ccfx path tools 1.1.1 manual - cycore effects path tools 1.2 manual.pdf · path tools introduction...

ContentsContents 2Copyright 4PathToolsIntroduction 5Rakka 6Controls 7MaskPath 7:PathSegmentControlGroupOverview: 8PathSegment(Group) 9CyclePath 9Start%andEnd% 9Phase 9FullPathOverlapOptions(Sub-group) 9FixedStartPoint 9OverlapAt% 10

Layer 10Repetitions 10Auto-Orient 10:TransformControlGroupsOverview: 11ScaleControls(Group) 14Scale 14OpposeAlternate 14RandomInstanceScale(Sub-group) 14X&YSeparate 14XandYScaleRandom,ScaleRandom 14RandomSeed(S) 14

PositionControls(Group) 15Offset 15XandYOffset 15RandomInstanceOffset(Sub-group) 15XandYOffsetRandom 15RandomSeed(P) 15

RotationControls(Group) 16Rotation 16TwistPath(Sub-group) 16StartRotation 16EndRotation 16FlipYOnRotation 16RandomInstanceRotation(Sub-group) 16RotationRandom 16RandomSeed(R) 16

:TaperControlGroupsOverview: 17TaperPath(Group) 21Editor(TP) 21Opacity(TP) 21Size(TP) 21TaperSegment(Group) 21Editor(TS) 21Opacity(TS) 21Size(TS) 21

Opacity 21TransferMode 22Extras(Group) 23MotionBlurLimit 23

WiggleStroke 24Controls 25MaskPath 25:PathSegmentControlGroupOverview: 26PathSegment(Group) 27StartAt%andEndAt% 27Phase 27BrushColor 27BrushRadius 27BrushHardness 27BrushOpacity 27:WiggleControlGroupsOverview: 28WigglePosition(Group) 33WiggleType(P) 33Amount(P) 33Periods(P) 33Offset%(P) 33Evolve(P) 33EvolveLoopPeriod(P) 33NoiseWaveLoops(P) 33Wotate 34Twists 34TwistCanOffset 34WiggleRadius(Group) 35WiggleType(R) 35Amount(R) 35Periods(R) 35Offset%(R) 35Evolve(R) 35EvolveLoopPeriod(R) 35NoiseWaveLoops(R) 35WiggleOpacity(Group) 36WiggleType(O) 36Amount(O) 36Periods(O) 36Offset%(O) 36Evolve(O) 36EvolveLoopPeriod(O) 36NoiseWaveLoops(O) 36:TaperControlGroupsOverview: 37TaperSegment(Group) 41Editor(TS) 41Position(TS) 41Radius(TS) 41Opacity(TS) 41

CFXPathToolsManual

CFXPathTools-CycoreSystemsFXmenu

TaperPath(Group) 41Editor(TP) 41Position(TP) 41Radius(TP) 41Opacity(TP) 41:RepeatControlGroupOverview: 42Repeat(Group) 43Repetitions 43RandomizePositionWiggle 43PositionOffsetDelta 43PositionEvolveDelta 43RandomizeRadiusWiggle 43RadiusOffsetDelta 43RadiusEvolveDelta 43RandomizeOpacityWiggle 43OpacityOffsetDelta 44OpacityEvolveDelta 44:ExtrasControlGroupOverview: 45Extras(Group) 47BrushTransferMode 47ColorGradient(Sub-group) 47SegmentGradient 47RepetitionGradient 47FirstInColor 47FirstOutColor 47LastInColor 47LastOutColor 47RandomSeed 47SynchronizeNoiseSeeds 48

