Animated masks are my favourite of all the good options within Adobe After Effects. With solely a handful of customizable attributes, an animated masks can pack a punch. When working with movement graphics, consider it as your Swiss Army Knife.
The Adobe help page for animated masks generally is a little overwhelming. But it doesn’t should be that advanced. To present you simply how versatile the masks is, I’m going to stroll you thru a fast movement graphics challenge. And I’ll use masks almost each step of the best way. First, I’ll present you the way to liven up textual content layers. Then I’ll go over just a few other ways to animate objects with a masks. Finally, I’ll carry the entire challenge collectively by exhibiting you how you can create a wide range of totally different wipe transitions.
I’ll assume that you’ve a primary concept of how After Effects works.
Bringing textual content to life with animated masks
Okay, so let’s say that we’re working for a journey company, they usually have commissioned us to create a five-second advert that shall be posted as an animated gif on numerous web sites. The spot will include two totally different textual content components and a handful of different graphics and illustrations.
For the textual content, I’ll be utilizing the phrases TRAVEL and EXPLORE. I need each of those phrases to have an identical minimalist look—one thing easy but modern. Each phrase will come on and off display screen through a reveal animation impact. Here’s what the completed animation will appear like.
Let’s see how I can use a masks to carry this animation to life.
First off, let me rapidly clarify how the instruments work as a result of this generally is a bit complicated. We’ll be utilizing the Pen device and the Rectangle device loads. These two instruments provide help to create numerous shapes, however there are two various kinds of shakes that we create in AE. Masks and form layers.
If you draw a form with a layer chosen, then you’ll create a masks. A masks is basically a technique to block out a part of the layer you’ve chosen. If you draw a form with no layer chosen, then AE will create a brand new form layer. This shouldn’t be a masks—it’s a wholly new component.
For step one, I’ll create my TRAVEL textual content layer together with a easy horizontal line. I can create the horizontal line utilizing the Pen device (this shall be a form layer, not a masks). Once I’ve the Pen device chosen I’ll select a white stroke with a width of 5 pixels and no fill. Two clicks (one shift-click to maintain issues straight) will give me my line, together with a brand new form layer within the timeline panel. This horizontal line will function the article I can use to disclose my textual content layer.
To create the phantasm that the horizontal line is revealing the textual content, I would like to use an animated masks to the textual content layer. I can add a masks to a layer with the identical Pen device that I used to create my line object. In this case, although, I’ll use the Rectangle device to get a extra symmetrical masks.
To carry the animated masks to life, I’ll merely add 4 keyframes to the masks path attribute which can carry the masks in after which again out, revealing the textual content after which hiding it once more.
Once I’ve the masks animated to disclose the textual content, I’ll keyframe the place attribute of my line to completely align with the motion of the backside fringe of the masks on my textual content layer. This will give the phantasm that the road is revealing the textual content. Again, that is what I got here up with.
Now that I’ve this component constructed, I can merely duplicate this comp to create my different phrase.
Animate Along a Path
Now that my textual content is in place and able to go, I can start to concentrate on just a few of the opposite photographs. Two photographs specifically are going to require some very primary animation. For my first shot, I need to have a rocket circling the earth, whereas the second shot shall be a aircraft flying by the display screen. Masks are going to assist me out loads right here, too.
For the primary shot, I might simply go forward and keyframe the place and rotation attributes of the rocket layer to make it easily orbit the earth. While this may occasionally solely take a couple of minutes to animate, there may be actually a a lot sooner and extra environment friendly means. I can accomplish this similar impact by merely changing a masks path into place keyframes. Essentially, I’ll inform the rocket to observe the route that I draw with my masks.
First, I’ll choose the rocket layer within the timeline and swap my form device from Rectangle to ellipse. With my rocket layer chosen, I’ll click on and drag whereas holding Shift to create an ideal circle across the earth layer, positioning it particularly the place I need my rocket’s flight path to reside. Since I’ve simply added a masks to this layer, the rocket will disappear (I’m masking out every part on this layer that’s not inside my circle). I’ll change the masks mode to None, primarily disabling it, in order that I can see what I’m doing. Once I’ve acquired the trail roughed in, I’m now able to convert the trail to place keyframes.
Here’s the place the magic occurs. I’ll open up the masks properties within the timeline and choose the masks path attribute.
All I must do is solely copy the masks path after which paste immediately onto the place attribute of the rocket layer. Once I paste on the place attribute, keyframes shall be added following the form of the unique masks path. Now my rocket will orbit the earth layer. However, there’s a slight drawback—the rocket shouldn’t be turning because it orbits the earth.
