Illustrator
P=pen
A=white arrow
V=black arrow
After Effects
M=mask shape
MM=all mask properties
F=mask feather
ApY=New Solid
ApG=Go to Time
G=Pen Tool
Friday, September 26, 2008
ADV-Post: week 4 notes.
Masks
-Glorified AI paths.
-Paths with motion
path: line or curve between 2 points
Working in Illustrator
Draw in AI: using the path tool (pen tool)
-Triangle
-Square
-Star
-Circle (using 2 points only)
-Swiss Cheese
PS: based on pixel information
-Making stuff bigger here, makes it look bad...
AI: based on math
2x+1=y
-punchline: you can make stuff bigger in AE or AI that started as an AI file, and you won't lose quality.
-magic button: "continuously rasterize" button, must be clicked on all your AI layers for the math to look gooood.
AI:
you can scale up any object in AI unless it's based on a photo.
Illustrator method:
-Draw on a layer. Lock it.
Make a new layer. draw on that.
-To select stuff on a layer, use the black arrow tool, or you can click on the button on its layer.
From the toolbox, select Pen tool (P)
-Choose colors.
-Stroke color and a Fill Color
-Red slash=no color
Pen options:
-Choose the pen tool, it gives you options based on what's going on with your drawn shape.
-Pen X New Shape start
-Pen > change point to Curve point
-Pen + Add a point to a curve or line
-Pen - Delete current point
-Pen o Close shape
-Pen / (slash) Continue shape if you click this point.
Tools we use:
-Pen: draws or modifies shape
-Black arrow tool: selects, moves, scales, rotates a shape
-White arrow tool: lets you select or move a point
-Shape maker tools: create custom shapes
-Brush tools: for drawing on the fly
-Type tool: duh, type.
AE won't give you an accurate layer thumbnail
-it's a merged view of your AI or PS comp, or worse, a thumbnail of the "Ai" logo
-so what do you do? label everything
Drawing a star from a square...
-Duplicate your square layer
-Add 3 points top, 1 point on each side and bottom
-move points with white arrow tool
Try to draw your shapes with as few points as possible.
-Shape drawing tools are located under the square shape tool
-to work the polygon tool, start drawing with it and use
up and down arrows to increase or decrease the # of sides.
Making cheese
-Draw triangle and all circles on the same layer.
-select em all with black arrow tool
-go Window/Pathfinder
-Choose 2nd shape mode option
-to release, swivel open your layer and select all the circles.
-drag them above the "compound shape" layer.
Into After Effects
-Save your AI file
-Drag it from your Finder to your project window.
Use Composition/Layer Size as your import settings.
-try making a layer super-big (like 1200%)
-it will have bitmappy edges
-to keep this from happening, click the Continuously Rasterize button
(in Timeline, betw the Shy-guy and the Slash)
If something is already cut out, meaning it has a transparent background and clean edges, you can Auto-Trace.
-Select a layer
-Go to Layer/Auto-Trace
-Choose "current frame" and tolerance, and "apply to new layer"
Can make more than 1 mask on a layer
Can make mask on any kind of visual layer
Can animate those masks independent of 1
another, using the Mask Path property.
AE/Prefs/User interface colors
-Turn on "cycle mask colors"
Mask Animation
Layer/New/Solid
Make it comp size
Using the square shape tool,
draw a box
Hit M with layer selected, to show Mask Path property
-Click on the stopwatch to enable animation on the layer.
Go to Time 1:00
-Choose the Pen tool
-Add 3 points to the top edge of our sq
-Add 1 point to each of the other sides.
Mask drawing tips:
-double-click your layer to see it in the layer view. This keeps you from accidentally moving your layer!
-keyframe everything.
-you can turn off Render in your layer view to see all of the layer, not just the masked part.
-can add points over time, just don't delete them.
To copy an autotraced star to your animated one...
-Select the autotraced star
-Hit letter M
-Turn off stopwatch if you have too many keyframes, turn it back on and then you have 1 keyframe.
-copy one AutoTraced keyframe by hitting ApC
-Select your drawn mask path property
-Go to 2:00 time
-ApV to paste your Autotraced keyframe to the drawn mask path property.
Creating Emailable QT's! in FCP or QT Pro
-In FCP file/export./using QT conversion
-In QT pro it's just File/Export
Format QT movie, Use Broadband Medium
Click the options button
-change the size (optional)
-turn off streaming.
In the finder, select the movie, and go to
File/Create Archive (makes a .zip)
Email that file (the .zip) in your email program
Make sure that someone can open a QT
If they can't, download Flip4Mac
Homework
Animate 1 shape changing into another using masks
-Glorified AI paths.
