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Which is best to use in AE – ai files or psd files?
I’ve mostly always used vector based Illustrator files (in RGB mode) when animating in After Effects unless it’s a photo I’m adding. However, I know psd files can be used and are highly compatible with AE.
At the moment I am animating a pop-up map in AE and the illustrator (person) uses Photoshop to do his drawings in. The map is going to have cameras moving across and even through objects like doors on a castle. My worry is that the psd files will pixelate when zooming so close to the objects with the cameras, such as through the doors.
Has anyone got any advice on which is the best format to use (ai or psd) to get the best quality images and how much the file sizes would differ between the two formats?
Thanks
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5 Replies
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as you already know, if you want to zoom in, you’d like to have vector files to avoid the chance of pixelation. with a 3d camera fly though you have a good chance of seeing pixelation of raster images.
of course you can use tricks to hide some of it. camera depth of field is can be good option… as you pass by/though layers dof can hide the pixelation.
if you can, have the artist to send you something that they have done before (and that is the resolution that they plan to work in), then you can do a quick test and then give them some input based on that.
Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
I was thinking that might be the case with doing a fly through as you can’t really avoid being that close to the image. A test is a good idea though, I’ll ask him to send me something over. I haven’t tried changing the depth of field to hide pixelation before, so will give that a try too if needed.
Thanks for your help!
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Helena
which is the best format to use (ai or psd) to get the best quality images and how much the file sizes would differ between the two formats?My advice is to go for Ai files if it is an option. Ai files would be much smaller in size as compared to High Resolution .PSD files which would also make your project unnecessarily heavy. If you end up using PSDs that I would suggest you to go through this link:
Vishesh Arora
3D and Motion Graphics Artist
Films RajendraBlog:
https://digieffects.wordpress.com2011 3D Demo Reel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHPgIJU_BR8 -
Ahh yes, thats true. Thanks for the tip Dave!
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I think you’re right – using Ai files would be my usual choice. The artist normally uses Photoshop and he’s not so familiar with Illustrator, so wanted to weigh up the pro’s and cons in using both types of files. I think he’s willing to give Illustrator a go though.
As the animation is going to be quite complex, the file sizes are definitely going to have an affect so thanks for the advice on that. I want to try and avoid long render times and large file sizes if possible!
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