Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 237

Apply paint strokes to a layer using the Brush tool with the Paint On Transparent option. This creates a raster layer
with only the paint strokes, defined by an alpha channel. You can then use the Puppet tools to animate the paint
strokes. Do not use a mask on the layer.
If multiple masks, shapes, or characters overlap on the same layer, an outline is created from the union of the
overlapping shapes, overlapping characters, or overlapping masks. If a mask overlaps a text character or shape,
outlines are created for the entire character or shape, for the portion of the character or shape that is inside the mask,
and for the mask itself.
To distort multiple disjoint characters or shapes as one object, surround the individual objects with a mask (with
mask mode set to None), and use the mask path as the outline with which to create the mesh. You can delete the mask
after you have created the mesh.
If the Puppet effect has already been applied to a layer, outlines appear with a yellow highlight as you move a Puppet
tool pointer over them. You can choose the outline in which to place an initial pin to create a mesh. A mesh is created
each time that you click within an outline with a Puppet tool.
If the Puppet effect has not already been applied to a layer, outlines for that layer have not yet been calculated. When
you click, the Puppet effect calculates outlines and determines whether you have clicked within an outline. If so, it
creates a mesh defined by the outline in which you clicked. Otherwise, you can move the pointer around the layer to
select the outline in which to place a pin and create a mesh. This is very useful for seeing the outlines of various
objects and choosing which outlines to use to create a mesh.
Outline for union of two shape paths, indicated by yellow highlight, visible because Puppet tool pointer is within area defined by outline
Work with pins and the distortion mesh
• To show the mesh for the Puppet effect, select Show in the options section of the Tools panel.
• To select or move a pin, click or drag it with the Move tool
pin while either the Selection tool
• To select multiple pins, Shift-click them, or use the marquee-selection tool
around them. To activate the marquee-selection tool, place the pointer for a Puppet tool outside all meshes and
outlines or hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key.
• To select all pins of one kind (Deform, Starch, or Overlap), select one pin of that kind and press Ctrl+A (Windows)
or Command+A (Mac OS).
• To delete selected pins, press the Delete key. If the pin has multiple keyframes, and only the keyframe at the current
time is selected, pressing Delete will delete only that keyframe; pressing Delete again will delete the pin.
• To reset Deform pins to their original locations at the current time, click Reset for the Puppet effect in the Timeline
panel or Effect Controls panel. To remove all pins and meshes from an instance of the Puppet effect, click Reset
again.
. To activate the Move tool, place the pointer on a
or the corresponding Puppet tool is active.
AFTER EFFECTS CS3
to drag a marquee-selection box
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User Guide