alpha matte? Is there any way to snap them together? Thank you for any responses.
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12 Replies
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Drawing them in Illustrator and pasting into AE is the easiest solution.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
I tried that, but there was an issue with pasting them in. It’ll paste the mask shapes in, but it always pastes them in the center of the comp, not in whatever position it was in the illustrator project. This isn’t too big of an issue, but it would be better if it could be solved.
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is the iilustrator file size 1920×1080
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Yes
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Copy and paste them all at once to one layer, and they are aligned. If you need to separate them out to individual layers, you can copy and paste individual paths to new layers in AE. I suspect there’s a script in existence that splits them all in one go as well.
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer -
Or if you have some coin to spare, you could get the Overlord plug-in from BattleAxe: https://www.battleaxe.co/overlord/
I use it a lot because I work closely with illustrators and it’s been a dream to transfer their artwork into AE and have them fit just as intended in the frame.
*full disclosure: this isn’t a sponsored post.
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That certainly seems like a good investment. Thank you for informing me of it.
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Can’t you simply import the illustrator file as a comp and maintain layer size when doing so?
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If you use the Mocha AE bundled with After Effects for masking, there is the “Attach Layers” tool that was made for this purpose. Each layer can have its own tracking and animation, than you can link the points at edges together.
If you are using the new Mocha AE 2019, you find “Attach Layers” tool in “Classic” workspace.
Ross Shain
Boris FX / Imagineer Systems
https://borisfx.com/products/mocha/ -
Almost sounds like the old AE shatter effect. I suggest you check it out☺.
Greets Mark
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