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ramp smoothly. The Ramp Scatter control disperses the ramp colors, eliminating the
banding apparent to the human eye.
Stroke
This effect creates a stroke or border around a mask or along a Bezier path. You can also
specify stroke color, opacity, and spacing, as well as brush characteristics. Specify whether
the stroke appears on top of the image, on a transparent image, or if it reveals the original
alpha channel. To use a path created in Illustrator, copy the path and paste it into a layer in
After Effects.
The Brush Hardness option specifies the edge quality of the stroke, between hard and soft.
Spacing specifies the spacing between stroke segments. Paint On specifies whether the
stroke is applied to the original layer or to a transparent layer.
Vegas
This effect generates casino-style running lights—and other path-based pulse anima-
tions—around any object. You can outline just about anything on screen, surround it with
any number of lights or longer pulses, and then animate it to make the lights move around
the object. Use the Segments controls to adjust the size, length, and rotation of the stroke.
This effect uses the same Contour controls as the Radio Waves effect.
For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site.
Simulation effects
Use these effects to simulate real-world occurrences such as reflections of light, bubbles,
explosions, and waves.
Card Dance (available from the Adobe Web site)
This effect generates card choreography by controlling all geometric aspects of the cards
using a second layer. For example, use Card Dance to create the appearance of a crowd
doing the wave, simulate an extruded pin sculpture, or create the appearance of the
letters of a logo floating on the surface of a pond. Apply Card Dance to the layer you want
to be on the front of the cards.
For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site.
Caustics (available from the Adobe Web site)
This effect creates reflections of light, similar to what you see at the bottom of a body of
water, which are generated by the light refracting through the water surface. It generates
realistic water surfaces when used in conjunction with Wave World or Radio Wave. Use the
Bottom controls to specify the layer you want at the bottom of the pool. Use the Water
Surface option to specify a layer's luminance as a height map for generating a 3D water
surface.
For more information, see the After Effects product section on Adobe's Web site.
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Applying Effects
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