Preparing to Work


To prepare for this project, do the following:

1.

Start with a new project, and import the Images folder from this chapter's folder on the DVD. It contains the files RainbowLamp.jpg, Sofa_01.jpg, and Rug.jpg.

2.

Create another folder named Graphics. Import Style_Logo.psd by using the Composition - Cropped Layers option (rather than Footage or Composition).

Import As Options: Do You Really Understand Them?

  • Footage You probably noticed long ago that when you import a layered file as footage, the file appears in After Effects either as if the layers have been flattened into one or with only a single layer that you pick. The layers are still there in the original source file, but you won't have access to the layers in After Effects. That's all well and good for some projects.

  • Composition When you choose this option for a layered file, the file is presented as a composition that contains an After Effects layer for each Photoshop layer. The composition has an associated folder in the Project window, which contains a footage item for each particular layer (handy!). In addition, any Photoshop layer that uses a Photoshop layer style is presented as a nested composition with a layer for each essential property in the layer style's effect. For example, a Photoshop layer that uses the Bevel and Emboss layer style will produce three layers in After Effects: a layer for the Photoshop layer, a layer for the style's shadow property, and a layer for the style's highlight property. This chapter's project takes advantage of this feature by animating a layer style contained in the logo.

  • Composition - Cropped Layers When you choose this option for a layered file, you get the same results you would for the Composition option, except for one crucial difference. The Composition - Cropped Layers option defines the dimensions of each layer according to the actual content within the Photoshop layer; in contrast, the Composition option defines the dimensions of each layer according to the dimensions of the entire file. This may sound like the Composition option stretches any layers that have smaller dimensions than the entire file, but it doesn't.




    Adobe After Effects 6.5 Magic
    Adobe After Effects 6.5 Magic
    ISBN: 0321267230
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2005
    Pages: 236

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