{"id":33719,"date":"2014-03-25T13:49:14","date_gmt":"2014-03-25T17:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=33719"},"modified":"2014-03-25T14:01:55","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T18:01:55","slug":"mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Mask vs Shape Layers in After Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"the-rectangle-and-pen-tool-can-create-both-masks-and-shape-layers-in-adobe-after-effects-in-this-post-we-break-down-the-basics-to-get-the-most-out-of-these-tools\">The Rectangle and Pen Tool can create both masks and shape layers in <strong>Adobe After Effects. In this post we break down the basics to get the most out of these tools.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38095\" title=\"Adobe After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/adobe-after-effects-all-ver.jpg\" alt=\"Adobe After Effects\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When creating <strong>mask or shape layers in After Effects<\/strong> the most important thing to remember is this:<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; padding: 15px;\">If a layer is selected, you are creating a mask.<br \/>\nIf a layer is not selected, you are creating a shape layer.<\/div>\n<p>You create masks or shape layers in After Effects by drawing with the Shape Tool\u00a0or the Pen Tool:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shape tool shortcut is\u00a0<strong>Q<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Pen Tool shortcut is\u00a0<strong>G<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><\/strong>The reason the Shape and Pen tools do double duty is that <strong>shape layers<\/strong> were added to After Effects in CS3. Think of them as a mini\u00a0<strong>Adobe Illustrator<\/strong> inside of<strong>\u00a0After Effects<\/strong>. They are vector shapes that you can animate to create lower thirds, animated paths and backgrounds.<\/p>\n<p>I have a video on using masks <a title=\"Video Tutorial: Using Masks in After Effects\" href=\"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/masks-in-after-effects\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">here<\/a>\u00a0that&#8217;s worth checking out if you&#8217;re new to AE.\u00a0<strong>Shape Layers<\/strong> can be a pretty deep subject. I suggest checking out these video tutorials from Evan Abrams\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/animated-map-after-effects-video-tutorial\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/animated-map-after-effects-video-tutorial\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">here <\/a>and <a title=\"After Effects Tutorial: Vector Tree Animation\" href=\"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/after-effects-tutorial-vector-tree-animation\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As always, check the <a title=\"After Effects Help \/  Creating shapes and masks\" href=\"http:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/after-effects\/using\/creating-shapes-masks.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Adobe Help <\/a>for details and other helpful resources. Now let&#8217;s get into creating mask and shape layers&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><em>Creating a Mask (layer is selected before drawing):<\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.42.13-PM.png\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33850\" title=\"Masking in After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.42.13-PM.png\" alt=\"Masking in After Effects\" width=\"481\" height=\"403\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Creating a Shape Layer (layer is\u00a0not\u00a0selected before drawing):<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.46.30-PM.png\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33859\" style=\"font-size: 13px;\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.46.30-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"481\" height=\"364\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Quick tip: If you see Fill and Stroke in the Tools panel, this tells you will draw a shape and not a mask:<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-26-at-1.23.17-PM.png\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33762\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-26-at-1.23.17-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"469\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"drawing-with-the-shape-tool-in-after-effects\">Drawing with the Shape Tool in After Effects<\/h2>\n<p>To create a mask or shape, click on the Shape Tool (default is a rectangle). You can switch between the Tool options by using the shortcut <strong>Q<\/strong>. Click and drag in the Composition to draw a mask or shape.\u00a0To move the shape before you let go of the mask, hold the\u00a0<strong>space bar.<\/strong><br \/>\nBe aware that if you click and draw again, you are creating another mask or shape layer.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33872\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.52.05-PM.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2 id=\"drawing-with-the-pen-tool-in-after-effects\">Drawing with the Pen Tool in After Effects<\/h2>\n<p>Click to create a point. If you click and drag, you create a point with bezier handles.\u00a0To create a closed mask or shape, click back on the first point (you will see the pen icon with a circle beside it).<\/p>\n<p>You have options under the Pen Tool to add, delete, convert vertex (toggles between straight and bezier) and mask feather (this doesn&#8217;t work on shape layers):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33874\" style=\"font-size: 13px;\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.53.19-PM.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>If you check the RotoBezier box, then every time you click you get a curved path:<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33892\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-2.12.28-PM.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Mask &amp; Shape layers drawn with RotoBezier checked:<\/em><br \/>\n<em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33877\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-1.56.26-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"486\" height=\"266\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mask-modes-in-after-effects\">Mask Modes in After Effects<\/h2>\n<p>When you draw a mask, the default mode is Add. If you draw multiple masks, they will add together. You can change the\u00a0<a title=\"Mask modes\" href=\"http:\/\/helpx.adobe.com\/after-effects\/using\/alpha-channels-masks-mattes.html#about_masks\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Mask mode<\/a>\u00a0to get different behaviors. There are 7 choices, with the most common ones I use being None, Add, Subtract and Intersect. <strong>None is helpful when you want to temporarily hide a mask.<\/strong> In my screenshots, I illustrate Add and Subtract mode.<\/p>\n<p>To prevent your masks from being the same color, go to Preferences &gt; Appearance and check &#8220;cycle mask colors&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><em>Masks in Add Mode:<\/em><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"font-size: 13px;\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-2.00.48-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"476\" height=\"396\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Mask 2 in Subtract Mode:<\/em><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"font-size: 13px;\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-2.01.57-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"479\" height=\"392\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"modifying-a-mask-in-after-effects\">Modifying a Mask in After Effects<\/h2>\n<p>With the layer selected, click on a point of the mask to move that point (make sure you are using the Selection Tool, shortcut is <strong>V<\/strong>).