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saschag96537985
saschag96537985
Participating Frequently
May 23, 2018
Answered

Convert Brush strokes to path

  • May 23, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 7459 views

Hey everybody,

for some scribbling work (with a graphic tablet) I want to apply saber (plugin by videocopilot) on a brush. Unfortunately saber needs a text or a path to be applied to.

Is there any way to draw with a brush and convert the brush into a path? Or any other way to apply saber on a handdrawn object / brush stroke?

Thanks in advance.

Sascha

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Kyle Hamrick

    Aha! The brush tool is also just making a path, which means it can be copy/pasted to other paths.

    My guess at the best workflow for what you're doing:
    Create a new solid, the same size as the layer you scribbled on.
    Use the pen tool to draw a mask - literally any shape, could even just be a single point.
    Now you have something to paste into!
    Open up your Paint settings on the layer you did your brushstrokes on. Under Brush 1, the first parameter is Path.
    You can copy this and paste it to the Mask Path property on the other layer, then apply Saber.

    You could continue with multiple masks on the layer, or could copy/paste additional brush paths as keyframes on the same path.

    2 replies

    Kyle Hamrick
    Community Expert
    Kyle HamrickCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 23, 2018

    To clarify, in what did you do the scribbling?
    If you did it in Illustrator, you've created paths already.
    If in Photoshop or similar non-vector software, you'll need to recreate.
    If you did it directly in AE with motion sketch, you can copy/paste that to a mask path!

    saschag96537985
    saschag96537985Author
    Participating Frequently
    May 23, 2018

    I am simply using the brush tool in AE and scribbling on the actual video layer. As taught in these hundreds of scribbling tutorials on youtube. The hint mit the motion sketch is pretty nice but not really what I was looking for. Thanks anyway.

    So not solution here?

    saschag96537985
    saschag96537985Author
    Participating Frequently
    May 23, 2018

    Ha, yeah, that does sound pretty inconvenient. Lesson learned - test the workflow before doing the whole thing. 

    If it were me, I would probably put the time toward trying to replicate the LOOK of Saber with other effects, though that may or may not be possible, depending on the look you're after.

    You might also try checking out the VideoCopilot forums - since it's their product, they might be able to offer some better suggestions about working with the brush paths.


    Yeah I am also about to replicate the look. Sounds legit.
    I already hit up the videocopilot support - they verified that I need to get a text or path going to apply Saber. No way around it.

    Mylenium
    Mylenium
    Legend
    May 23, 2018

    No. You have to create whatever brush-based paths/ outlines you want in Illustrator and expand them.

    Mylenium

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