Drawing a shape with the Pen tool
The Pen tool is one of the most commonly used tools for creating vector graphics on a personal computer. You find the Pen tool in many applications, including Adobe Illustrator (which first featured the Pen tool in 1987), Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign. Even video applications such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects include the Pen tool because it provides such a high degree of control and precision when drawing many kind of lines, from shapes to masks to motion graphics paths. The Pen tool may not be easy to learn, but trust us: Knowing how to use the Pen tool is worth the effort and investment to master, partly because it’s a marketable skill across many creative digital disciplines.
Create a digital illustration of your sketch using the pen tool in Adobe After Effects Add some life to your design with animated effects and textures Make a mask to reveal what’s inside your object with a custom transition Render your final animation to share. First, we see how to draw a line with the pen tool and animate a line. Step 1:Create a New Composition. Step 2: Create a Shape layer where we can draw the shape of the line and animate it. Step 3: Select the Pen Tool and here we do not need the fill because we are drawing only a shape, fill will be used in masking cases, here are two options one is masking and another one is drawing shape so we select shape optio. Support The ShowMy Mailing ListDev. In Adobe After Effects, select a layer, then choose a Shape tool. Click and drag over a portion of the comp to create a mask. Use the Selection tool to select the mask and reposition it. Click the Mask layer to adjust the path, feather, opacity and expansion.
The Pen tool works a little differently than a brush or pencil tool. We’ve created a practice file that you’ll use to learn how to draw a straight path, a simple curve, and an S-curve with the Pen tool.
First, you’ll configure the Pen tool options and the work area.
In the Tools panel, select the Pen tool ().
In the options bar, select or verify the following settings:
Choose Shape from the Tool Mode pop-up menu.
In the Path Options menu, make sure that Rubber Band is not selected.
Make sure that Auto Add/Delete is selected.
Choose No Color from the Fill pop-up menu.
Choose a green color from the Stroke pop-up menu. We used the green swatch in the CMYK presets group.
Enter 4 pt for the stroke width.
In the Stroke Options window, choose Center (the second option) from the Align menu.
Drawing a straight line
You’ll start by drawing a straight line. Anchor points mark the ends of path segments; the straight line you’ll draw is a single path segment with two anchor points.
Drag the Paths panel tab out of the Layers panel group so that you can see both it and the Layers panel at the same time. You can dock the Paths panel with another panel group.
The Paths panel displays thumbnail previews of the paths you draw. Currently, the panel is empty, because you haven’t started drawing.
If necessary, zoom in so that you can easily see the lettered points and red circles on the shape template. Make sure you can see the whole template in the image window, and be sure to reselect the Pen tool after you zoom.
On the first shape, click point A, and release the mouse button. You’ve created an anchor point.
Click point B. You’ve created a straight line with two anchor points.
Press Enter or Return to stop drawing.
The path you drew appears in the Paths panel, and as a new layer in the Layers panel.
Drawing curves
On curved segments, selecting an anchor point displays one or two direction lines, depending on the shapes of adjacent segments. You adjust the shape of a curved segment by dragging the direction point at the end of a direction line, and the direction line shapes the curve. You’ll create curved lines, using smooth points.
Click A on the semicircle, and release the mouse to create the first anchor point.
Click point B, but don’t release the mouse button. Instead, drag to the red circle to the right of point B to create a curved path segment and a smooth anchor point. Then release the mouse button.
After Effects Pen Tool Shortcuts
Smooth anchor points have two linked direction lines. When you move one, the curved segments on both sides of the path adjust simultaneously.
Position the pointer over point C, click and drag down to the red circle below, and then release the mouse button. You’ve created a second curved path segment and another smooth point.
Click point D, and release the mouse to create the final anchor point. Press Enter or Return to complete the path.
When drawing a freehand path using the Pen tool, use as few points as possible to create the shape you want. The fewer points you use, the smoother the curves are—and the more efficient your file is.
Using the same techniques, you’ll draw an S-shaped curve.
Click point A, and then click and drag from point B to the first red circle.
Continue with points C, D, E, and F, in each case clicking the point and then dragging to the corresponding red circle.
Click point G to create the final anchor point, and then press Enter or Return to complete the path.
Each of the three shapes is on its own layer in the Layers panel. Only one path is in the Paths panel, because the Paths panel shows only the Shape Path for the layer that’s currently selected in the Layers panel.
