Can anyone recommend a plug in to create shapes in AE?

[Indie767]

I am attempting to create a simple circle mask, but given that AE can only create rectangle shapes, is there a plug in to create other shapes? 

[Mylenium]

I'm not clear what you are asking. AE can create a ton of shapes with the mask and shape tools and you can import and copy & paste stuff from Illustrator. It might help to explain what you actualyl can't get working or what you hope to achieve by whatever magical plug-in you envision.

Mylenium

[Indie767]

I'm not importing from illustrator. I simply want to create a mask using a circle shape in AE but all four of the different versions of AE I have, including the most recent version, only has a rectangle option to create a shape. I have AE 2019, 2020, 2021 and just updated to 2022. Again, none of these allows me to select any other shape except for a retangle shape. I suppose I could go through the extra steps of creating and importing a circle mask from Illustrator, but I was hoping that I could do so in AE, Hence the desire for a "magic" plug-in.

[Jose Panadero]

If you hold your mouse-click over the rectangle tool, you have the option to create circles (and many othe shapes) as Mylenium said. There is no need to install plugins for creating circles

[Indie767]

I tried that. No results. Are you on a Mac? I'm on windows 10 machine, which Adode doesn't fully support. 

[Mylenium]

Start by checking your input device. Such a behavior could indicate a misconfiguration if you e.g. use a hyper-sensitive gaming mouse. Likewise of course check the standard stuff for hardware acceleration and also your graphics driver and screen configuration. Also check for other stuff running like video conferencing tools, screen capture programs or VPN/ remote desktop overlays. They all can mess with UI interactions and intecept key and mouse commands.

Mylenium

[Indie767]

I tried all of that. No results.  I don't think we on the same page here - that AE can create a circle shape or other shapes other than a rectangle. I see no evidence of this capabilty. In any case, I used Fusion to create, what should be a simple function in AE, a circle matte.

Given that Adobe has abandonded thier user base by no longer offering technical support,  I am slowly migrating to a platform more suited for professional digital media artists. 

[Anna Lander · Accepted solution]

Hi, using Windows, you can find the Ellipse tool if you click on the geometry tool button (by default, it's a Rectangle tool) if click on it holding Alt. Each click will open the next tool.

[Indie767]

Thanks, not a single help resource mentioned this. I'm glad there are some actual users here. That said, this tool sucks at creating a an apha matte. No control for feathering. I'm doing more of my effects work in Fusion, so I already got the shot done. 

[Mylenium]

Thanks, not a single help resource mentioned this.

It's prominently mentioned here and has been a staple of AE usage since I started using it in the year 2000 or so, but of course just watching obscure Youtube tutorials won't necessarily explain these basics.

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/general-user-interface-items.html

Mylenium

[Jose Panadero]

It would be great to learn the basics. That tool can create shapes and masks with the feathering options. It depends on the workflow. Even with a shape layer you can add a basic blur effect to get the feather you are looking for. Anyway, we are glad that you solved your problems using Fusion.