AE: sharp corners in stroke effect

[sjememe 0]

I'm doing a stroke-animation but i can't seem to get the corners sharp and straight. If i make a 90 degree turn in my path, the stroke-effect still rounds up the corner a little bit. (brush thickness aaround 12. not small, but not that big either!). I tried every option on the effect, and did the same with trapcode's 3d-stroke and the BikiniDots stroke-plug, but it still creaties a round corner. ALthough it's just a little round, it isn't perfectly 90 dgrs, and i want that!!

 

Anyone knows of an option i am overseeing of a plug is should get?

 

 

thanks!

[graymachine 0]

I'm doing a stroke-animation but i can't seem to get the corners sharp and straight. If i make a 90 degree turn in my path, the stroke-effect still rounds up the corner a little bit. (brush thickness aaround 12. not small, but not that big either!). I tried every option on the effect, and did the same with trapcode's 3d-stroke and the BikiniDots stroke-plug, but it still creaties a round corner. ALthough it's just a little round, it isn't perfectly 90 dgrs, and i want that!!

 

Anyone knows of an option i am overseeing of a plug is should get?

 

 

thanks!

 

All of these plug-ins do the same thing: they draw with a series of circles. Perhaps you can draw the artwork in Illustrator, and reveal it with Stroke or Write-On? (hmm.. i think I'm on to something there, this could be a new trend).

 

When oh WHEN OH WHEN, ADOBE!!! Hear my cry!!!! When will you add custom brushes to After Effects!!!!!!??!

[basilisk 0]

All of these plug-ins do the same thing: they draw with a series of circles. Perhaps you can draw the artwork in Illustrator, and reveal it with Stroke or Write-On? (hmm.. i think I'm on to something there, this could be a new trend).

 

When oh WHEN OH WHEN, ADOBE!!! Hear my cry!!!! When will you add custom brushes to After Effects!!!!!!??!

 

additionally, you should be able to copy and paste your path from AI to AE for use as your mask for the Stroke path; saves redoing it in AE. Check that your you have AICB clipboard format enabled in AI prefs, if it doesn't work.

[graymachine 0]

additionally, you should be able to copy and paste your path from AI to AE for use as your mask for the Stroke path; saves redoing it in AE. Check that your you have AICB clipboard format enabled in AI prefs, if it doesn't work.

 

But Stroke still will draw a path using a circular brush, if I understand his problem correctly.

 

Another thing I just tried is to use 3D Stroke. Set the Thickness really low (0.2), then enable the Repeater (I always sing Fugazi's "Repeater" when I use this function...1..2..3. REPEATER!!.. but anyway), set the Z Displace to 0, the Scale to 100.05, and use about 20 Instances.

 

The thin stroke minimizes the curve created by the circular brush, and the Repeater thickens the stroke.

[sjememe 0]

additionally, you should be able to copy and paste your path from AI to AE for use as your mask for the Stroke path; saves redoing it in AE. Check that your you have AICB clipboard format enabled in AI prefs, if it doesn't work.

 

 

Thanks to both!

 

unfortunately, it won't work for me to import a path from illustrator (i mean, i cán, but it won't work for the animated effect i want...). I'm afraid i'm stuck on stroking paths from within after effects. Your explanation about round brushes sounds plausible. maybe i need tot focus more on bursh replacement, then on stroke-settings...

 

btw; we might indeed be on something here! maybe we can animate something growing with it? Let's say.. ehm.. plants and vines! Wow.. let's do it!

[Mylenium 0]

Thanks to both!

 

unfortunately, it won't work for me to import a path from illustrator (i mean, i cán, but it won't work for the animated effect i want...). I'm afraid i'm stuck on stroking paths from within after effects. Your explanation about round brushes sounds plausible. maybe i need tot focus more on bursh replacement, then on stroke-settings...

 

btw; we might indeed be on something here! maybe we can animate something growing with it? Let's say.. ehm.. plants and vines! Wow.. let's do it!

 

Upgrade to CS3 and use shape layer paths. They can be sharp (as well as beveled and round).

 

Mylenium

[C.Smith 0]

When oh WHEN OH WHEN, ADOBE!!! Hear my cry!!!! When will you add custom brushes to After Effects!!!!!!??!

 

Cut to exterior of building. The cries are a little more distant and muffled now, but still carry the fury of a thousand souls unleashed from hell. Birds fly away from the power lines. Cut to satellite view of nation. Cries little more muffled still, but if you look closely enough, you can see the cloud layer shift in response to Harry's call for brushes.

[graymachine 0]

[C.Smith 0]

Exactly Edited July 26, 2007 by C.Smith

[sjememe 0]

Cut to exterior of building. The cries are a little more distant and muffled now, but still carry the fury of a thousand souls unleashed from hell. Birds fly away from the power lines. Cut to satellite view of nation. Cries little more muffled still, but if you look closely enough, you can see the cloud layer shift in response to Harry's call for brushes.

 

 

and now could you please animate this with square brushes and straight strokes

[brandj 0]

If it's a 2-D effect you might also be able to get away with using a 12x12 solid in the position of the corner.

I've used this in the past wher I wanted a square edge on the end of a stroked line ...

Just copy the mask shape into the position keyframes of the solid and offset so it matches the beginning of the stroke ...

Voila. Square.

In your case, you might need to make X amount of these at all the corners, but it might work ...

[royal bisquit 0]

One possible way to do the square stroke is to make a square solid, animate its position, precomp it and apply the echo effect. Of course, it won't be 3D and it is a hell of a render...

[graymachine 0]

Ya know.. Combustion can easily do this...

[spritelyjim 0]

I see that everyone just ignored Mylenium. Isn't he right though? I know it's annoying that Adobe piles on new effects/components rather than fix old ones... but vector shapes could really work.

[Adolfo Rozenfeld 0]

I see that everyone just ignored Mylenium. Isn't he right though? I know it's annoying that Adobe piles on new effects/components rather than fix old ones... but vector shapes could really work.

 

In this case is new components which *replace* the old ones.

The Stroke attributes/Trim paths combo in shape layers is way more powerful than the old stroke effect, without even mentioning all the other attributes and path effects.

[SP3KTR 0]

I think that Mylenium approach would work well. I've downloaded the test version from adobe and the miter situation is definately sweet. I don't want to sound like a fan boy or anything, but the fact that almost every parameter has a stopwatch next it is well worth it.Now If i could only get those folder layers like i wanted...

[style45 0]

I haven't tried it yet but if you don't have cs3 yet then in theory you can do this in particular.

 

like the solid with echo technique but easier to set up and more tweakable.

 

as I say haven't tried but I think custom square particle with aux system from main particle high birth rate yada yada then animate producer point all over scene?