{"id":14890,"date":"2012-10-26T15:57:07","date_gmt":"2012-10-26T19:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=14890"},"modified":"2012-10-26T16:07:54","modified_gmt":"2012-10-26T20:07:54","slug":"smooth-edges-in-after-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/smooth-edges-in-after-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick Tip: Keeping Smooth Edges in After Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s a quick tip that will keep your After Effects graphic project looking sharp! \u00a0Force After Effects to use whole pixels for smooth interpolation.<\/h2>\n

\"Adobe<\/p>\n

If you’ve noticed that your graphics and text aren’t looking super sharp in After Effects, it’s likely they are not be positioned on whole pixels. \u00a0AE is set to interpolate elements in your project at a subpixel level. \u00a0While this is useful for pinpointing precise location and scale, it can result in soft or distorted edges on graphic elements in your project. \u00a0This is especially true when the graphic has keyframed motion.<\/p>\n

Graphic artist and programmer Chris Silich describes this:<\/p>\n

“When things are tweened, even in the tiny actual size comp, they often moved at sub-pixel speeds…and when that happens, AE anti-aliases the whole thing, giving our cool block pixel art weird soft edges.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s an example of the type of edge distortion that he’s describing (notice the blurred edges on the top box):<\/p>\n