Layers in After Effects

I am trying to make a cutout animation so i made a character with different layers containing body parts and saved it as a psd file.
When I imported the psd file to the after effect and opened the file as a composition, then i saw the layers in the timline , but when i wanted to select each of the layers in the composition i found that the empty spaces around each layers considered is in each of the layers eventhough i made the illustration in transparent in photoshope . so all the layers are having same size and it wont let you to select the layers bellow the frist layer in the composition . i dont want it happend, dont want the empty spaces in the layer. i want to select the layers easily by clicking on each of the body part and then i could rotate them easily.

Import with Retain Layer Sizes.
See this page for details:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/aftereffects/cs/using/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7f7c a.html

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Problem importing PSD (with multiple groups and layers) into After Effects. Help!

I created a "comic strip" in photoshop (multiple rectangle shape layers, then various shapes within each box for each frame of the comic strip) that I want to import into AE. When I import it as a composition (to keep my layers), however, what appears is an simply a black image with white lines where the lines of the comic strip used to be. I checked the color modes, but they are both in RGB so I don't think that's the problem. Also, when I double click the cartoon strip composition, I can choose certain groups from the mini flow-chart at the top left and view those individual frames. However, I can't view the entire comic strip as a whole, which is necessary for my animation. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, as I'm on a tight time constraint. Thanks!

When I asked what version down to the last decimal, I meant it. After Effects version should start with 11, but we need the numbers after that too.
And I understand that you want to pan between them, so just put all the different PSD's you import into the same comp and pan between them.

How to link layers in After Effect by script?

Hi!
Is it possible to link one layer to another in After Effect by script?
I would build the custom effect with parameter like "Gradient Wipe" have: Gradient Layer.
The idea is: this connection is independent from the layer number. That mean any layers delete, re-ordering etc will not affect this connection.
Thank you in advance!

Seems I've found the way...
I've used "Layer" parameter:
But there is another question:
How to update the "old" Custom Effect in my AE projects?
The problem is:
If I'm changing the Custom Effect's content in PresetEffects.xml (adding the new parameter) then I can't load the old projects with old Custom Effect on layers.
Can I avoid this?

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You definitely can! Here is a great tutorial explaining step by step How to Import Photoshop 3D into After Effects.
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Importing Illustrator layers into After effects, released to layers yet still one layer- ?

Hi,
Please bear with me as this should be a simple fix but the situation is hard to describe.
I want to import layers from Illustrator into After Effects. I need the AI layers to have their "handles" (the four corners of the object) close in around the object and not spread out to the corners of the composition. I figured out how to do this: by "releasing layers to sequence" in Illustrator and then dragging them out of the group they were all in. Then I "import as composition - retain layer sizes" into AE. When I open the illustrator composition in AE, it's layers appear in AE as separate layers and with the layer 'handles' tight around the objects (all is well). BUT here is what I want to do: I have a layer/object in Illustrator that I "image traced" to make it black but it still has some white parts to it. So I drew two black rectangles around the white parts. But now when I bring it into AE, they all appear as separate layers (the image traced object and the two rectangles) but I want those black rectangles to be literally part of the object that I image traced. In photoshop this would be akin to "flattening the layers". I can do this in AI by "merging" the layers, but if I do that I am brought back to the problem of having AE put the layer's 'handles' to the corners of the comp window and not tight around the object. Frustrating!
So I basically want to be able to paint over/cover up the white parts of my object without that creating new layers/objects.
Thanks for reading!
T

I'm not clear what you are describing. Have you actually tried other import settings in AE? There is some bug with the retain layer size stuff, but other combinations might work. Also try exporting a PDF of the artwork and using that. This may work better.
Mylenium

Illustrator layers into After Effects CS5

A client supplied an eps Logo with one layer and many "sub-layers" (sorry, don't know Illustrator well enough to call them anything else but
it's broken down to every tiny element such as every letter, portions of graphics, etc.),
When importing into AE CS5, it just recognizes the one "layer" like it was flattened. How do I separate these other layers in AI or After Effects
so I can animate them?

You need to import the document as a composition to get access to the individual layers.
See this page for information on preparing files in Illustrator: "Preparing and importing Illustrator files"
See this page for information about importing layered still images as compositions: "Importing a still image as a composition"

Import rows of text in Excel to layers in After Effects?

