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Please Help – Paths, Strokes and Graphics – Drawing a Blank
OK, I’m finding this difficult to explain, but I will try.
I was given a photoshop image of a “helix” – made up of two tapered “ribbons” – one on each layer. What the client would like to do is have the image ‘snake’ down from off screen, following the shape of the helix. I was able to fake it by tracing the helix with the pen tool, then using 3D stroke to recreate the tapers and use its offset parameter to “slide” the stroke down the path. Here is a link to a .mov file showing what I did:
File: “myHelix.mov”
Link: “https://yrmedia.yr.com/QuickLink/353d274b46f7c831260”(when you go to that link, you will be given the option to open file or download, choose download.)
My “fake” was a close approximation, but the strokes don’t look QUITE like the original layers. It seems to me there MUST be a way to make this happen with the ACTUAL photoshop layers I was given (as opposed to using a stroked path) – but I simply cannot figure it out. I tried using the (built-in) stroke effect, with “reveal original” but that doesn’t let the strokes move down the path. It almost seems like what I need is the 3D stroke effect to have a reveal original option or the built-in stroke to have a offset parameter…
I hope this is clear, please ask questions if you need more details.
I have a Quad G5 Mac, After Effects 7, and the trapcode plugins (and hopefully soon CS3 – if that makes a difference).
Thanks in advance.
Scott
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2 Replies
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What if you put your 3D stroke layer above the Photoshop layer, and set the PS layer’s TrkMat to Alpha?
That should allow the shape of the 3D stroke layer to reveal the Photoshop layer
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Thanks that worked!
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