PDF pixelated when scaled down

[PhiH]

I'm having a bit of a pixelation problem with two assets I'm using in my animation. I created them as vectors in Affinity Designer and exported them as pdfs, and they seem fine when I open them up separately. But when I loaded them into After Effects and scaled them down, they becane very pixelated. I have no idea what causes this, the resoltion isn't that bad (1920x1080). But they're just as pixelated as the assets i created in Photoshop.

Anyone know what I could do to fix this?

[Mylenium]

Well, the obvious answer would have to be that it got converted to pixel data. check your export settings in Designer.

Mylenium

[PhiH]

I don't think that's the case, it doesn't pixelate at all outside of After Effects (as shown in the last screenshot).

[Scalpaca]

Is the continous rasterisation option toggled? (the sun icon)

[PhiH]

Yes, it is.

[Warren Heaton]

400 percent Magnification at Full resolution will look pixelated.  So will 200 percent Magnification at Full resolution.

What does the artwork look like at 100 percent Magnification and Full resolution?

What does the vector source footage look like when the layer Scale is set to 400%, 400% and Continously Rasterize is enabled at 100 percent Magnification andFull resolution?

[PhiH]

That is true... It just seems like it should be more crisp, even at that magnification level.

Layer scaled to 400 with the sun iconFull resolution, layer scaled to 400 without the sun iconFull resolution, layer scaled to 100 %

[Rick Gerard]

If contrasting elements' horizontal and vertical edges are perfectly lined up with the pixel grid, the edges will be perfectly sharp, even at 1600% magnification. 

If the horizontal or vertical edge is just a third of a pixel off the pixel grid when you magnify to 400%, you will have a line of pixels at the full-color value, and then the next two lines will be a mix of the color values. Look at the difference between these two screenshots. I moved the 100X100 shape layer by just a bit less than a pixel, and the edges became very soft. 

Lined up:

If you want the very best result using vector artwork, design the artwork with the main elements lined up with the pixel grid in Illustrator by turning on Snap To Pixel and position the elements in their Hero position so that when the artwork is at 100% scale in After Effects, it is exactly where it needs to be in the frame. You can check artwork in Illustrator by turning on Pixel Preview in the View Menu and scaling it up. Because it is vector artwork, you can then scale it up or down as much as you like when it is moving, and you will get the sharpest result when the video is viewed at 100% when it is played back.

[PhiH]

Alright, thanks for the advice! I'll keep that in mind moving forward!

[Warren Heaton]

When judging picture quality, Magnification needs to be at 100% and Resolution needs to be at Full.