How to create wipe that follows a squiggly line so it appears as if it was drawn on?

Question

Hoping the answer is really simple to this.....

I want to animate a line like below so that it wipes in from one end of the line to the other end of the line, with the wipe following the curves of the line. I have full creative cloud but not sure which program to start with because I can't find any effect in after effects or premiere pro that obviously looks like it will do this and I've been googling for over an hour now to find out too - may be searching the wrong thing though.

Once I've found out how to do it I want to overlay the line on top of a video.

What program should I use for this - can it be done in Premiere? And how should I do this?

Appreciate any help, many thanks!

Rick Gerard · Accepted Answer

I'm moving this thread to the After Effects Forum for you.

If you draw the line with using the shape layer tools (pen tool) and a stroke only, then you can use Trim Paths to "wipe" the line on in a couple of clicks.

If the line is on a separate layer then you can trace it with by creating a new shape layer and tracing the path with the pen tool with a stroke wide enough to completely cover the line then you can still use Trim Paths to wipe on the line, you just set the shape layer as a track matte for the layer below.

To learn how to use Trim Paths and Track Matte just type each operation in the search help field at the top right corner of AE. These are both real basic AE skills that you should become very familiar with.

If you are really new start here and explore all 3 sections: Basic AE

Peru Bob · Answer

That would be best done in After Effects.

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