Animate a Shape Layer Mask In After Effects Ep25/48 [Adobe After Effects for Beginners]

[@zunzhizhao4431]

It took me a whole week to learn ep 25. So difficult to me by the first time. Then I insist on watching the video and taking practice once a day. Now I am getting start. Many thanks from China!

[@darlingtonojobo5061]

If ep 25 was exhausting, you’re not alone. Keep going my friend. Rest if u want. It took me 2 days😂. It might take u less.

[@AhmedSalam]

Your lessons are the reason that Im going to get some proper gear and start learning AE after many years of postponing it! Plus I'm sure it will help me with my KZbin videos.

[@GarethDavidStudio]

Get into AE! You’ll love it!

[@cherie3000]

@@GarethDavidStudio i postponed this program too because it looked so daunting, but now that i am halfway through i am curious to do more with it! so far ive created a small ad for my company and did an animation with fireworks in someone's glasses! so excited to finally not be afraid of this program.

[@yuelingtan5825]

Definitely had to give this tutorial a rewatch to understand. But here's a summary for those who find it confusing: For the first type masking animation: 1. When you first create your mask, it will follow your text layer. But let it be first. 2. Animate your text layer first so that it moves from bottom to up. 3. Your mask for the text layer will then also move from bottom to up. 4. If the mask does this, there's no point in masking because it doesn't mask anything and reveals the text through the entire sequence. 5. So, we need the mask to stay in the same position at the bottom, so that it can act as a cover to hide the text throughout the sequence. 6. So we have to adjust the mask at its end position down to its original position at the start so that both masks are at the bottom, and at the same position. 7. This is how the text can only be covered at the start and revealed at the end of the sequence. 8. The mask layers are set to 'add' at first just so you can see the behaviour of the text underneath it. 9. By changing 'add' to 'subtract' at the end, it covers the the text, acting as a cover instead of revealing the text. 10. Gareth usually increases the feather halfway through the sequence as you can see the effect of the feather during the sequence. Hope this helps some fellow AE tutorial followers understand this episode better!

[@lilymori6754]

This is a wonderful summary. Very helpful! thank you

[@vsounds2802]

thanks

[@finalbox4416]

As others have said, this episode is a bit harder than most others in this course. It took me two tries to understand what Gareth was doing. That being said, it is definitely doable. Don't give up, you are halfway done with the course!

[@GarethDavidStudio]

yeah, this is where it gets a bit tricky. Masking in AE can be a little awkward. there is lots of ways to do it, but here is a simple technique, but you have to dive into the settings on the layer. It's good to know this because I use the technique a lot when applying animations effect to my text.

[@von5187]

You can leave the type layer masks under the blue line stationed there the whole time, but make the type itself move from up to down. However, you have to keep the mask mode to "Add" and not "Subtract". much easier! Thank you Gareth for your hard work. I just wanted to point out this tiny tip.

I understood this episode from the second try! Thanks a lot from Egypt ❤😍

[@GarethDavidStudio]

You're welcome 😊

[@bananass7177]

Thank you Gareth I read comments before going into this episode thinking it was gonna be a road block but I think I would suggest taking notes as it would help you retract without having to rewatch previous episodes, this is what helped me breeze through this episode at atleast. Also I would suggest ,if you aren't taking notes and even if you are, rewatch parts of this episode if you don't understand everything, Everything should work smoothly if you follow along.

[@agfirs_o2579]

Halfway through the course while still making sure i memorized what you teached me through this course, Thank you so much.

[@Yellowswift3]

I struggled with this one, but what sorted it for me was to make sure I made the mask box size was big enough. Otherwise, the 'welcome to' type layer didn't fully disappear when below the blue bar. Hope this helps.

[@christiebat]

Very well explained for a little bit more advanced yet so important technique! It was the first video of the course I had to watch twice, the first time I followed along slowly by going back and forth but the second time I could already create the effect independently on my own :D Excellent! I like how the course builds up and requires more attention from me as we move on to more advanced stuff little by little yet at a very reasonable pace. Keeps me engaged and def makes me feel that I'm doing progress. Thanks Gareth!

[@GarethDavidStudio]

nice! Glad it's helping! 😀

[@OmJoshi-gh3fr]

you explained it in the worst possible wayyy not lying

[@RobertoVillaLobby]

Damn this is ridiculously complex to make for something so simple. Can't imagine that anyone does this from scratch on a commercial designer level.

[@sasankababu]

Thanks Guruji. You are awesome

[@vsounds2802]

this is the most hard for me thank you gareth

[@vincentsequeira3723]

You have motivated me to buy a graphic card. Thanks for the creativity mask tutorial.

[@bozwellmedialimited8895]

Guess this is one way to do it, but I think a simpler way would be to add a position animator to each text layer thus removing the need to animate the mask..

[@DeLaRic]

I think the mask is important to reveal the text. Without the mask you can also make this with opacity but that is not the same effect. If the mask had also a position value that would be much easier.

[@tubax926]

@@DeLaRic That's the point, you don't need to move the mask if you don't need to, just use a position animator on the text and it will remove the need to move the mask. It's quite silly that there's no position value for the mask though that is true.

