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marc.cardwell
marc.cardwell
Inspiring
August 29, 2018
Answered

layer hierarchy problems

  • August 29, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 2096 views

hi all, i'm using AI CC 2015, i'm working through a tutorial for after effects, and am editing a supplied file. the tutorial said, via a video, to shift-select items in the layer pallet, them move them above and out of the parent layer. i've watched the video many time and tried the action, and cannot get it to work. the tutorial said we could use the "release to layers (sequence)", but this re-names the layers.

the tutorial shows a hand grabber icon, but i have an arrow w/ a NO symbol on it. see screenshots. what am i doing wrong?

i'm a long-time ai user, but don't encounter files like this often. thanks for any help in this.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Cari Jansen

To help out in the meantime:

  • Objects in Illustrator must reside in Layers.
  • You have ONE layer containing multiple objects.

The screenshot shows that the top level layer actually contains a number of SUB-layers (each of which will contain an object).

The easiest way to mimic the same and be able to complete the steps in the instructions:

  1. Select an object in the Layer, then from the panel menu choose Collect in New Layer
  2. As soon as you do that you'll be able to move the new sublayer as per the instructions.
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each object and that should get you up to scratch. You can rename the layers to mimic the course layer names.

2 replies

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 31, 2018

marc.cardwell  schrieb

hi all, i'm using AI CC 2015, i'm working through a tutorial for after effects, and am editing a supplied file. the tutorial said, via a video,

Have you asked the person who made this tutorial?

marc.cardwell
marc.cardwellAuthor
Inspiring
August 31, 2018

nope, i guess i could have, but it seemed like a general AI thing that i didn't understand, and not an AE thing he was teaching.

99% of the time, i make and name my layers, this was odd for me getting a file like that.

tromboniator
Community Expert
tromboniatorCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 30, 2018

The difference between your document and the tutorial is that your objects are all on one layer. They have to be in a layer, so you cannot drag them up and out. If you had another layer, you could drag them into that, but they cannot stand alone. In the tutorial, each object is in its own sublayer, and could be dragged out of the Monkeyhead layer to become a first-rank layer itself.

In your screenshot, the layer (Monkeyhead) has a fed bar showing to the left, and each object, indented to show that it is contained in that group, has a red bar indicating that it belongs to that group. The tutorial shot shows the Monkeyhead layer as light blue, but each object has a bar of a different color (except the left ear, but that's a re-use of that color) indicating that it's contained in another layer. Each of these layers is indented, so we know that it's within the Monkeyhead layer.

To remove an item from the Monkeyhead layer you will need to highlight (not select it, in the usual sense) by clicking in the Layers panel between the item's name and the "meatball" targeting circle on the right. Shift-click the first and last items you want to move, if they are in contiguous in the list, or cmd/ctrl-click if they are not. You may then drag them up or down out of the layer, a blue highlighted line indicating when you are in position to release it.

I see the grabber icon when I start to drag, but it changes to arrow and NO when I've gone a bit too far.

marc.cardwell
marc.cardwellAuthor
Inspiring
August 30, 2018

thanks so much for helping me. i'm still confused a bit on your words, please bear with me:

If you had another layer, you could drag them into that

i tried making a new layer above for the art to "land", but got this:

In your screenshot, the layer (Monkeyhead) has a Red bar showing to the left, and each object, indented to show that it is contained in that group, has a red bar indicating that it belongs to that group. The tutorial shot shows the Monkeyhead layer as light blue, but each object has a bar of a different color (except the left ear, but that's a re-use of that color) indicating that it's contained in another layer. Each of these layers is indented, so we know that it's within the Monkeyhead layer.

i see the red bar, i assumed my file was the exact same as the tutorial one, but NOW i see the small triangles by the tutorial screenshot, so my file is different. they are both indented, but tutorial has different table colors and triangles. so they both are indented, but one has triangles.

To remove an item from the Monkeyhead layer you will need to highlight (not select it, in the usual sense) by clicking in the Layers panel between the item's name and the "meatball" targeting circle on the right.

when i do that, i see the layers are selected, i click and hold and drag a bit, i see a grabber hand, and two overlapping rectangles, i drag up and nothing happens. i do see "undo reorder" in the edit menu. i'm not seeing a blue line.

again, thank you for asking time on this. i'm feeling frustrated at not getting something as easy as this. i really have been and AI user since 1988 or so.

ScooterD76
ScooterD76
Legend
August 30, 2018

marc.cardwell  wrote

i'm feeling frustrated at not getting something as easy as this. i really have been and AI user since 1988 or so.

I feel ya. Im in the same boat, also learning Character Animator and this method threw me for quite a loop, but after getting the hang of it, ive adopted this sort of workflow for all my AI work.

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