Hello! After Effects noob here. I've been tasked with the grunt work task of moving several hundred words from an excel file into After Effects. The words will be dynamically pulled into an animation.
Each word is in it's own cell in Excel and needs to be on its own layer in After Effects. I thought there must be a way to automate this!
Any ideas for a way to import with a script or something...? Thanks!

There exist various scripts to import and export texts from spreadsheets to AE:
Text2Spreadsheet
CompsFromSpreadsheet
Templater
pt_OpenSesame
In the description of Text2Spreadsheet you find a comparison of all these tool in the section "Is Text2Spreadsheet the right tool for me"

Can't get layers in After Effects

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbuXctVWKqg
I posted a link to show my problem.
Basically I had an EPS file from a designer that had the logo in it. I tried to import these into photoshop to touch up the layers but it always imported as a flat image. (even tried first going to an AI format then to photoshop but still a flat image) So I painfully copied and pasted all the layers from AI to PS and reconstructed the logo. Now I want to take that into AE to animate the logo, but everytime I import it imports it as a flat image (I tell it to import as a compostition not footage and I still get the same result)
What am I doing wrong, on most videos I see of PSD being imported another box pops up after the import for more options on how to handle the composition settings, but I am not getting this.
I've tried with both vextor layers and rasterized layers and I get the same results both times.
I feel like I'm missing something painfully obvious.
Thanks for the help.

I'd go back to Square One in Illustrator. There's nothing that says you can't create as many layers as you need in Illustrator, and move the appropriate paths and whatnot into those newly-created layers.
Make sure you give these new layers names. It helps a lot when you're in AE. Most Illustrator folks I know skip this step, much to their confusion later.
If your brand-new Illustrator document doesn't import properly as a comp, it's not you, it's AE Weirdness. I'd start by doing the easy stuff first: quitting all applications and starting them up again, restarting the machine if that failed, shutting down the machine if restarting failed... you get the idea.
And I know you didn't intend it to be so, but that youtube movie of yours darned near induced motion sickness in me. But you were in a hurry. I understand that.

Can I rotate masked Layers in After Effects CS6

I'm having trouble finding out how to rotate masked layers or do I have to erase the Masks and using the pen tool to cut a rotated version of them.

You can rotate the layer: use the rotate tool, or you can scrub the numerical values in the rotation property in the timeline, or enter numerical values via the keyboard.
You can rotate the mask: double-click on the layer, double-click on the mask, and rotate it at the corners.

Illustrator - After Effects Layers Question

Having problems importing Illustrator layers into After Effects. I've tried all the recommendations from "release to layers" to "setting colors to rgb". When I import into After Effects and select "composition - retain layer size". AI layers are sub layers too.
I don't see the individual layers to animate.

Here is the pre- "release to layers" :
Any ideas?

Adobe Dynamic Link will not work - Premiere Pro CS4 to After Effects CS4

Hello,
I am edited a video with a deadline, I'm importing a sequence from Premiere Pro CS4 to After Effects and making edits in After Effects. I'm able to import the Premiere Pro sequence into After Effects using Dynamic Link, but I go back to Premiere Pro and nothing has changed. Then I have to export the 21 minute long video in After Effects and that takes about 12 hours, that I can't afford. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, before I imported the timeline into AE, while I was in Premiere Pro I right clicked it and selected -Edit original. It took me to the .mov that I imported- since it's a redo. I learned how to use Dynamic Link from this tutorial-
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-cs4-production-premium/using-dynamic-link/
At first when Dynamic link didn't work I thought it was because I was cutting the imported Sequence from Premiere Pro in After Effects becasue I was motion tracking. When you import a Premier Pro sequence can you cut it into individual layers in After Effects?

I'm importing a sequence from Premiere Pro CS4 to After Effects
That doesn't create the type of Link you want here. In this case, changes made to PP would show up in AE. You want the reverse. (And you can only go one way, not both.)
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/PremierePro/4.0/WS725e431141e7ba651172e081238226cdf5-8000.html

Dynamic Link Premiere and After Effects CS4

I am new to owning the whole suite, so I did not realize that you could use dynamic link. I figured out that I could import premire projects into AE (without linking) I just imported them and assumed I would create my effects and render out the project only to import the rendered video into Premiere. Now, I realize I could have just right clicked on a clip in Premiere and used link.
Now, my question is can I get those effects prjects from After Effects into premire? If so, then how? i have tried dymanic link and I just get a linked sequence in premeire . . .
Am I blind or stupid or both?? Please help!