ThanksTo 49

CFXPathToolsManual


Copyright

©2011CycoreSystemsAB.Allrightsreserved.Allrightstothetrademarks/trade-namesCycoreEffects,CycoreFX,CycoreFX,CFXandCFXPathToolsshallremainatalltimesthesolepropertyofCycoreSystemsAB.Allothertrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectivecompanies.TheCycoreEffectssoftwarede-scribedinthisdocumentisfurnishedunderalicenseagreement.Thesoftwaremaybeusedorbackeduponlyinaccordancewiththetermsoftheagreement.Infor-mationinthisdocumentissubjecttochangewithoutnoticeanddoesnotrepresentproductspecificationorcommitmentonthepartofCycoreSystemsAB.Nopartofthisdocumentmaybereproduced,transmitted,transcribed,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortranslatedintoanylanguageinanyformwithoutwrittenpermissionfromCycoreSystemsAB.AdobeandAfterEffectsareregisteredtrademarksofAdobe,Inc.Allotherproductnamesmentionedinthisdocumentareusedforidentificationpurposesonlyandmaybetrademarksorregisteredtrademarksoftheirrespectivecompanies.Registeredandunregisteredtrademarksusedhereinaretheexclusivepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.CycoreSystemsABmakesnoclaimtoanysuchmarks,norwillinglyorknowinglymisusedormisappliedsuchmarks.

CFXPathToolsManual


PathToolsIntroductionPathToolsisapackagecontainingtwopowerfulplug-ins,RakkaandWiggleStroke.Thebasicrequirementforbothplug-insisamaskpath.Rakkaalsoneedsalayerto“rack-up”,orrepeat,alongtheselectedmaskpath.Fromthere,thecom-binationsarealmostendlesstocreateoriginallookinganimations,backgroundsoreffects.Youcancreatestunninganimationswithminimaleffort―animationsthatwereonceonlypossiblewithparticlegenerators.UsingWiggleStrokeyoucandoanythingfrom“wiggling”framestocompletecrazylookingthread/wireanimations,allbasedonasinglemaskpath.PathToolswillbecomeanindispensableadditiontoyourtoolbox.

Wehavechosentouse“overview”sectionsinthismanualtodescribeseveralcontrolsinmoredetailandincludegraphicstofurthersupportwrittentextwherewethoughtithelpful.Thereasonbehindthisisthatsomeofthesecontrolsarecommonformanyofthecontrolgroupsandwedidn’twanttorepeattext/graphicsthroughoutthemanualwhichinsteadwouldcauseclutter,makingitmoredifficulttogettocontrolgroupsandindividualcontrols,especiallywhenyouhavelearnedhowtheplug-insworkandjustneedaquick“refresh”ofwhichcontrolsdidwhatinacontrolgroup.Therearealsocaseswherewemovedcontrolstoanoverviewsectionbecausesometimes“apicturesaysmorethanathousandwords”.

Westronglyrecommendthatyoudownloadtheavailablesampleprojectsfromourwebsiteanduseasacompaniontothismanual.

Ifyoufeelthatsomepartofthismanualisincorrectorfailstoexplainafunctionorcontrolproperly,pleasesendyourfeedbackorideastousat:[email protected].

Weappreciateyouropinions!(Aslongastheyfallinlinewithours)

CFXPathToolsManual


CPTRakkaThisplug-inoffersabroadrangeofuses.Initsmostbasicform,Rakkafunc-tionsasatimesaverforcreatingrepeatedpathanimationswithanoffsetforeachinstance.Thistaskotherwiseinvolveswritingcomplexexpressionsoralotofmanualwork,duplicatingthelayerseveraltimesanddoingtheoffsetbyhand.Forexample,ifyouneedfiveinstancesofalayer,e.g.,alogoorcornflakespackage,flowingalongapath,Rakkamakesthatano-brainerandyouhavefullcontroloverscale,rotation,twistetc.

TheaboveonlyscratchesthesurfaceofRakka’spotential.Rakkacanbeusedtocreateanythingfromswirlinglinestobandsofpearls,fromacaterpillarmovingacrossthescreentohighlyorganic“HRGigerlike”animations.Thankstocontrolsforrandomscale,offsetandrotation,transfermodes,tapercontrolsforcontrollingposition,scale,opacityforbothpathsandinstancesseparately,tomentionafew,youcancreatestunninganimationswithminimaleffort―animationsthatwereonlypossiblewithparticlegeneratorsthattendstobemorecomplicatedtouse.

TobeabletoworkinacompactUI,controlshavebeenorganizedinlogicalgroupstominimizeclutter.Werecommendthatyoucheckouttheincluded“Introduction”projectsthatspansfrombasicusageacrosstowhatcanbecreatedusingmoreadvancedvaluesandsettings,eventakingittotheextreme.

