PLEASE ADVISE ASAP! After Effects will not render SOME assets.

[Dave Johnson]

Hmmm … seen lots of AE issues, but that one is a first … some things to try …

Make sure you have the latest updates installed for each of your Adobe software versions.

Purge all of AE’s cache from the file menu.

Duplicate the AI & PSD files, open the duplicates and re-save them without changing anything, then try another test render.

If you have a backup of the AE project, try a test render from it.

If not, shame on you and make one now … then, import the project file into a new project and try another test render.

Sounds like it might be a file corruption issue with either the AE project file or the sources … any crashes, etc. lately?

[Dave Johnson]

By the way, more info would be helpful … platform, AE version, sources on local drive or networked, etc, etc?

[Chris Feldmann]

Sure thing, sorry – I’m using a Mac Pro (2×2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM) running 10.6.7, with After Effects CS5 10.0.2. No updates needed for either the system or the software.

All assets are on a local drive assigned for project files and assets. All of the other assets are working fine – it’s just these two files. The Illustrator file is upscaled tremendously for a transition, and I originally thought that maybe there was a limitation on what scale an asset could be rendered (almost like a clipping plane – but they are visible and work beautifully in a RAM preview, furthering my confusion). I tested them in separate projects (including the scaling) and and they render well.

I have several iterative revisions, but these assets were incorporated several revisions back, and since the assets were working in After Effects (including in RAM previews) I didn’t even think that there might be trouble with the assets when rendering. I was just hoping I wouldn’t have to go several iterative revisions back and redo the work – but it looks like I may have to.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance,
Chris

[Dave Johnson]

Until reading this one, I had recently started to wonder – what has this impostor done with the real Dave LaRonde!? Welcome back!! lol

BTW, you forgot one … don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

[Walter Soyka]

[Chris Feldmann] “The layers are neither set as a guide layer”

Guide layers would have been my first guess.

Any chance that they’re 3D layers, and you’re RAM previewing some view other than the active camera?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Dave Johnson]

It does sound like the issue is with the AI & PSD files, rather than AE per se … as Dave alluded to, have they been altered in any way since they last rendered correctly? If so, how?

Oftentimes the simple process of clearing out what both AE and your system are currently referencing can solve strange anomaly type issues like what you’re experiencing …

Perhaps purge all of AE’s cache from the file menu so any cached versions of and references to the problem files are gone.

Save out a copy of the AE project.

Restart your machine.

Duplicate the AI & PSD files, open the duplicates and re-save them without changing anything (unless you find something wrong like CMYK).

Open the AE project copy, replace AI & PSD files with the re-saved duplicates, then try another test render.

[Kevin Camp]

I’m sure the urgency is over by now, but for the sake of troubleshooting…

If you want to troubleshoot the files, try bringing the files into a new comp and do a quick test render.

If that works, then it may be how the layers are being used, or effects on those layers. Try a copy/paste of those layers from the original comp into a comp by themselves and do a test render. If it doesn’t render properly, start disabling effects or resetting properties until you can figure out what’s wrong.

Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW

[Christopher Cook]

This response is obviously not timely, but I’ll leave my findings here since this thread came up when searching for help on this topic.

I have been experiencing this same issue with more and more frequency over the past few months – that of having layered Illustrator files* importing fine, working with them without abnormality, and then having to pull my hair out because they simply aren’t there in any outputs.

When I first experienced it, these elements would function normally in RAM preview, making it doubly confusing that they would be visible and functioning when scrubbing the timeline and when previewing, but then not exist when rendering.

As the months have progressed, and as was occurring today, the files have frequently been electing to opt out of the Preview renders as well, presumably because they’re catching up on their Hulu queue and can’t be bothered just at that moment. Perplexing.

These files are RGB. They are not Guides. They are stored locally. Purging, reloading, restarting, refreshing, et cetera has no effect.

To speak to my own non-dunce-ity, I worked on semi-large project each in November, December, and January that were comprised almost entirely of characters and elements layered out in Illustrator, imported as Compositions into After Effects, and animated without issues of elements not rendering. In March I began experiencing these issues.

Aside from trying it dozens of times in the hope that one will catch, the only solution I’ve found is to just not use AI files. This is certainly not ideal, but neither is not having a product to show the client. Exporting each layer individuals as EPS out of Illustrator and importing these into After Effects has proven it to cause no issues at all.

The major impairment with this work around is that you would have to re-align all of your layered elements within AE.

What I did, since I had already imported the AI as a composition, which imports it in separate layers and retains the layers’ sizes (this is the default – don’t select “Document Size for this work-around)…what I did was to import the EPS’s of the individual layers and then replace the AI file layers with the EPS of the corresponding layer…if that makes sense.

That saved me from having to reanimate and anchor and adjust the whole thing a second time. Not ideal as the AI working, but it worked.

So, bottom line, go EPS. Use that handy “Export As” option.

That is, at least, what worked for me. I honestly suspect it’s an odd bug. Wasn’t an issue 6 months ago, but now is an issue. I’m due to reformat the machine but am just (luckily) too busy to drop a day. I’ll try to remember to update my findings once I do reformat and reload everything anew.

Working on PC Win7 6-core i7 3.33Ghz 12-GB DDR3 CS5 Production

Best of luck to all until then.

Christopher Cook
Brainroot Light and Sound

*no experience with this happening with PSDs, but I haven’t worked with complex PSDs

[Chris Feldmann]

Thanks to all who replied. I’m still not entirely sure what the issue really was – but ensuring that the files were RGB and not CYMK (I’m new to working with graphic designers and used to creating my own assets – so checking for something as simple as that slipped my mind) and exporting as a different file format did the trick.

Thank you all very much for your time once again.

[Rc Johnson]

I’ve found that with most of the AI files I have this rendering problem with, it’s resolved by working locally and by turning on the layers continuous rasterization button.