You can export a Premiere Pro project from After Effects, but the results are usually pretty messy. Because of the different way in which tracks in Premiere and layers in After Effects work (ie. you can have multiple clips on a single track in PPro, but only one clip/item per layer in AE), you can end up with an unmanageable number of tracks in Premiere. Still, it's an option to explore.
Note that AE-only effects won't come through to Premiere, and certain project items will be recreated in a way you might not expect.

Importing Photoshop 3D in After Effects

hello,
I am experiment in photoshop and i discovered a REPOUSSE option in 3D menu which allows me to convert a text layer into 3D.
And then I saved that file as PSD and tried to open it in After Effects as a 3D text for my animation,
But it did not work.
So Can I export 3D converted text layers into After Effects for 3D? or do i need XARA 3D

Thank you for providing very helpful information regarding photoshop Repousse 3D
Sorry for insufficient information provided by me, from next time i'll discuss whole thing in detail.
I am interested in achieving text explosion effect using SIMULATION>shatter, as text explode with material.
I understand that the SIMULATION>shatter effect is 2D, is there any way to achieve same effect?
The steps are as follows :
1) I turn on the text layer in 3D,
2) edit that layer in Repousse
3) then in the 3D window, in the quality filter I applied Ray Traced Final
4) and then saved it as a .psd
5) after that I opened the said psd in AE, as a composition
6) in the said comp I got 4 layers, 1) BG, 2) TEXT, 3) Text Controller, 4) Camera
7) then i applied SHATTER effect, on the TEXT layer
8) as effect applied I previewed it, but text broken in 2D, (as SHATTER effects is not a 3D)
9) I don't have any 3D software to create material so can you please tell me shall I achieve the same effects using ADOBE SOFTWARES????
THANK YOU

FAQ: Why won't After Effects import my PSD file as a composition but flattens it?

from the "Preparing and importing Photoshop files" section of After Effects Help:
"Layered Photoshop (PSD) files need to be saved in RGB or Grayscale color mode for After Effects to import them as a composition and to separate the layers. CMYK, LAB, Duotone, Monotone, and Tritone color modes are not supported for layered files; After Effects will import a file that uses one of these color modes as a single, flattened image."

There's got to be something different with the PSD. Is it RGB? That's the first thing to check. What is the structure of the PSD. Layer Groups? Effects? There are so many things that could go wrong that without more information we would just be guessing.

Anchor points: Photoshop to After Effects

Hello!
I have imported some shape layers from photoshop into after effects. I would like to make them swing in three dimensional space, so I am trying to change the anchor point to the top of shape so that it will swing from that point. I cannot see the anchor point as you would with text, and it seems to be rotating around some random place further down. Perhaps this photoshop layer is rotating around the centre of the photoshop composition?
What would be the fastest way to rectify this situation. There are 24 shapes but I will remake these shapes in AE if that is going to be the fastest way to make it happen.
Thank you!

Hi Trill:
Use the Pan Behind (Anchor Point) Tool (‘y” is the keyboard shortcut) to click and drag the Anchor Point to where you need it to be for your animation.
This behaves very much like moving the Anchor Point while using Free Transform in Photoshop. Also, it will retain the registration (or placement) of your layers relative to how they were stacked and aligned in Photoshop by changing both the layer Anchor Point coordinates and Position coordinates at the same time.
Assuming that you’re importing your layered Photoshop document as a Composition, the Anchor Point for each layer defaults to one of two locations:
The center of the respective layer if imported as “Composition – Retain Layer Size”
The center of the Photoshop document Canvas Size if imported as “Composition”
From what you’ve described, it sounds like you’re choosing as “Composition”. Although, you’ll need to use the Pan Behind (Anchor Point) Tool layer by layer regardless to achieve what you’ve going for.
There’s a behavior in AE that you could take advantage of to speed this up if you have pre-positioned your Photoshop layers such that the offset for the Anchor Point value change and the Position value change are the same for each layer. If that’s the case, you could select all the layers in After Effects and when you change the values for one layer After Effects will change the like values for all the currently selected layers as well. Since it looks like each of your layers currently has the PS Canvas Size, this might work right now.
- Warren

Layers in After Effects

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