CFXPathToolsManual

CPTRakka-CycoreSystemsFXmenu

Controls

MaskPathUsethispop-upmenutoselectthemaskpathtobeusedfortheanimation.Themaskpathhastoreside,orbecreated,onthesamelayerasRakkaisappliedto.Thelayercancontainseveralmaskpathsthatcanbeselectedtochangetheappearanceofananimation.Thismakesitveryeasytotryoutseveraloptionsasallothersettingswillstaythesame.IfamaskpathexistsonthelayerwhenRakkaisapplied,thefirstmaskpathisautomaticallyselectedbydefault.Rec-ommendedistouseaSolidwheremaskpathsarecreatedandRakkaisap-plied.

CFXPathToolsManual


:PathSegmentControlGroupOverview:Thiscontrolgroupcontainsseveralcontrolsthatallowtomodifythemaskpathandcontrolmotionofinstances,aswellashowinstancesappearalongthemaskpathwhenanimated.Inthisoverviewindividualcontrolsarenotexplainedindetail,insteadfocusispointedathowthesecontrolsinteractwhencombined.ThefirstpicturebelowshowstheoriginalmaskpathandapathsegmentdefinedbysettingStartto20andEndto80.Usingtheoriginalmaskpath,instancesappearalongthefulllengthofthepath.Usingthepathsegment,instancesappearinthedefinedsegmentonly.

ExampleusingStart%andEnd%todefineasegment.

StartEnd

Start : 0%End : 100%(Phase : 0°)

First vertex ofselected Mask Path

Start : 20%End : 80%

(Phase : 0°)

Start

End First vertex ofselected Mask Path

ThePhasecontroloffsetsthesegmentdefinedbyStartandEndalongthepath.CyclePathcontrolswhathappensifthesegmentisoffsetbeyondeitherendofthepath.WithCyclePathoff,anyinstancespassingbeyondthepathendswillbeex-cluded.TurningonCyclePathwillcausetheextendinginstancestowraparoundtotheoppositeendofthepath.TheimagebelowshowsanexampleofaclosedpathwithCyclePathonandoff.

ExampleusingPhaseandCyclePathonasegment.

Star

t

End


Phase : 180°(Cycle Path : On)


Star

t

End


Phase : 180°Cycle Path : Off

Excluded

Included


CFXPathToolsManual


PathSegment(Group)

CyclePathCheckthisoptiontoallowinstancestocycle,orloop,alongthepath.SpeedofloopsandamountarecontrolledbythevaluessetinthePhasecontrol.Whenthisoptionisunchecked,usingthePhasecontrol,instanceswillperformonecyclealongthefulllengthofthepathandthendisappear.

Start%andEnd%Usethesecontrolstodefineasegmentofthepathwhereinstanceswillap-pear.ThevaluesareinpercentageandarerelativetothelengthofthepathandthenumberofinstancessetintheRepetitionscontrol.Whenanimating,thesecontrolsaregreattocombinewiththePhasecontrolbuttheycanalsobeused“standalone”toanimateinstancesalongapathasthesegmentofthefullpathisalteredwhenchangingtheirvalues.Start%andEnd%valuescanbe“over-lapped”,i.e.,endcanbesetbeforestartandviseversa.Supervised:ThesecontrolsaredisabledifFixedStartpointischecked.

PhaseUsethiscontroltoanimateanddeterminethespeedatwhichinstancesmovealongtheselectedpath.Atonerevolutioninstancesmovethefulllengthofthepathandarebacktotheiroriginalposition.Note.IfCyclePathisunchecked,turningthephasewheeloveronerevolutionwillnotcycle,orloopinstances,insteadtheywilldisappearafterperformingonefullcycle.

FullPathOverlapOptions(Sub-group)Thesecontrolsdonotaffectthepositionorcharacteristicsofinstances,insteadtheirpurposeistocontrolwhichinstancegetsdrawnfirst.Note.Thecontrolsinthisgroupareusedtopositiontheoverlappoint(orseam)whichcanbevisiblewhenusingcertainTransferModes.SomeTransferModesdonotproduceanoverlapinwhichcasethefollowingcontrolshavenoeffect(SeeTransferModespage22).

