Drawing a shape

About shapes

Adding a shape layer

One advantage of using a shape layer, rather than a solid layer, is that you can use the Fill option to create a linear or radial gradient. You’ll use the Rectangle tool to create a gradient background for the composition.

After Effects includes five shape tools: Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Star. When you draw a shape directly in the Composition panel, After Effects adds a new shape layer to the composition. You can apply stroke and fill settings to a shape, modify its path, and apply animation presets. Shape attributes are all represented in the Timeline panel, and you can animate each setting over time.

The same drawing tools can create both shapes and masks. Masks are applied to layers to hide or reveal areas of an image, while shapes have their own layers. When you select a drawing tool, you can specify whether the tool draws a shape or a mask.

You’ll begin by drawing the rectangle that will contain the gradient fill.

1 Select the Rectangle tool ().

2 Choose 50% from the Magnification Ratio pop-up menu at the bottom of the Composition panel so that you can see the entire composition.

3 Click just outside the upper-left corner of the composition, and drag the tool to the area just outside the bottom-right corner, so that a rectangle covers the entire composition.

The shape appears in the Composition panel, and After Effects adds a shape layer named Shape Layer 1 to the Timeline panel.

Дата добавления: 2014-11-20