[@bryanedge9011]

Had to slow down your voice a little to get this one. It really helped too...and you sounded like you had a few too many pints 😀

[@fatimahalfashkhi2963]

Thank you Gareth! I had fun learning this :)

[@GarethDavidStudio]

Great to hear!

[@zanyaboutit]

I think setting the feather half way between the key frames is not necessary. The feather is constant throughout the timeline. Why do you emphasize to do that at half way? Am I wrong?

[@amitdhawan579]

I think this could have been done simpler. If we just move the mask instead of the type or shape layer. Because moving the mask afterwards to try to get it in the same position as the beginning is a bit of a pain. Overall though, good stuff. Thanks

[@manarmohamed5205]

when i click ctrl+; to activate the grid it didn't appear could you help me please i'm following you from egypt

[@ShahirUsmani]

I believe there is a problem in my AE preferences. When I animate the Mask path to remain on the same position for the Text, it wobbles up and down a little like I have put multiple keyframes in between. It should animate from Point A to Point B but it wobbles in between the two desired positions. Any solutions?

[@mariaaloc]

What composition adjustments should I have for South America? Should it be 25 frames x second?

[@chinaahpek]

this episode does my head in. I could not follow... I might just watch this episode and move along to the next episode.

[@nakdickson]

you are not alone bro

[@bananass7177]

i suggest taking notes along the course as this course was supposedly the hardest but with notes it was the same as the others

[@MaxUmbra]

same here. way too complicated for such a simple effect

[@lemonhead88]

I will definitely do this lesson twice, but any idea why my animation seems to go a lot faster than yours? I followed all the steps but yours progresses much slower and mine is too quick.

[@rfsdggyjfc5000]

Just adjust your keyframe by select all the keyframe hold shift and drag em.

[@lemonhead88]

@@rfsdggyjfc5000 Thanks for the reply!

[@uchebenson5275]

hi Gareth, ep 17 and 25 are really difficult and suicidal. please are there better ways to resolve it that can be easy. i sincerely need your help on these please. Above all, you are awesome in your teaching approach.

[@bananass7177]

take notes it helps a lot so you don't have to rewind to rewatch or go back to other episodes to re-learn something

[@yashroy1704]

[@sherthoughts396]

Easy, the mask is just like a transparent shape. And it moves using keyframe. That's why it's called MASKING.

[@perforenk2300]

Perfect!

[@gutZuWissen_jetzt]

until 25, everything was perfect but at 25th you didn't let us to do it... so quickly moved and explained :) ... anyway, I appreciate you highly

[@GarethDavidStudio]

We return to this technique in the ‘Create a project’ Section where it is applied in context 👍🏻

[@benbechor6838]

thanks!

[@nakdickson]

move the mask to the second position of the key frame 14:00 this so so confusing. could you explain more?

[@bananass7177]

since the 2nd keyframe is the end keyframe essentially you would want to copy it from the 2nd as you do not want to move the Mask

[@KnightsTemplar1118]

Gareth, how can I send you a screen shot? I am having much difficulty with this lesson. I need to show you something in a screenshot.

[@GarethDavidStudio]

feel free to send me an email at [e-mail]

[@MapleLeafAce]

A potentially easier way of masking the type without messing with nested masks is to make a separate shape layer with a color fill, apply a Gaussian blur, and using that shape layer as the inverted track matte for the text. Then you don't have to worry about your mask moving with your text.

[@lankamemesyt]

Too difficult. any others way to easy doing this?

[@MaxUmbra]

the welcome to london part was vay too complicated to follow, unfortunately..

[@MrUKRAINEC]

Hey! Thank you for the tutorials. But I have one thing to say... It's a purple layer, or maybe even pink... BUT IT'S DEFINATELY NOT BLUE!)))

[@vladimirmorozoff8153]

Скажи чэсна, ты курил перед просмотром этой фильмы?

[@MrUKRAINEC]

@@vladimirmorozoff8153 Lo siento, pero no comprendo kacapian)))

[@ertianienatmecnieri7644]

@@MrUKRAINEC Ахахазз! Який же ж ти кумедний хлоп! Ну якщо kacapian не розумієш, скажу тобі на солов'їній і з другого акаунту (де в мене красива аватарка): не все те кo3лoMopдe, що здається 3aйBoxpoмocoMHим. І не все те пурпурове, що здається рожевим, друже! Ahora comprendes? ;-)

[@dalsharq2125]

Right ok this one was far from easy

[@petar2761]

the 24th and the 25th video is me just clicking and following and understanding nothing at this point

[@duongly]

To keep it simple, just ignore all the feather effects.

[@katharsisqq]

in Premiere 10x easier

[@abdullahahmad9300]

Is it just me or is this difficult slightly?

[@GarethDavidStudio]

Yeah, After Effects can be really fiddly sometimes!

[@abdullahahmad9300]

@@GarethDavidStudio Is there anyway to get additional help if I do not understand something. You are a busy person so I do not want to disturb you. Any other resources you could provide if I need help or If you are ok for me to email you if you do not mind. Let me know Thank you

[@meaadams]

As usual you go way too fast over all the individual steps and clicks. I'm frantically trying to follow along and keep up but end up having to rewind the video about 100 times!! It's all great info I just wish you could go through it a little slower.

[@yashroy1704]