-Paths with motion
path: line or curve between 2 points
Working in Illustrator
Draw in AI: using the path tool (pen tool)
-Triangle
-Square
-Star
-Circle (using 2 points only)
-Swiss Cheese
PS: based on pixel information
-Making stuff bigger here, makes it look bad...
AI: based on math
2x+1=y
-punchline: you can make stuff bigger in AE or AI that started as an AI file, and you won't lose quality.
-magic button: "continuously rasterize" button, must be clicked on all your AI layers for the math to look gooood.
AI:
you can scale up any object in AI unless it's based on a photo.
Illustrator method:
-Draw on a layer. Lock it.
Make a new layer. draw on that.
-To select stuff on a layer, use the black arrow tool, or you can click on the button on its layer.
From the toolbox, select Pen tool (P)
-Choose colors.
-Stroke color and a Fill Color
-Red slash=no color
Pen options:
-Choose the pen tool, it gives you options based on what's going on with your drawn shape.
-Pen X New Shape start
-Pen > change point to Curve point
-Pen + Add a point to a curve or line
-Pen - Delete current point
-Pen o Close shape
-Pen / (slash) Continue shape if you click this point.
Tools we use:
-Pen: draws or modifies shape
-Black arrow tool: selects, moves, scales, rotates a shape
-White arrow tool: lets you select or move a point
-Shape maker tools: create custom shapes
-Brush tools: for drawing on the fly
-Type tool: duh, type.
AE won't give you an accurate layer thumbnail
-it's a merged view of your AI or PS comp, or worse, a thumbnail of the "Ai" logo
-so what do you do? label everything
Drawing a star from a square...
-Duplicate your square layer
-Add 3 points top, 1 point on each side and bottom
-move points with white arrow tool
Try to draw your shapes with as few points as possible.
-Shape drawing tools are located under the square shape tool
-to work the polygon tool, start drawing with it and use
up and down arrows to increase or decrease the # of sides.
Making cheese
-Draw triangle and all circles on the same layer.
-select em all with black arrow tool
-go Window/Pathfinder
-Choose 2nd shape mode option
-to release, swivel open your layer and select all the circles.
-drag them above the "compound shape" layer.
Into After Effects
-Save your AI file
-Drag it from your Finder to your project window.
Use Composition/Layer Size as your import settings.
-try making a layer super-big (like 1200%)
-it will have bitmappy edges
-to keep this from happening, click the Continuously Rasterize button
(in Timeline, betw the Shy-guy and the Slash)
If something is already cut out, meaning it has a transparent background and clean edges, you can Auto-Trace.
-Select a layer
-Go to Layer/Auto-Trace
-Choose "current frame" and tolerance, and "apply to new layer"
Can make more than 1 mask on a layer
Can make mask on any kind of visual layer
Can animate those masks independent of 1
another, using the Mask Path property.
AE/Prefs/User interface colors
-Turn on "cycle mask colors"
Mask Animation
Layer/New/Solid
Make it comp size
Using the square shape tool,
draw a box
Hit M with layer selected, to show Mask Path property
-Click on the stopwatch to enable animation on the layer.
Go to Time 1:00
-Choose the Pen tool
-Add 3 points to the top edge of our sq
-Add 1 point to each of the other sides.
Mask drawing tips:
-double-click your layer to see it in the layer view. This keeps you from accidentally moving your layer!
-keyframe everything.
-you can turn off Render in your layer view to see all of the layer, not just the masked part.
-can add points over time, just don't delete them.
To copy an autotraced star to your animated one...
-Select the autotraced star
-Hit letter M
-Turn off stopwatch if you have too many keyframes, turn it back on and then you have 1 keyframe.
-copy one AutoTraced keyframe by hitting ApC
-Select your drawn mask path property
-Go to 2:00 time
-ApV to paste your Autotraced keyframe to the drawn mask path property.
Creating Emailable QT's! in FCP or QT Pro
-In FCP file/export./using QT conversion
-In QT pro it's just File/Export
Format QT movie, Use Broadband Medium
Click the options button
-change the size (optional)
-turn off streaming.
In the finder, select the movie, and go to
File/Create Archive (makes a .zip)
Email that file (the .zip) in your email program
Make sure that someone can open a QT
If they can't, download Flip4Mac
Homework
Animate 1 shape changing into another using masks
Kickitupanotch (make it more challenging)
-Change shape several times instead of just 1ce
-Change color, too
-Made out of more than 1 mask shape
-Add sound
-Add a background
-Do several mask animations in a row.
Edit them together in FCP and make a short film.
-Change shape several times instead of just 1ce
-Change color, too
-Made out of more than 1 mask shape
-Add sound
-Add a background
-Do several mask animations in a row.
Edit them together in FCP and make a short film.
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