Notice that the curves you drew with the Pen tool are much smoother and easier to precisely control than if you had drawn them freehand.
Drawing a more complex shape
Now that you’ve got the idea, you’ll have a chance to draw a more complex object.
Click point A on the shape on the right side to set the first anchor point.
Press the Shift key as you click point B. Pressing the Shift key constrains the line to 45-degree angles, which in this case ensures you’ll get a horizontal line.
Press the Shift key as you click points C, D, and E to create straight path segments.
Click point F, and drag to the red circle to create a curve. Then release the mouse button.
Click point G, and drag to the red circle to create another curve. Then release the mouse button.
Click point H to create a corner point.
When you move a direction line on a corner point, only the curve on the same side of the point as the direction line is adjusted, so you can create a sharp transition between two segments.
Click point A to draw the final path segment and close the path. Closing a path automatically ends the drawing; you don’t need to press Enter or Return.
Close the file without saving changes. You have successfully used the Pen tool to draw both curves and straight lines.
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In this video tutorial, we cover how to harness the power of this simple, hidden feature in Adobe After Effects — Trim Paths.
After Effects Pen Tool Turn Off Fill
Trim Paths is a tool in Adobe After Effects that allows you to make precise adjustments to shape layer paths. However, new users may not know about it because it is hidden away under a shape layer submenu. So, what can you accomplish with this handy, little animator? Let’s have a look at five fun, useful projects.
1. Infographic
Creating an infographic can seem complex; however, it only takes a few simple steps. For a basic bar graph, I’ll first create a two-point path via the Pen tool, placing the first point at the bottom of the frame. Next, I’ll turn off the fill, and set the stroke to 150 pixels. Finally, I’ll add a Trim Path animator via the Add dropdown menu and animate the End property from 0% to 100%. To have a number dynamically change as the graph grows, I’ll add a text layer and parent the source text to the end property of the Trim Path. Lastly, I’ll add a simple value expression to round the numbers out to absolute values. And voilà — a dynamic infographic. (Check out my full tutorial on how to create infographics in After Effects here.)
2. Map Route
Maps are fun, and you can quickly create an animated route with Trim Paths. First, I’ll add points and a path to a map via the Pen tool, with the stroke at 5 pixels and no fill. I can customize and stylize my map route via the properties of the stroke element. For this example, I’ll add some dashes and change the Line Cap property. Once I’m happy with the look, I’ll add the Trim Path animator and animate the end position. For a full tutorial on how to animate a map route, check out my “Create a Map Path Inspired by Indiana Jones in After Effects“ tutorial. (That tutorial belongs in a museum.)
3. Text Box
You can use Trim Paths to quickly add detail to a lower third — or another text element. A popular look for lower thirds, and other graphics, is the animated bounding box. To create one, I’ll simply grab the Rectangle Shape tool and set the stroke to 10 pixels, with no fill. Snapgene mac torrent. Then, I’ll create a rectangle and align it with my text. Now, I can animate the end in conjunction with the Offset for some truly desirable results. (This also works great with simple underline elements.)
4. Text Stroke
Another popular look is the animated text stroke. As opposed to creating a simple box or line element, adding and animating a text stroke can be a bit more tricky. For this, I’ll first take my text and select Layer > Create > Create Shapes from Text. To change the stoke of all the characters at once, select the layer, and use the Stroke option at the top of the interface. Once I’m happy with the look of my stroke, I can add Trim Paths and animate the range to get the look I want. (Check out my stand-alone tutorial on “How to Animate a Text Stroke in Adobe After Effects.”)
5. Circle Bursts
The circle burst is a fun animation element that creates simple movement, and Trim Paths can help bring these to life. Let’s create a quick circle burst and add it to a star-shaped animation. First, I’ll create a simple path (via the Pen tool) coming out from the top of the star. Next, I’ll add the Trim Path’s animator. To have the line shoot out from the center, I’ll animate both the start and end attributes, slightly offsetting each. Finally, I’ll add a Repeater with 9 copies, a Position of 0, and a Rotation of 40. Now, I can change the Y Position of the shape element to place it perfectly. (For more circle burst madness, check out this tutorial.)
Interested in the tracks we used to make this video?
- “Virtual Arrival” by Cymatix
- “Summer Cruising” by Mattijs Muller
- “Midnight City” by Make Music
- “Fake Awake” by Tonemassif
- “Street Signs” by Sound Force
Looking for more video tutorials? Check these out.