Feb 2, 2024
Animating a path operation – Working with Shape Layers
Animating a shape
You can animate the Position, Opacity, and other Transform properties of shape layers just as you animate them in other layers. But shape layers provide additional opportunities for animation, including fills, strokes, paths, and path operations.
You’ll create another star, and then use the Pucker & Bloat path operation to transform it into a flower as it falls toward the flowerpot and changes color.
Animating a path operation
Path operations are similar to effects. They modify a shape’s path while preserving the original path. Path operations are live, so you can modify or remove them at any time. You used the Wiggle Paths path operation and Offset Paths earlier. Now you’ll apply a Pucker & Bloat path operation.
Pucker & Bloat pulls the vertices of a path outward while curving the segments inward (puckering), or pulls the vertices inward while curving the segments outward (bloating). You can animate the degree of pucker or bloat over time.
- Press the Home key or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
- Select the Star tool (
), hidden behind the Rounded Rectangle tool (
) in the Tools panel, and draw another star in the upper right area of the sky.
After Effects adds a Shape Layer 1 layer to the Timeline panel.
3. Click the Fill Color box, and change the fill color to the same bright yellow you used for the other stars. (We used R=215, G=234, B=23.) Then click OK.
4. Click the Stroke Color box, change the stroke color to a red color (we used R=159, G=38, B=24), and then click OK.
After Effects automatically changes the stroke options from None to Solid Color when you change the stroke color.
5. Select the Shape Layer 1 layer, press Enter or Return, change its name to Falling Star, and press Enter or Return again.
6. In the Timeline panel, choose Pucker & Bloat from the Add pop-up menu in the Falling Star layer.
7. Expand the Pucker & Bloat 1 properties in the Timeline panel.
8. Change the Amount to 0, and click the stopwatch icon () to create an initial keyframe.
9. Go to 4:01, and change the amount to 139.
The star shape becomes a flower. After Effects creates a keyframe.
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