Apple Motion 5.1.1 - Manual (Page 832)

Chapter 20 Shapes, masks, and paint strokes 832
Add shapes from the Library
The Shapes category in the Library contains pre-drawn shapes that can be added to a project.
After you add a shape from the Library, the shape can be edited.
Add a shape to a project from the Library
1 In the Library, select the Shapes category.
2 Do one of the following:
•
Select a shape, then click Apply in the preview area.
•
Drag a shape from the Library into the Canvas, Layers list, or Timeline.
The shape is added to the project and can be modified. For information on editing shapes, see
Edit shape fill, outline, and feathering on page 837.
Draw complex spline shapes and masks
Bezier shapes and B-Spline shapes overview
In Motion, you can draw complex shapes using splines. Splines are vector-based curves that allow
for complex, customized shapes. There are two spline-drawing methods available in Motion:
Bezier splines and B-Splines. You can use Bezier splines and B-Spline splines interchangeably for
any task, and for either shapes or masks. The default spline shape type is Bezier.
Bezier splines are good for drawing shapes for illustration. The controls used to manipulate
Bezier splines are similar to those found in many other drawing and compositing applications, so
they may be familiar to you. Bezier controls lend themselves to the creation of precise, detailed
shapes. Tangent handles adjust the curvature of the shape on either side of the control point,
and this defines the surface of the shape.
Bezier control point
Tangent handles
67% resize factor