To repair this, I might go in and keyframe my rotation property, however this can be a bit too tedious for my style. A a lot simpler means is to seize the rocket layer and choose Layer > Transform > Auto-Orient > Orient to Path. Now the rocket will rotate accordingly because it follows the trail. If it’s nonetheless not going through in the proper route, nevertheless, I can now manually alter the rotation so that it’s going to level ahead. Once it’s in place I received’t have so as to add any further keyframes. Voila, a rocket circling the world.
Now that the animation is working correctly, I can delete the masks and drag the keyframes round nevertheless I need to change the timing.
I can apply the identical method to my second shot as properly. For this specific shot, I need to have my aircraft fly by the display screen with a bit of bit of additional motion. This time I’ll use the Pen device to create a flight path. I’ll apply the masks on to my airplane layer with three easy factors.
Now I can as soon as once more copy the masks path info and paste it immediately onto the airplane’s place property. Once pasted, I’ve new place keyframes and an airplane that’s flying by the display screen. I now have three Position keyframes that correspond to the three factors within the masks that I drew, and I can change the timing of the animation by dragging them round in my timeline. Once I’m completely satisfied, I’ll delete the unique masks.
Be conscious which you can additionally copy the trail info of form layer paths simply as you’ll be able to with masks. Simply open up the form layer properties within the timeline panel, choose and duplicate the form path, after which paste to the specified layer’s place attribute.
Create Dynamic Transitions
With each my textual content and graphic property prepped, I can now start to piece these components collectively. Instead of utilizing straight cuts, I need to create extra dynamic transitions, through animated masks after all.
With animated masks, I can create all kinds of various wipe transitions. Most of those are extraordinarily simple to make, taking no quite a lot of minutes to place collectively. Creating a wipe is so simple as masking a layer after which including keyframes to animate the masks to maneuver on and off-screen. The key to creating them work is to make sure that you correctly time the transition and overlay the clips accordingly.
Prebuilt wipe results can typically get the job achieved, after all, however you have got much more management if you happen to construct the transitions your self.
For this specific video piece, I need the start of my video to rapidly transition from a full-screen map graphic to my TRAVEL textual content component animation. To create this, I’ll first add a masks to the map through the Rectangle device. I need my wipe transition to be at an angle, so I’ll seize the underside left level of my masks and drag it inwards to barely tweak the sting. Now I can animate the masks path attribute to carry it on and off-screen as I like.
When you’re tweaking a masks form like this, swap to the arrow device (V) than the Pen or Rectangle instruments.
Next, I need to make a fast montage sequence of a variety of totally different map pictures. Again, versus making a boring edit with straight cuts, I need to rapidly soar between every map through wipe transitions. That means I’ll have a number of maps on-screen on the similar time. This will certainly give me a extra dynamic and fascinating look when in comparison with straight cuts.
To create the montage, I’ll first layer my eight totally different map pictures, one on prime of the opposite. Then I’ll use the ellipse device so as to add a masks proper within the middle of my prime map layer. I need to create an ideal round wipe transition, rising outwards from the middle. To do that I’ll swap my masks device from Rectangle to Ellipse. Now I’m able to animate.
Pro tip: to completely place the ellipse masks, activate the grid show after which go to View > Snap to Grid. Now you’ll have a a lot simpler time manipulating your animated masks.
As I did with the earlier wipe transition, I might add keyframes to my masks path to carry it to life. However, because of the nature of this wipe, I can extra simply work with the masks by merely keyframing the masks enlargement attribute. To animate the wipe, I’ll add two keyframes at totally different enlargement factors. Check out the outcomes.
Once I’ve the preliminary wipe transition fine-tuned, then I can merely copy and paste the masks to all the maps. Now it’s only a matter of timing every transition to a glance with which I’m completely satisfied. Here’s the ultimate sequence.
Now that I understand how to create a wide range of wipe transitions, I can rapidly piece all of it collectively.
So there you have got it—a wide range of other ways to intelligently use animated masks in your subsequent movement graphics challenge. Use them to rapidly carry life to static textual content. Or harness the ability of animated shapes to extra effectively animate objects to a movement path. It takes the tedium out of keyframing every part by hand. And final however not least, use masks that can assist you keep away from boring straight reduce transitions.
If you need one more reason why it’s best to grasp the artwork of the masks, then take a look at my earlier article the place I mentioned how you can make the most of masks in Adobe Premiere Pro to utilize an interesting enhancing method known as the David Fincher Effect.
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