Adding attributes to shape layers, Strokes and fills for shapes, Shape attributes, paint – Adobe After Effects CS4 User Manual
Page 339: Operations, and path operations for shape layers
333
USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Drawing, painting, and paths
Last updated 12/21/2009
Off
The mask will not have motion blur.
More Help topics
Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations
for shape layers
Adding attributes to shape layers
After a shape layer has been created, you can add attributes—paths, paint operations, and path operations—by using
the Add menu in the Tools panel or in the Timeline panel.
By default, the new attributes are inserted into the selected shape group or groups according to the following rules:
•
New paths are added below existing paths and groups.
•
New path operations—such as Zig Zag and Wiggle Paths—are added below existing path operations. If no path
operations are present, new path operations are added below existing paths.
•
New paint operations—strokes and fills—are added below existing paths and above existing strokes and fills.
To override these rules and place a new attribute at the end of the group, below all attributes, hold the Alt (Windows)
or Option (Mac OS) key as you click to choose an item from the Add menu.
The Repeater operation is always added at the end of the group.
More Help topics
Alter shapes with path operations
Groups and render order for shapes and shape attributes
Strokes and fills for shapes
Strokes and fills for shapes are paint operations that add colored pixels to a path or to the area defined by a path. A
stroke or a fill can consist of a solid color, or it can use a gradient of colors. Strokes can be continuous, or they can
consist of a periodic series of dashes and gaps. Each stroke and fill has its own blending mode, which determines how
it interacts with other paint operations in the same group.
By default, paint operations within a group are performed from the bottom to the top in the Timeline panel stacking
order. This means, for example, that a stroke is rendered on top of (in front of) a stroke that appears after it in the
Timeline panel. To override this default behavior for a specific fill or stroke, choose Above Previous In Same Group
for the Composite property for the fill or stroke in the Timeline panel.
Note: When you add a stroke or fill using the Add menu in the Tools panel or Timeline panel, the paint operation is added
below existing paths and above existing strokes and fills. To place a new stroke at the end of the group, hold the Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key as you click to choose an item from the Add menu.