complex motion along spaghetti-like lines

Question

The attached image is part of a series of images that have been used in a PowerPoint presentation. The illustration has been created in Illustrator. My client is asking to create motion along each line (which I have done in the past with much simpler paths using Vegas Effect) from its source at the top down along the lines as they enter the funnel. I am also being asked to create little flashes at intersection points. Seems like a nightmare with my limited knowledge of AfterEffects. How can I create the effect without having to redraw each line as a separate layer in AE? Any resource/tutorial you can point me to would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Mylenium · Answer

How can I create the effect without having to redraw each line as a separate layer in AE?

You can't and that to be so blunt ist the bi_ch of it. Even the most clever plug-in is going to need guidance. Of course you can copy & paste the paths themselves, but the rest will still require a lot of manual intervention. There's no simple way to just tell AE to make things blink. You still would have to place Nulls or point controls wherever you want the flash to happen and then animate layer opacity or an effect parameter. Things would perhaps look a bit better had this been designed and created with later animation in mind, allowing for a more streamlined structure, but as it is, you will just have to swallow the bitter pill and invest a lot of mna hours.

Mylenium

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