FixedStartPointWiththisoptionchecked,instanceswilloverlapataspecificpointonthepathinsteadofatthePhaseoffsetstartpoint.Withastaticoverlappointitispossibletochoosewheretheoverlapwilloccurwhichcanbedesiredincertaincases.ItalsoenablestheOverlapAt%controlwherethestartpointcanbeoffset.Note:Thiscontrolisonlyusediftheselectedpathisclosedandhasnoeffectunlessinstancesvisuallyoverlapatsomepoint.

CFXPathToolsManual


OverlapAt%IfFixedStartpointischecked,usethiscontroltooffsetthestartingpointforinstanceswheretheyoverlap.ThestartingpointwhereinstancesoverlapwillnotbevisiblewhenRepetitionsvaluesaresetlowrelativetothemaskpathlength.Supervised:ThiscontrolisenabledifFixedStartpointischecked.

LayerUsethispop-upmenutoselectthelayeryouwanttogenerateinstancesof.Normally,theselectedlayershouldbeturnedoffintheTimelinetonotbevisibleinthecomposition.Note.Usingverylargelayerscanincreaserenderingtimes.

RepetitionsUsethiscontroltosetthenumberofinstances.

Repetitionssetto4. Repetitionssetto12. Repetitionssetto200.

Note.Usingveryhighvaluescanincreaserenderingtimes,especiallyifthese-lectedlayerislarge.

Auto-OrientWiththisoptionchecked,instancesfacesthedirectionofthemaskpath.Whenunchecked,instanceswillusetheorientationofthelayerselectedintheLayercontrol.

CFXPathToolsManual


:TransformControlGroupsOverview:ThetransformcontrolgroupsarePosition,ScaleandRotation.Thepicturebelowshowtheorderinwhichtransformationsaretakingplaceasatree,wheretheOff-setcontrolinthePositiongroupbranchesoutthedifferencesbetweensettingittoAnchorpointorPositionwhenusinganyoftheavailableRotationcontrols.

Transformationorderandhowoffsetsettingaffectsrotation.

Offset Anchor

Scale

Position

Rotation

Offset Position

CFXPathToolsManual


IntheRotationcontrolgroupthereisaTwistPathsub-groupwherestartandendrotationcanbesetforinstances.Combiningthesewithotherscontrols,instancesare“twisted”aroundthemaskpathtogiveanincreasedsenseof3D.Inthefol-lowingexamplesthereisnooffsetsetinthePositioncontrolgroup.ToseehowrotationisaffectedbytheselectionintheOffsetcontrolpleaseseepreviouspage(page11).

Ex.1:SettingStartRotationto-90degrees,instanceswillhaveaninitial-90de-greerotationatthestartingpoint(firstvertexofmaskpathorpositionsetusingtheOverlapcontrol)andarerotatedtothevaluesetinEndRotationattheendpoint,inthisexampleitissetto0degrees.Seethepicturebelow:

-90°Start Rotation

0°End Rotation

-45° -22.5°-67.5°

StartRotation-90ºandEndrotation0º.

Ex2:SettingEndRotationto90degrees,instanceswillhavethevaluesetintheStartRotationatthestartingpoint(firstvertexofmaskpathorpositionsetusingtheOverlapcontrol),inthisexampleitissetto0degrees,andarerotatedto90degreesattheendpoint.Seepicturebelow:

0°Start Rotation

+90°End Rotation

+45° +67.5°+22.5°

StartRotation0ºandEndrotation90º.

Toseethis,useoneoftheaboveexamplesandchecktheCyclePathcheckboxthenturnthePhasewheel3-4revolutions,instanceswillturn90degreeswhencrossingthestart/endpoint.

CFXPathToolsManual


Ex3:SettingStartRotationto-90degreesandEndRotationto90degrees.In-stanceswillhaveaninitial-90degreerotationatthestartingpoint(firstvertexofmaskpathorpositionsetusingtheOverlapcontrol)andarerotatedto90degreesattheendpoint.Seepicturebelow:

-90°Start Rotation

+90°End Rotation

0° 45°-45°

StartRotation-90ºandEndrotation90º.

