Traced AI file, AE creates shapes with no fill?

[Justin Crowell]

Hi all,
I’ve traced a TIF with transparency in AI. I then bring it into AE, use the “Create Shapes from Vector Layer” option. I get what is pictured below: what looks like an outline path (the shape layer is also called “**** Outlines.”

Any idea why it is creating an outline, and not a shape? And so, how would I go about getting those outlines filled in?

Thanks!
-Justin

Video editor, animator, composer, producer
JustinCrowell.com

[Justin Crowell]

I tried everything I could possibly think of, from copy the paths and masks and pasting them in other layers, to adding a fill effect. Finally, I tried exporting from AI as an EPS file. And it WORKED. IS this just a bug?!

Video editor, animator, composer, producer
JustinCrowell.com

[Ridley Walker]

[Justin Crowell] “IS this just a bug?!
“

I just tried it here with a vector.ai, no issues at all. Did you have your shape fill set to none?

[Justin Crowell]

It had the same fill that it had whilst still in Illustrator. The key difference here, though, is that this was an item that was Image Traced. It works fine when I generate my own vectors in Illustrator with drawing tools.

Video editor, animator, composer, producer
JustinCrowell.com

[Todd Kopriva]

Be sure to submit a bug report:
https://www.adobe.com/go/wish

———————————————————————————————————
Todd Kopriva, Adobe Systems Incorporated
After Effects quality engineering
After Effects team blog
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[Ridley Walker]

I just tried the same thing. Traced a Photoshop image in Illustrator, clicked the Expand button to generate paths from the trace. Viewed the wireframe and cleaned up the stray bits in Illustrator. Imported to After Effects, converted to shape layer with no problem.

[Justin Crowell]

Ok, whoa. I always struggle with illustrator. It’s the “expand” part that I missed. I’m not sure what that command actually does, but it made it work. Any chance you could enlighten me?

Thank you Ridley!

Video editor, animator, composer, producer
JustinCrowell.com

[Justin Crowell]

I read the manual, but have to admit that I still find the concept of “expand” entirely baffling…

Video editor, animator, composer, producer
JustinCrowell.com

[Ridley Walker]

Prior to expanding the path the traced object is seen as a single item. Expand generates paths from it.

[Justin Crowell]

Hmm, so After Effects needs to see multiple paths as opposed to a single item?

Video editor, animator, composer, producer
JustinCrowell.com