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Simplifying Illustrator vector layer for After Effects
Hi everyone! I’m working on animating a vector image of barbed wire around a vector image of a heart in after effects. I was wondering if there was a more simple and efficient way to animate the barbed wire to circle around the heart. I drew the barbed wire with the pen tool in illustrator. It is on it’s own layer in illustrator. This layer has some additional lines drawn that I grouped together with the rest of the barbed wire outline. When I import the single barbed wire layer into After Effects it makes the grouped barbed wire vector a very complex layer with 37 groups and adds extra lines and anchor points. Is there a way to simplify the barbed wire layer in illustrator so that when I import it into After Effects it doesn’t come in with all of these extra groups and it is easier to select the anchor points and animate the barbed wire around the heart? I also found that when I convert the illustrator layer in After Effects to a shape to animate the anchor points, it creates all of these groups. I have to open each group and click on each of the paths in order to animate all of the paths/anchor points.
Thank you for your help!
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8 Replies
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Hi,
Normally, it works if in illustrator, everything is in one layer. If not, when you import your ai file, a window opens and you can choose: Layers options -> Merged Layers.
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Hi Mag,
Thank you for your advice and help! I did have my barbed wire vector on one separate layer in illustrator when I imported that single layer in after effects. That layer in illustrator is grouped, but when I import it into after effects and convert it into a shape layer to animate the anchor points/paths it comes in with 37 groups. I think I might have to redraw the barbed wire in illustrator so that it is all one path and not have separate lines that I am grouping together in that one illustrator layer. Then when I import that layer into after effects it might be more simple. Do you think that might help? Thanks so much again!
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I don’t understand, because if it is a single layer in AI, when you convert it into a shape layer in AE, you can scale, change the anchor…
If you want, you can send me the ai file so I could check what’s wrong.
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I’m able to import it, scale and animate the vector layer in after effects, but it is just harder and more time consuming to do so since it’s a complex vector. When imported it comes in with extra lines and anchor points that are not in illustrator. If you could please take a look at the layer called “top barbed wire” in my illustrator file I would really appreciate it! Thank you so much! ☺
I just tried uploading the file to send to you and I don’t think it’s working. I clicked on the file upload, selected the file and it looks like it uploaded, but when I click finish it doesn’t do anything. Can I please email it to you?
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oh, sorry but I don’t put my email on the internet sorry : /
If it doesn’t bother you, you can give me yours.
What about if you precompose your layer??
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No worries at all! My email is jenniferbafaro@yahoo.com.
By recomposing do you mean redraw the vector barbed wire? I tried redrawing it as one path but it doesn’t work since I have to draw over the some of the same lines to trace it all. It will not fill correctly that way either. Sorry it’s kinda hard to explain without seeing it.
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I just mean right click on the layer->precompose.
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Thank you very much for all of your advice ! You have been beyond helpful and I really appreciate it!! 🙂
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