AP201 2D Animation Software Module Guest Lecturer: Shane Le Mar

Clipping Masks: The Basics & Text Animate

Learning how to use the ‘Masks’ in After Effects & Familiarising oneself with the Text
Animate Toolkit.

Short Recap - Intro to AE & Project Setup

 Go to Google Classroom and Download the Project Files I’ve uploaded

 Open up a New Project
 Set it to the Standard Dimensions & Frame Rates:
- 1920 x 1080 – 30fps – 30seconds -
 Import the Project Files you’ve downloaded:
- Drag and drop the folder, or Right Click Import
 Create a Second (Identical) Composition and then select that Comp

2. Clipping Mask Tools

 They are the Shape & Pen Tools
 Create a Solid BG
 Create a Shape that fills the comp

3. Clipping Mask Tools

 Ensure that you have the Columns Mode and Track Mat activated
 These are the two most used Columns to do with Masking

4. Shape Creation
 Pop a couple of other shapes into the scene
 Select the Pen Tool

5. Pen Tool & Refining

 Refine the shapes in the Polystar Path
 Create a complex shape with the pen tool

6. Basic Modes
 Select all the shapes, and click into Modes
 Then select Silhouette Alpha

7. Playing with Modes

 These are all the different Modes you can play around with, some of
them you may know from using Photoshop or any other Adobe
Software but I’d recommend having a fiddle with them all to find out
what they can do

Task: Using what you’ve learnt, try to make something with masks
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BA (Hons) Animation Art and Practice