Gradient overlay changes size when used with track matte? Pictures of example included..

[Pixel Lake]

Hi all! Fairly new to motion design and ran into a problem I'm having trouble articulating. When I create a track matte ( in this case, using a pink gradient solid as the alpha and filling the letter "T") it seems that the gradient overlay layer style is resizing itself to fit the layer size of the letter "T". In this photo, the pink gradient background shows what the gradient looks like before it's applied as a track matte. You can see in the photo that the gradient spreads are different.

How can I maintain the gradient overlay size/appearance in the pink background and have it show up in the letter? I'm essentially trying to make an invisible letter that I can apply drop shadow to and move about the composition..

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks all and Happy New Year.

 

 

[Mylenium]

This is expected. Layer styles use the visible layer boundaries. This is no different than how they behave in Photoshop. Pre-compose your layer before masking.

Mylenium 

[Pixel Lake]

I'm sorry Mylenium! I thought I responded to you earlier but I must've been in such a rush that I forgot to. Thank you so much for all of your contributions to this forum!! I've learned so much from you