Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 238

Sometimes, you want to animate an image from an initial position, through an intermediate position, and back to
the initial position. Rather than manually dragging the pins back to their initial positions at the end of the animation,
place the current-time indicator at the end time and click Reset. Only the keyframes at the current time are reset.
• To increase or decrease the number of triangles used in a mesh, modify the Triangle value in the options section
of the Tools panel or in the Timeline panel. This modifies the value for a selected mesh or, if no mesh is selected,
sets the value for meshes created later.
A higher number of triangles gives smoother results but takes longer to render. Small objects, like text characters,
usually distort well with only 50 triangles, whereas a large figure may require 500. The number of triangles used may
not match the Triangle value exactly; this value is a target only.
• To expand the mesh beyond the original outline, increase the Expansion property in the options section of the
Tools panel or in the Timeline panel. This modifies the value for a selected mesh or, if no mesh is selected, sets the
value for meshes created later. Expanding the mesh is useful for encompassing a path's stroke.
• To duplicate an object using Puppet Pin tool, click within the original outline. This creates a new mesh, with its
own copy of the pixels from within the original outline. You can also duplicate a Mesh group in the Timeline panel
to achieve the same result, which is sometimes easier than clicking within the original outline without clicking on
the mesh to create a pin.
Puppet Overlap controls
When you are distorting one part of an image, you may want to control which parts of the image appear in front of
other parts. For example, you may want to keep an arm in front of the face as you make the arm wave. Use the Puppet
Overlap tool to apply Overlap pins to the parts of an object for which you want to control apparent depth.
You apply Puppet Overlap pins to the original outline, not to the deformed image.
Overlap pin with positive In Front value (top), and Overlap pin with negative In Front value (bottom)
Each Overlap pin has the following properties:
The apparent proximity to the viewer. The influence of Overlap pins is cumulative, meaning that the In
In Front
Front values are added together for places on the mesh where extents overlap. You can use negative In Front values
to cancel out the influence of another Overlap pin at a specific location.
AFTER EFFECTS CS3 232
User Guide