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jimlolo
Known Participant
May 8, 2019
Answered

Painting

  • May 8, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 1536 views

I need to paint on 1 layer out of many. I need the layer below it in order to guide where to paint. It seems to paint you have to do it by double clicking it and it appears as a single layer. So how can I use the layer beneath it to paint on the 1 above it? Do I have to permanently combine the 2 layers in order to do this?

Thanks.

    Correct answer Roei Tzoref

    once I am done with the pre-comp, can I get the top layer back to being a regular individual layer, not in some pre-comp status?


    got another simpler method (less parameter to change, and supports 16bit) instead of compound arithmetic, use the blend effect:

    • set the layer to layer 2
    • set the crossfade to 0%

    the rest is same as before.

    here's the project file:

    Paint_on_Two_Layers_v2.aep - Google Drive

    1 reply

    Roei Tzoref
    Roei Tzoref
    Legend
    May 8, 2019

    you can paint right on the layer you want to use as a reference, then duplicate that, set the paint effect "paint on trasparent" and remove the effect from the bottom layer.

    J
    jimloloAuthor
    Known Participant
    May 8, 2019

    I'm not sure that's what I need. The bottom is a reference, but also the top layer I am painting on needs to be visible while painting on it. So I need to see both layers at the same time while painting only on the top. Is that different from what you said?

    Thanks.

    Roei Tzoref
    Roei Tzoref
    Legend
    May 8, 2019

    I see now. if you need both layers at the same time you would need to combine them (pre-compose) and paint on that, then you can remove in the precomp that bottom reference. it's either that or you could paint on layer 1 in the layer window, while seeing the composite of layer 1 +layer 2. it's not real-time, you only see the result after you paint. to do this you can drag the layer window panel to the right and stick it there so you will have 2 panels: layer panel where you see the paint on layer 1, and composition panel where you see layer 1 on top of everything else in the timeline. that's the best we can do in After Effects with the paint tool.

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