|
|
Layers overviewLayers are the elements that make up a composition. Without layers, a composition is only an empty frame. Use as many layers as necessary to create your composition. Some compositions contain thousands of layers, whereas some compositions contain only one layer. Layers in After Effects are similar to tracks in Adobe Premiere Pro. The primary difference is that each After Effects layer can have no more than one footage item as its source, whereas a Premiere Pro track typically contains multiple clips. Layers in After Effects are also similar to layers in Photoshop, though the interface for working with layers differs. Working with layers in the Timeline panel in After Effects is similar to working with layers in the Layers panel in Photoshop. You can create several kinds of layers:
When you modify a layer, you do not affect its source footage item. You can use the same footage item as the source for more than one layer and use the footage differently in each instance. (See Importing and interpreting footage items.) Changes made to one layer do not affect other layers, unless you specifically link the layers. For example, you can move, rotate, and draw masks for one layer without disturbing any other layers in the composition. After Effects automatically numbers all layers in a composition. By default, these numbers are visible in the Timeline panel next to the layer name. The number corresponds to the position of that layer in the stacking order. When the stacking order changes, After Effects changes all numbers accordingly. The layer stacking order affects rendering order and therefore affects how the composition is rendered for previews and final output. (See Render order and collapsing transformations.) Note: By
default, new layers begin at the beginning of the composition duration.
You can instead choose to have new layers begin at the current time
by deselecting the Create Layers At Composition Start Time preference
(Edit > Preferences > General (Windows)
or After Effects > Preferences > General
(Mac OS)).
For a video tutorial on creating and managing layers, go to the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/vid0222. Layers in the Layer, Composition, and Timeline panelsAfter you add a layer to a composition, you can reposition the layer in the Composition panel. In the Timeline panel, you can change a layer’s duration, starting time, and place in the layer stacking order. You can also change any of the properties of a layer in the Timeline panel. (See Layer properties in the Timeline panel.) You can perform many tasks—such as drawing masks—in either the Composition panel or the Layer panel. However, other tasks—such as tracking motion and using the paint tools—must be performed in the Layer panel. The Layer panel shows you a layer before any transforms are applied to the layer. For example, the Layer panel does not show the result of modifying the Scale property of a layer. To see a layer in context with other layers and with the results of transforms, use the Composition panel. Layers that are not based on a source footage item are synthetic layers. Synthetic layers include text layers and shape layers. You cannot open a synthetic layer in the Layer panel. You can, however, precompose a synthetic layer and open the precomposition in the Layer panel.  To view changes to a layer (such as masks or
effects) in the Layer panel, select Render in the Layer panel. Deselect
Render to view the original, unaltered layer.Opening layers and layer sources
|
