[Mike Clasby]

When you say change size, I’m assuming you don’t mean thickness, which you can do within with Brush Size in Stroke.

Keyframe changes in the Mask Shape (under Mask) will change the shape, size of the mask. Set a key frame, then down the timeline, change the size of the mask (double click the mask and you get a transform box like in Photshop, or move a vertex and the mask shape changes. AE will do the tweens for you.

[Mike Clasby]

When you say change size, I’m assuming you don’t mean thickness, which you can do within with Brush Size in Stroke.

Keyframe changes in the Mask Shape (under Mask) will change the shape, size of the mask. Set a key frame, then down the timeline, change the size of the mask (double click the mask and you get a transform box like in Photshop, or move a vertex and the mask shape changes. AE will do the tweens for you.

[Mike Clasby]

This might help, take a look at Dan Ebberts’ excellent tut, “Animating a Walk Cycle”:

https://www.creativecow.net/show.php?forumid=2&page=/articles/ebberts_dan/layer_looping/index.html

Basically, you set the anchor point of the head layer to a place it would naturally pivot
(where it hooks up to the neck), then you move the head where you want it to be in relation to the body and it will stay in the same relative position to the body.

The above will take care of position and any rotations of the body.

As far as the head constantly changing shape, I don’t quite understand what you mean. If by changing
shape you mean the head is changing size, you can tie the size of the head to any keyframed size changes of the
body with a simple expression, by alt clicking the size stopwatch of the head layer, then pickwhipping to the size of the body.
Then the head would match any size changes of the body, but that’s probably not what you mean.

Anyway, if Dan’s tut doesn’t do all you want, fire in another question.

[Mike Clasby]

This might help, take a look at Dan Ebberts’ excellent tut, “Animating a Walk Cycle”:

https://www.creativecow.net/show.php?forumid=2&page=/articles/ebberts_dan/layer_looping/index.html

Basically, you set the anchor point of the head layer to a place it would naturally pivot
(where it hooks up to the neck), then you move the head where you want it to be in relation to the body and it will stay in the same relative position to the body.

The above will take care of position and any rotations of the body.

As far as the head constantly changing shape, I don’t quite understand what you mean. If by changing
shape you mean the head is changing size, you can tie the size of the head to any keyframed size changes of the
body with a simple expression, by alt clicking the size stopwatch of the head layer, then pickwhipping to the size of the body.
Then the head would match any size changes of the body, but that’s probably not what you mean.

Anyway, if Dan’s tut doesn’t do all you want, fire in another question.

[Mike Clasby]

I’m looking forward to when the PI plugun for AE comes out and we can tap Aharon’s PI brain for know-how.

Hey, that sounds greedy… Welcome Aharon.

[Mike Clasby]

Render>Audio Waveform makes a pretty nice neon sign. Just don’t tie it to an audio layer.
Use, Path> Mask 1, in the plugin and it will climb on the mask.
You can control Inside Color (like neon green) and outside color (a lighter shade of the same green), and softness.
Add a glow on top of that and the neon is lookin pretty good.
Oh, yeah try a little wiggle expression, like
wiggle (5,20)
on the glow radius (or even transparency of the layer) and you get a nice flicker.

[Mike Clasby]

Render>Audio Waveform makes a pretty nice neon sign. Just don’t tie it to an audio layer.
Use, Path> Mask 1, in the plugin and it will climb on the mask.
You can control Inside Color (like neon green) and outside color (a lighter shade of the same green), and softness.
Add a glow on top of that and the neon is lookin pretty good.
Oh, yeah try a little wiggle expression, like
wiggle (5,20)
on the glow radius (or even transparency of the layer) and you get a nice flicker.

[Mike Clasby]

Parent the head layer to the body layer.

[Mike Clasby]

Parent the head layer to the body layer.

[Mike Clasby]

https://www.creativecow.net/show.php?forumid=2&page=/articles/bassett_doug/connections/index.html