Pixelated import from Illustrator

[Berboo]

Hi,

I've imported an illustrator vector map into After Effects and as you can see, it's pixelated even with Continuously Rasterize toggle turned on and in full view mode  (Integrale in french)

So what's wrong?

Here is the Illustration as it is shown if Illustrator (I increased the resolution to 300dpi) :

Thanks for your Help

[Mike_Abbott]

Check the magnification menu at the bottom left corner of the composition window.
Are you viewing this above 100%?  If so, it will look pixelated.

[Berboo]

Thanks Mike for your answer, It is above 100% file indeed, but it's a vector file, why is it pixelated above 100%? I need it to be sharp when zoomed in, isn't that the whole purpose of importing vector files in After Effects? Am I missing something?

[Mike_Abbott]

You're confusing two things:

The magnification of your composition view - ie: 'you're looking at your TV through a magnifying glass' : )

and

the scale of your layer.

Set your composition view back to 100%

Twirl down your layer and increase the scale property value. With continuously rasterize on the layer will stay sharp when scaled well above 100%. If continously rasterize is off it will become soft - just like scaling any standard pixel based image.

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

From your screenshot, I see that you have another serious problem. Your Illustrator files, if the layer is at 100% scale, contains lines that have a stroke of 1 point. That means the lines are 1 pixel wide. Here's the deal with video, if you have a line that is one pixel wide it either has to be perfectly lined up with the pixel grid and perfectly horizontal or vertical or it will be reinterpreted and change color and apparent thickness. A one-pixel wide white line shifted to exactly split the pixel grid will render as a 2 pixel wide light gray line. If you turn on Draft Mode the line will be 2 pixels wide and white, but if you animate the movement of the line and it does not move exactly an even number of pixels per frame, the size of the line will change as you move it and it will flicker and be hard to watch.

Basic rules, no strokes smaller than 2 points (2 pixels) and motion blur any movement that is not exactly a whole number of pixels per frame. Video does not contain or display vectors, it's pixels. Displays do not display vectors, they are pixels. The only reason that you can zoom in on an Illustrator file in Illustrator and not see pixelated results is that you are not zooming in on the actual pixels in the display. It would make no sense for a video editing or processing app to do the same kind of interpolation on the screen because, as I said before, video is pixels.

One more thing, a screenshot that does not show the modified properties of the layers giving you problems are almost useless in diagnosing problems. After you press UU to see the modified properties of a selected layer, if the solution is not obvious, just PrintScreen and Paste to the forum. It could not be easier.  If you are on a Mac you'll have to use Shift+Ctrl/Cmnd + 3 and then drag it from the desktop.

[Szalam]

Berboo  wrote

It is above 100% file indeed, but it's a vector file, why is it pixelated above 100%?

Because AE's composition panel will only ever show you a pixel-accurate image. If your composition is set to 1920x1080, you will only ever see 1920 pixels wide in the composition window. If you zoom in, you will just see those pixels larger.

Berboo  wrote

I need it to be sharp when zoomed in, isn't that the whole purpose of importing vector files in After Effects?

No. As Mike Abbott says, the vector information is useful once you scale the layer over 100%.

Everything in AE is rasterized because it is working with video. Video is just a bunch of pixels.

That is the point of the continuously rasterize switch. Instead of just rasterizing it when you drop it into your composition, you can flip that switch and it will change the rendering order for that layer. It will then rasterize it after the changes are made to the transform properties (like scale). You can scale a layer over 1000% if you want to and, with the continuously rasterize switch enabled, it will be nice and crisp (as long as the composition viewer is at full resolution and 100% zoom).

[Berboo]

Sorry for this late answer.

Thanks all for your help. All of your inputs were useful. 

@Rick Girard : you nailed it, it was indeed a 0,25pt outline imported from Illustrator, I fixed the problem by enlarging the map into illustrator and increased the stroke.

Thanks again.