Shapes as a layer – Apple Motion 4 User Manual
Page 1086
• Spacing: The faster you move the pen, the greater the spacing between the dabs of
the stroke. To adjust the spacing of the dabs after the stroke is created, use the spacing
controls in the Stroke or Style pane.
• Angle: The faster you move the pen, the greater the angle of the stroke dabs. To adjust
the angle of the dabs after the stroke is created, use the angle controls in the Stroke
pane.
• Jitter: The faster you move the pen, the larger the amount of jitter on the stroke. Jitter
randomizes the position of the paint dabs so they appear more like particles. To adjust
the jitter of the dabs after the stroke is created, use the jitter controls in the Stroke
pane.
Write On:
This parameter allows a stroke to be “painted” on the Canvas over time. For
more information, see
Smoothing:
Select this checkbox to create a smoother stroke with fewer control points.
Paint strokes drawn with smoothing on will be created as bezier shapes. Paint strokes
drawn with smoothing off will be created as linear shapes.
Shape Style:
A pop-up menu that allows you to apply a preset shape style (from the
Library) to the selected shape. You can also save any custom shape style to the Library
using this pop-up menu. Any stroke (shape) presets you have saved to the Library also
appear in this list.
Sketch Area:
An empty field where brush styles can be sampled in combination with the
current Paint Stroke Tool HUD settings.
Shapes as a Layer
Once created, a shape (including paint strokes) becomes a layer. Because shape layers
share most of the characteristics of other layers in Motion, you can use the transform
tools—Select/Transform, Anchor Point, Shear, Drop Shadow, Four Corner, and Crop—to
transform a selected shape layer. These onscreen tools are shortcuts to the layer controls
in the Properties tab of the Inspector. To set specific values, or fine-tune any of the
transforms, use the Properties tab in the Inspector.
For more information on the Properties tab and onscreen transform tools, see
.
Important:
Some operations, as well the application of certain filters or a mask, cause a
group to be rasterized. When a group is rasterized, it is converted into a bitmap image.
Because all shape (masks, shapes, and paint strokes) layers live in groups, this affects how
shapes interact with other objects within your project. For more information, see
Note: Paint strokes render in a plane, so they can always be thought of as rasterized. This
is independent of other objects within the group in which the paint stroke lives. This
affects how the dabs interact with objects within a paint stroke’s own group.
1086
Chapter 17
Using Shapes, Masks, and Paint Strokes