CFXPathToolsManual


ScaleControls(Group)

ScaleUsethiscontroltoscaleinstancesproportionally.TheScalepropertycanbecombinedwiththeXandYScaleRandom,ScaleRandomcontrols,settofixedvalue(s)oranimated.Note.Scalingcanincreaserendertimes.

OpposeAlternateWiththisoptionchecked,everysecondinstancewillbeflippedandfaceintheopposingdirectionfromitsclosestneighbor.

RandomInstanceScale(Sub-group)

X&YSeparateWhenthisoptionischecked,theXandYScaleRandomcontrolsareenabledtoallowrandomscalingofinstancesinXandYseparately.

XandYScaleRandom,ScaleRandomUsethesecontrolstorandomlyscaleinstances.DependingonhowtheX&YSeparatecheckboxisset,instanceswillberandomlyscaledproportionallyorinX&Yseparately.Supervised:ScaleRandomisenabledwhenX&YSeparateisunchecked.

RandomSeed(S)Usethiscontroltosetauniquerandomseedvalueforrandomscaling.Thismakesiteasytousemultiplelayers,usingthesameRakkaanimation,andonlychangingtheRandomSeedvaluetomakethemlookdifferent.

CFXPathToolsManual


PositionControls(Group)

OffsetUsethispop-upmenutodetermineifAnchorPointorPositionshouldbeoffset.Note.TheselectioninthiscontrolwillbemostnotablydifferentwhenRotationand/orTwistvalueshavebeenchangedoranimated.TheOffsetpropertycanbecombinedwiththeXandYOffsetRandomcontrols,settoafixedvalue(s)oranimated.Thiscontroldoesnotaffectscaling.

XandYOffsetUsethesecontrolstoshiftthepositionoranchorpointofinstances(IfPositionorAnchorpointsareshifteddependsontheselectionintheOffsetpop-upmenu).Theshiftingisrelativetothemaskpath.Highervalueswillproducegreatershift-ingofinstancesfromtheoriginalmaskpath.

RandomInstanceOffset(Sub-group)

XandYOffsetRandomUsethesecontrolstorandomlyshiftthepositionoranchorpointofinstancesinX&Yseparately(IfPositionorAnchorpointsareshifteddependsontheselec-tionintheOffsetpop-upmenu).ThesecontrolscanbecombinedwiththeOffsetcontrol.Highervalueswillproducegreatershiftingofinstancesfromtheoriginalmaskpath.

RandomSeed(P)Usethiscontroltosetauniquerandomseedvalueforrandomscaling.Thismakesiteasytousemultiplelayers,usingthesameRakkaanimation,andonlychangingtheRandomSeedvaluetogiveeachlayerauniquelook.

CFXPathToolsManual


RotationControls(Group)

RotationUsethiscontroltorotateinstances.TheRotationpropertycanbecombinedwiththeRandomRotationcontrol,settoafixedvalueoranimated.Usethiscontroltodeterminetherotation

TwistPath(Sub-group)

StartRotationUsethiscontroltosetthestartrotationvalueforinstances.Combinedwithotherrotationcontrols,instancesare“twisted”aroundthemaskpathwhichresultsinanincreasedsenseof3D.

EndRotationUsethiscontroltosettheendrotationvalueforinstances.Combinedwithotherrotationcontrols,instancesare“twisted”aroundthemaskpathwhichresultsinanincreasedsenseof3D.

FlipYOnRotationWhenthiscontrolischecked,instanceswillbeflippedaroundtheirXaxiswhilerotating.InstanceswillbeflippedusinganyRotationcontrol.

RandomInstanceRotation(Sub-group)

RotationRandomUsethiscontroltorandomlyrotateinstances.

RandomSeed(R)Usethiscontroltosetauniquerandomseedvalueforrandomscaling.Thismakesiteasytousemultiplelayers,usingthesameRakkaanimation,andonlychangetheRandomSeedvaluetogiveeachlayerauniquelook.

CFXPathToolsManual


:TaperControlGroupsOverview:Taperingisoftenusedtoallowapropertytobecomegraduallysmaller,lessopaqueetc,towardoneorbothends.AsRakkauseacurveeditor,thesecontrolsallowsforgraduallydecreasing/increasingpropertiesalongthefulllengthofthemaskpath.Asthegroupnamesimplytherearetwooptions,taperthefullmaskpathortaperadefinedsegmentofthemaskpath.Bothtaperoptionscanbecom-binedtogetthedesiredresult.

