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minjik83652365
minjik83652365
Participant
August 15, 2018
Question

How do I morph shapes with different points in a controlled way

  • August 15, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 5903 views

I have multiple shapes made in Illustrator and pushed to After Effects (via the Overlord plugin). I've copy/pasted the path keyframes from different shapes into one layer, but I can't find a way to prevent the points from the two paths from inverting as it morphs. Is there any way to have them morph in a more controlled way? I've tried reversing the directions of the paths etc but that didn't work either.

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2 replies

Roei Tzoref
Roei Tzoref
Legend
August 15, 2018

although this article is about masks, the same principles can be applied to shapes if you copy the shape path to a mask path and paste back. some other principles also apply regardless if it's a shape or a mask.

https://www.provideocoalition.com/managing_moving_masks/

    B
    Community Expert
    Byron CortezCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 15, 2018

    Originally you have set up a First Vertex but you must set another one and if that does not help you, you will try another one until it works for you. Select one and go to the Layer / Mask and Shape Path / Set First Vertex menu. Look at my screenshot.

    Regards!

    Byron.
    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 15, 2018

    A better option may be to set up a blend in Illustrator, Expand the blend, Release to layers, Move the layers to the top of the layer stack, then import as a comp, trim and sequence the layers. It's a lot more powerful and only takes a few minutes to set up. Here are a couple of examples that I threw together a long time ago:

    If you insist on morphing using shape layer paths then you are stuck with straight line interpretation between vertices, AE's limited path animation tools, and a bunch of manual manipulation, complicated by the fact that animated paths only respond well if there are a consistent number of points in the path.

    B
    Community Expert
    Byron CortezCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 15, 2018

    Your option is valid and as good as mine. I always try to give them an easy solution and then when the user has more insurance experience he would invent his own method. Also, we do not know what exactly it is doing and depending on that, one option is better than the other. Minjik must use the one that works best for him.

    Regards!

    Byron.
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