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Plexi-Glass Effect (Part 2)
Hello to everyone.
I’m trying to create the plexi-glass effect (or whatever it is called) that is on the 12 country flags on the top-right corner.I was told, that I need to create a radial ramp of black and white, and then make a curved mask, if I didn’t misunderstand anything.
However, it doesn’t seem to create this effect. I’m actually unsure of what to do after I had created the actual ramp.
First of all, the ramp is on a new layer, right? And secondly, after I apply a curved circle mask, what do I do? Turn down the opacity?
Thank you very much for your understanding and your valuable help.
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6 Replies
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You pretty much have it. Yes, a new layer. Put a ramp effect on it–start with linear, white to transparent. Then put a mask on the layer. Feather the mask as desired. Adjust the direction and balance of the ramp. Adjust the opacity of the layer.
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Thank you very much Tom. Your post was helpful indeed. I managed to have the desired effect.
But actually, it was the Opacity that I reduced, rathen than increasing the Feather.
And as for the white-to-transparent ramp, I applied a linear color key and set it to black. Is this correct or am I using a quite anorthodox method?
Once again, you were really helpful. Thank you!
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Your method is unorthodox and may not give you the best result. I gave you a little misdirection, thinking that a ramp could have transparency in it. You correctly made the ramp white-to-black. You then created the transparency with a color key to remove the black. The effect is the unorthodox part. I suspect you are getting some gray superimposed over your underlying layer (over on the more transparent side) instead of a transparent white.
In AE, it’s good to get familiar with blending modes. In this case, the reflection layer should use the Screen mode. That will get you the correct result. That is, only the white in the ramp will be superimposed. Try it. Just uncheck the linear color key effect and change the layer mode from Normal to Screen.
The feather on the mask is just an aesthetic choice. If you want a soft edge along that curve, you could feather the mask.
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That’s it. I’ve managed to make it a little bit more light, with this “Screen” layer mode.
Thank you very much Tom!
You have been very helpful indeed! -
Original suggested action:
“Unless there’s a plugin, I’d apply a white-black radial ramp to a layer then mask it with a curved shape. This I’d use over the original graphic in screen or add mode.”
“To a layer” means “to a new solid” in this case. Applying effects to solids is a very common technique in AE. Example effects are lens flare (to a black solid, add or screen mode), fractal noise and ramp. In general, a “generate” effect is often applied to a new solid.
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Thank you very much Steve for your response.
In the previous thread, I was quite unsure, for what to do next, after I made the new layer. The solution for the Layer Modes came to this topic, that was very defining.
It’s amazing how this community helps new users.
I’ve been using After Effects for about a year, and I can see that there are still a lot to learn.Thank you all of you! 😀
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