Stroke effect like in Photoshop!

[Mike Clasby]

Well, you’re right, but there’s always (usually) a way in AE.

Layer > Auto-Trace (drop the Tolerance and Threshold down to about 1) gives you a mask, lickity-split. (Skip a few paragraphs if you don’t have Auto-trace).

Add Stroke.

Render > Scribble also give you edge options for wiggly wider edges.

My fav with a mask is Render > Audio Waveform. (Nice round edges)
Check the Composite on (at the bottom), Audio Layer > Choose a layer WITHOUT sound for a solid (quiet) line, or use an audio layer if you want the outline to wiggle with the beat.
Path > Mask, Displayed samples – up this to cover the outline, animate this to have the outline draw itself on in a really cool way, surprised I don’t see this used.
Waveform Options > Analog Line (default). Anyway this makes for wild outlines.
You can control, Inner and Outter Color, softness, thikness. (Add Glow and maybe a wiggle expression on softness for a neon look)

So without masks (no Auto-trace) you can use:
Stylize > Roughen Edges (choose Roughen Color with Fractal Influence down to 0,Border about 0.5 (this needs to be low because the Roughen eats into the image,
Fractal Influence 0. This give a very fine outline on the INSIDE of the alpha image, it eats in. It can be nice for say a cartoon outline when a layer of the same color – say a hand of the same color as the body passes in front
of the other, gives it a different outline so they don’t blend into the same color, yikes too much info here, but I just did it on a cartoon hand over cartoon body).

Also without mask, try Render > Vegas (with Selected Contours (1 usually gives you the outside), and Rendering>Start, Mid-point, and End Opacity all set to 100%, crank the Width up a bit, choose a color. This works better than you might think and is the sole option if you can Auto-trace to make your mask(s).

Use both of the above if you want a two color outline, or two close together colors that blend into a softer feathery edge.

Otherwise its generate a path in PS then imoprt into AE for a mask.

Wow, this just shows how far I’llgo to avoid working on my project, and with a deadline looming no less. Bad.

[Editing-jos]

LOL.. I’m the same way with Deadlines.
You need to be almost DEAD to do the best work.

Thanx for the info.
Still we need a normal STROKE plugin 🙂
I think its strange no Third party packages does that!

[Mike Clasby]

Maybe there is a third party out there, I most just have the AE plugs.

[Filip Vandueren]

I Think Ice FX used to have a Stroke effect.

BTW, YikesMike that Vegas trick is super-handy.
I’ve never ever opened Vegas before.

Some more tricks to get it more Photoshoppy:

if you want the stroke to be “outside”: Double the width & set Rendering Blend-mode to Under.
if you want the stroke to be “inside”: Double the width, and add a CC Composite-effect set to “Stencil Alpha”

As a side note, Photoshop’s stroke does realy ugly stuff to semitransparant layers, so I don’t think anyone would want to replicate that behaviour.

[Alan Langdon]

My favorite tip is to use the GLOW effect under Stylize. I play with threshold, radius and intensity and it usually gets me a good o’l stroke effect!