Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 327

A vertex appears, and the Pen tool pointer changes to an arrowhead.
2 Drag to modify the length and direction of both direction lines for a vertex, and then release the mouse button.
A B
Drawing the first vertex in a curved path
A. Positioning Pen tool B. Starting to drag (mouse button pressed) C. Dragging to extend direction lines
Place the Pen tool where you want the curved segment to end, and do one of the following:
3
• To create a C-shaped curve, drag in the direction opposite from the direction that you dragged the previous
direction line, and then release the mouse button.
A B
Drawing the second vertex in a curved path
A. Starting to drag B. Dragging away from previous direction line, creating a C curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
• To create an S-shaped curve, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line, and then release the mouse
button.
A B
Drawing an S curve
A. Starting to drag B. Dragging in same direction as previous direction line, creating an S curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
Continue dragging the Pen tool from different locations to create a series of smooth curves.
4
Convert a path between manual Bezier and RotoBezier
You can convert any manual Bezier mask path or manual Bezier shape path to a RotoBezier path. If the manual
Bezier path has direction handles that have been adjusted, this conversion changes the shape of the path, because
After Effects calculates the curvature of RotoBezier segments automatically.
C
C
C
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