\u00a0With the mask selected, click on a point to move the mask.<\/p>\n<p>Double click on the mask in the Composition (or use the shortcut\u00a0<strong>Command + T<\/strong>\u00a0on Mac or <strong>Control + T <\/strong>on PC). With\u00a0the mask selected in the Timeline you&#8217;re in Free Transform mode. Here you can move the mask, change its size and rotate it. Click Return to get out of Free Transform.<\/p>\n<p>To keyframe a Mask, click the stopwatch on the layer for the Mask Shape. Move the CTI (current time indicator) and modify the mask (I tend to use Free Transform).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33917\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-3.22.30-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"491\" height=\"431\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"modifying-a-shape-in-after-effects\">Modifying a Shape in After Effects<\/h2>\n<p>When you a draw a shape, it creates a Contents dropdown. Inside of this is the Shape, and inside of that is the Path, Stroke and Fill.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33908\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-3.05.02-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"478\" height=\"204\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You can change the Fill and Stroke of the shape layer from the Tools panel, and then adjust those settings by clicking their twirlies in the Timeline.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-34069\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-28-at-12.23.52-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"434\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With the Shape Layer selected, click inside the Shape to move it.\u00a0With the Path selected, click on a point to change the shape of the Shape Layer.<\/p>\n<p>You have an &#8220;Add&#8221; pulldown for Shape Layers, similar to what you have for Text Animators.\u00a0A simple example of using &#8220;Add&#8221; would be to draw a rectangle. Then go to the &#8220;Add&#8221; pulldown and select Rectangle. This will cut a whole in the first rectangle.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-33934\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-3.44.15-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"473\" height=\"476\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"download-shape-layer-presets-for-after-effects\">Download Shape Layer Presets for After Effects<\/h2>\n<p>There are additional free\u00a0<strong>shape layer presets<\/strong> you can download from <a title=\"Additional animation presets for After Effects\" href=\"http:\/\/www.adobe.com\/cfusion\/exchange\/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&amp;extid=1222529#\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Adobe Exchange<\/a>. Presets are either still or animated.\u00a0These are a great starting point for those new to Shape Layers. You can analyze the prebuilt presets and breakdown how they were built.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-34178\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-29-at-12.42.29-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"473\" height=\"259\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Additional Presets viewed in Adobe Bridge:<\/em><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-34181\" style=\"font-size: 13px;\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-29-at-12.49.12-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"489\" height=\"255\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toggle-mask-and-shape-path-visibility\">Toggle Mask and Shape Path Visibility<\/h2>\n<p>When working with Masks and Shape Layers I often find it easier to hide the outlines. You can either click the icon in the Composition or use a shortcut:\u00a0<strong>Cmd + Shift + H<\/strong> on a Mac or\u00a0<strong>Control+ Shift + H<\/strong> on a PC.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-33910\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Screen-Shot-2014-01-27-at-3.07.42-PM.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rectangle and Pen Tool can create both masks and shape layers in Adobe After Effects. In this post we break down the basics to get the \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,39],"tags":[649,1415,5375,1754,467,51,1802],"class_list":["post-class-post-33719","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-after-effects","post-class-category-video-editing","post-class-tag-adobe-after-effects","post-class-tag-adobe-creative-cloud","post-class-tag-after-effects","post-class-tag-masks","post-class-tag-motion-graphics","post-class-tag-post-production","post-class-tag-shape-layers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.5 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mask vs Shape Layers in After Effects - The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Rectangle and Pen Tool can create both masks and shape layers in Adobe After Effects. 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In this post we break down the basics to get the most out of these tools.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/premiumbeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-25T17:49:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-25T18:01:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/mask-layer-thumb.jpg?w=1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clay Asbury\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Premiumbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Premiumbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clay Asbury\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clay Asbury\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/41338b5af76ff14cf6d03100aed14abe\"},\"headline\":\"Mask vs Shape Layers in After Effects\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-25T17:49:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-25T18:01:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":901,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/03\\\/mask-layer-thumb.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Adobe After Effects\",\"adobe creative cloud\",\"After Effects\",\"masks\",\"motion graphics\",\"Post Production\",\"shape layers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"After Effects\",\"Video Editing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2014\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mask vs Shape Layers in After Effects - The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/mask-vs-shape-layers-in-after-effects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/03\\\/mask-layer-thumb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-25T17:49:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-25T18:01:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.premiumbeat.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/41338b5af76ff14cf6d03100aed14abe\"},\"description\":\"The Rectangle and Pen Tool can create both masks and shape layers in Adobe After Effects. 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