Exampleshowingafullpathandapathsegment.

Mask Path start Mask Path end

Path

Start

End

Path Segment

Exampleshowingtaperingafullpathand/orapathsegment.

Taper Path

Taper Segment

CFXPathToolsManual


Curveeditorshaveonemaineditorwhereallavailabletaperpropertiescanbeac-cessedandedited,simplypressthebuttonforthedesiredpropertytoactivateforediting,whilestillbeingabletoviewcurvesforotherpropertiesastheyareoverlaidintheUI.

Ifhigherprecisionisneededforfinetuning,eachpropertyhasitsowncurveeditorrepresentingtheactualpropertyinthemaineditor.TheseallhavealargercurveeditorUIandotherinactivecurvesarenotoverlaidforacleanerview.AllchangesdoneintheindividualcurveeditorsarereflectedinthemaineditorUI.Individualtapercontrolscanbeanimated.

Valuesaredisplayedintheeditorsinteractivelyasyoumoveapoint.Tocheckcur-rentvaluesforanypoint,hoverthemouseoverthepointandhecurrentvalueisdisplayedintheAfterEffectsInfowindow/panel.

Tapereditorshaveanidentifier(e.g.,TS)tomakeiteasytoquicklyidentifywhichtaperpropertyiswhichwhenworkingintheTimelinewindow/panel.

MainEditorandSoloEditorwithinactivecurveoverlaid.

CFXPathToolsManual


TaperPathisappliedoverthewholepathlength.TaperSegmentonlyaffectsthesegmentdefinedinPathSegment.Combiningthetwomayoccasionallycauseonetocancelouttheother.However,thisinteractionalsoprovidesgreatcontrolovertheappliedtapering.Thepicturesshowexamplesoftaperingsandhowtheyinter-act.

Segmentdefined.Start:40andEnd:80

TaperPathapplied.

TaperSegmentapplied.

TaperPathandTaperSegmentapplied.

CFXPathToolsManual


Atdefaultsettingsallcurveeditorshavefourvertexpoints,butpointscanalsobeaddedorremoved.Toadd/removepointsusethefollowingmodifiers:

•Addapoint:Option(Alt)-clickonacurveaddsapointatthatposition.•Removeapoint:Option(Alt)-clickonthepoint.

Note.Option-clicknearahandlehasnoeffect.

Additionaleditingoptions:•Splitdirectionhandles:Cmd(Ctrl)-clickanddragadirectionhandle.•Verticallymovethefirstandlastpointsinacurvewithconstraint:Shift-drageitherfirstorlastpoint.

CFXPathToolsManual


TaperPath(Group)Tapersthefullmaskpath.

Editor(TP)Maineditorforalltaperpathproperties.Clickdesiredpropertytoactivateforediting.Curvesforinactivepropertiesareoverlaid.

Opacity(TP)Soloeditorforopacity,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

Size(TP)Soloeditorforsize,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

TaperSegment(Group)TapersthesegmentdefinedinthePathSegmentcontrol.

Editor(TS)Maineditorforalltaperpathproperties.Clickdesiredpropertytoactivateforediting.Curvesforinactivepropertiesareoverlaid.

Opacity(TS)Soloeditorforopacity,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor

Size(TS)Soloeditorforsize,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

OpacityUsethiscontroltodeterminethetransparencylevelofinstances.At100%,in-stancesarecompletelyopaque.At0%,instancesarecompletelytransparent.

CFXPathToolsManual


TransferModeUsethispop-upmenutoselectwhichcompositemethodtousebetweenin-stances.Eachoffersadifferentresult.Chooseoneofthefollowingoptions:Over,Under,Lighten,Screen,Add,Darken,Multiply,Overlay,SoftLight,HardLight,Difference,AlphaAdd.Note.Sometransfermodescanbeusedtohidestart/endinstanceoverlapwhencreatingseamlessloops.

Sharpoverlap:Over,Under,AlphaAdd.

Slightoverlap:Overlay,SoftLight,HardLight,Difference.

