How to make a stroke around another stroke?

[Victoria3692916851z5]

So i made i mouth using pen tool which is basically a stroke only. I want to create a line around it so how do i do another stroke over this one? I tried dublicating this shape and using the copy as a line around but it doesn't really match the borders, maybe there is some way to make a figure a bit bigger than the previous one and put it right around it?

[jane-e]

@Victoria3692916851z5 

I've moved your post from Using the Community (for forum questions) to After Effects.

Jane

[RobShultz]

Honestly this is much easier in Premiere if you have access to Premiere. Premiere graphics can be sent into AE.

[Victoria3692916851z5]

is there a way to do it in after effects

[thepixelsmith]

How would you do it in Premiere Pro?

I'm not sure I would agree that making graphics is easier in premiere pro, a video editing program than in After Effects a graphics and animation program?

[Mylenium]

Duplicate the layer/ shape group, increase the stroke width, put it underneath. Scale is useless here.

Mylenium

[Victoria3692916851z5]

omg i have no idea why i did not think of that thanks

[ShiveringCactus]

I know @Mylenium has solved this for you, but there's another option - especially useful if you have a closed shape rather than a line and that's to apply a Layer Style.  You can have multiple strokes and set whether they are to appear inside, or outside and can have different widths, colours etc...

[Conrad_C · Accepted solution]

Maybe I’m missing something about the requirements since this hasn’t been suggested yet, but isn’t the easiest way to click the Contents / Add button to simply add another Stroke to the Shape Layer? It wouldn’t even require adding a Layer Style because adding more strokes is already built into shape layer Contents.

In the picture below, Stroke 2 is the 19pt red path, and Stroke 1 is the 55pt white path behind Stroke 2, both applied to the same path within one shape layer.

A major problem with duplicating the layer is that if you want to edit the path, now you have to make sure the duplicate is edited to match. Or duplicate it again and then have to replicate the differences in formatting, plus copy any keyframes. It seems better to do it all within the same shape layer, either by adding a Stroke or with Layer Styles.

[Victoria3692916851z5]

I did not know you could do that! It was exactly what i was looking for thank you so much!