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Participating Frequently
August 30, 2018
Answered

How to properly use Ai with Ae?

  • August 30, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 651 views

I have used Ae for a while, but never with Illustrator, but I always see other professionals use Ai files directly in Ae, so I wanted to try it as well. I started to use it today and I have already run into a few issues, which are listed below. (Since I'm a complete beginner to Ai, please excuse my stupid questions)

- What preset do I use in Ai to create graphics to be animated in Ae? If I use the default film 1920x1080 preset, for smaller objects, it gets a very large outline in Ae. How do I avoid this?

- I have to make a separate Ai file for each individual graphic, correct?

- Do you have any other tips for me as a beginner of Illustrator?

Thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Ton Frederiks

    slickboss21  wrote

    - What preset do I use in Ai to create graphics to be animated in Ae? If I use the default film 1920x1080 preset, for smaller objects, it gets a very large outline in Ae. How do I avoid this?

    Any RGB document will do. Illustrator files can be scaled in After Effects without losing quality when Continuously Rasterize (second layer checkbox) is turned on.

    - I have to make a separate Ai file for each individual graphic, correct?

    You don't need a separate AI file for each object. Your layers in Illustrator can be imported as layers in After Effects when you import the file as Composition - Retain Layer Sizes.

    1 reply

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Ton FrederiksCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    August 30, 2018

    slickboss21  wrote

    - What preset do I use in Ai to create graphics to be animated in Ae? If I use the default film 1920x1080 preset, for smaller objects, it gets a very large outline in Ae. How do I avoid this?

    Any RGB document will do. Illustrator files can be scaled in After Effects without losing quality when Continuously Rasterize (second layer checkbox) is turned on.

    - I have to make a separate Ai file for each individual graphic, correct?

    You don't need a separate AI file for each object. Your layers in Illustrator can be imported as layers in After Effects when you import the file as Composition - Retain Layer Sizes.

    Participating Frequently
    August 30, 2018

    Thanks, this really helps, but one question, if I select the normal 1920x1080 preset, and make my graphics in that, will the layer size in After Effects be the size of the whole frame? Or will it be the size of the object, as long as it's in its own layer?

    Ton Frederiks
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 30, 2018

    If you import the file as Composition - Retain Layer Sizes, it will keep the size of the objects on their layers.