May 14, 2024
Drawing curved shapes – Working with Shape Layers
Now you’ll draw leaves with a fill but no stroke, using Bezier handles to round them.
- Go to 4:20, when the flower is in its final position.
- Press F2 or click an empty area of the Timeline panel to deselect all layers. Then select the Pen tool in the Tools panel, click the Fill Color box, select a color that is similar to the green stroke color (we used R=45, G=74, B=63), and click OK. Click the word Stroke, select None in the Stroke Options dialog box, and click OK.
- Click an initial vertex for the leaf near the base of the stem, and then click another for the other end of the leaf. Before you release the mouse, drag the Bezier handle to create a curved leaf.
- Press F2 to deselect the layer, and then repeat step 3 to draw another leaf at the base of the other side of the stem.
5. Select Shape Layer 1, press Return or Enter, rename it Leaf 1, and then press Return or Enter. Then rename Shape Layer 2 Leaf 2.
Parenting layers
You’ll parent the leaves to the stem so they’ll emerge with it.
- Move the Leaf 1 and Leaf 2 layers beneath the Base of Flowerpot layer and above the Stem layer in the Timeline panel so that the leaves will be behind the flowerpot as they rise.
- Hide all layer properties, and deselect all layers.
- Drag the pick whip (
) from the Leaf 1 layer to the Stem layer, and then drag the pick whip from the Leaf 2 layer to the Stem layer.
The Leaf 1 and Leaf 2 layers will move in relationship to the Stem layer.
Note
Depending on how you drew your leaves, they may protrude from the flower pot. You’ll have a chance to address that later, if necessary.
The layers aren’t needed until the stem begins to emerge at 3:00, so you’ll set their In point to match the stem’s.
4.Go to 3:00. Select the Leaf 1 layer and Shift-select the Leaf 2 layer. Then press Alt+[ (Windows) or Option+[ (macOS) to set the In point for both of the layers.
About parent and child layers
Parenting assigns one layer’s transformations to another layer, called a child layer. Creating a parenting relationship between layers synchronizes the changes in the parent layer with the corresponding transformation values of the child layers, except opacity. For example, if a parent layer moves 5 pixels to the right of its starting position, then the child layer also moves 5 pixels to the right of its starting position. A layer can have only one parent, but a layer can be a parent to any number of 2D or 3D layers within the same composition. Parenting layers is useful for creating complex animations, such as linking the movements of a marionette or depicting the orbits of planets in the solar system.
For more information on parent and child layers, see After Effects Help.
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