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The offset paths option for shapes is very nice. I was just playing around with Astute Graphics AG offset plugin for Illustrator which came out a bit earlier. Something in the air apparently. The latter has quite a few more options but AE’s offset holds up well. Nice to see too how well it integrates with the other path operators also.
Had a few thoughts on offset copies on open paths .
-The connector which appears between copies of open paths should be optional imho. Would be much more in line with what's out there.
-Would be nice to have an option to retain the original stroke. It’s easy to duplicate the path with original stroke, but it doesn’t play well with animating trim paths.
-When copies go beyond the connected parts (when you push the amount//copy offset) paths will continue for a bit, flip and try to get back to the ehm …event horizon or eh ..terminator in a circular fashion. Hard to explain, easy to do :). There’s this cross hatch effect thats admittedly has a nice aesthetic about it but isn’t something I’d look for very often.
Was wondering as someone who’s used to cinema’s extensive cloning toolset and also having played with cavalry. I don’t see a path forward to having advanced cloning features with this way of cloning items. Maybe this isn’t the goal of extending the shape layer feature set, which is very welcome by the way. Just curious as how the plabt see this.
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Thanks for the feedback! Can you describe the connector which you see between paths? Are you only seeing it on open paths? If you set the Offset Path parmaeter to Round Join, is that the look you desire? Perhaps provide a screenshot?
Regarding the cross hatch aesthetic, can you provide a screenshot of that as well?
This feature is specific to the Offset Path operator, but certainly a full on layer repeater would be a great addition as well. Does that align with what you have in mind when you mention "advanced cloning features"?
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Hi Jim,
I collected everything in a pdf. Don't see a way to upload that here, so here's a link.
Let me know if that works for you.
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Great, thanks for the feedback. This pdf makes it clear as day, thanks for creating it!
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My pleasure!
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That PDF is great. WONDERFUL way to show the issues and potential. The problem with a new feature like this is we start thinking about all the OTHER things we'd like it to do! 😄
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Thanks Michael!
That's so true. Would be great if we could upload a pdf it being an adobe format and all 😄
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This pdf breakdown is incredible!! 🙏🏽 I'm in love with the Clone and Effector tools in C4D and I love the seeds you're planting here. Thanks Coen!
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Thanks Dacia!
My pleasure, After Effects has helped me build a life and is such a wonderful tool of expression. Glad if I can do something in return 🙂