Nooverlap:Lighten,Screen,Add,Darken,Multiply.

CFXPathToolsManual


Extras(Group)

MotionBlurLimit(OnlyavailableinAECS3orlater)Rakkaappliesadvancedadaptivemotionblur,whenenabledforthelayer,toprovidehighqualitymotionblurwithoutperformingunnecessarysamplingwhenobjectsaremovingslow.Thiscontrolallowsfordefiningthemaximumsamplingqualitytouseforhighmotionobjectsforbettercontrolofthequality/rendertimeratio.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable:Low,Medium,High,Extreme,Ridicu-lous.AtdefaultthiscontrolissettoMediumwhichmostoftenissufficientfornormalusage.Note:Ifmotionblurisnotenabled,thiscontrolwillhavenoeffect.Ifobjectsareanimatedwithonlyslightmotion,thiscontrolisunlikelytohaveanyeffect.Withahighdegreeofmotioninvolved,settingthiscontroltoRidiculousmaytakeupto16timeslongertorenderthansettingittoLow.Tryouttheoptionstofindthedesiredquality.

ThesameRakkaanimationcomparedusingtheavailableMotionBlurLimitoptions.

CompositeWithOriginalCheckthisoptiontocompositetheeffectwiththesourcelayer.

CFXPathToolsManual


CPTWiggleStrokeThisplug-inoffersnumerouspossibilities.Youcandoanythingfromthebasic“wig-gling”ofstrokestocompletecrazylookingthreadorgeometricwireanimations.WiggleStrokegeneratesastrokefromamaskpath.Tocreatethewigglingeffect,WiggleStrokeusethreetypesofmodifierstodisplacethestrokefromtheoriginalmaskpath,basicnoise,wavenoiseandwavefunctions.Eachtypehasavarietyofoptionstovarytheappearance.Wigglingcanbeappliedtoposition,radiusandopacityindividually.Youwillbetrulyamazedwithwhatcanbecreatedfromjustanellipseorstraightlinemaskpath.

TobeabletoworkinacompactUI,controlshavebeenorganizedinlogicalgroupstominimizeclutter.Werecommendthatyoucheckouttheincluded“Introduction”projectsthatspanfrombasicusageacrosstowhatcanbecreatedusingmoreadvancedvaluesandsettings,eventakingittotheextreme.

CFXPathToolsManual

CPTWiggleStroke-CycoreSystemsFXmenu

Controls

MaskPathUsethispop-upmenutoselectthemaskpathtobeusedtostrokeandwiggle.Themaskpathhastoreside,orbecreated,onthesamelayerasWiggleStrokeisappliedto.Thelayercancontainseveralmaskpathsthatcanbeselectedtochangetheappearanceofananimation.Thismakesiteasytotryoutseveraloptionsasallothersettingswillremainthesame.Ifamaskpath(s)existsonthelayerwhenWiggleStrokeisapplied,thefirstmaskpathisautomaticallyselect-edbydefault.RecommendedistouseaSolidwheremaskpathsarecreatedandWiggleStrokeisapplied.

CFXPathToolsManual


:PathSegmentControlGroupOverview:Thiscontrolgroupcontainsseveralcontrolsthatallowtomodifythemaskpathandcontrolmotionofinstances,aswellashowinstancesappearalongthemaskpathwhenanimated.Inthisoverviewindividualcontrolsarenotexplainedindetail,insteadfocusispointedathowthesecontrolsinteractwhencombined.ThefirstpicturebelowshowstheoriginalmaskpathandapathsegmentdefinedbysettingStartto20andEndto80.Usingtheoriginalmaskpath,instancesappearalongthefulllengthofthepath.Usingthepathsegment,instancesappearinthedefinedsegmentonly.


StartEnd

Start : 0%End : 100%(Phase : 0°)



(Phase : 0°)

Start

End First vertex ofselected Mask Path

ThePhasecontroloffsetsthesegmentdefinedbyStartandEndalongthepath.CyclePathcontrolswhathappensifthesegmentisoffsetbeyondeitherendofthepath.WithCyclePathoff,anyinstancespassingbeyondthepathendswillbeex-cluded.TurningonCyclePathwillcausetheextendinginstancestowraparoundtotheoppositeendofthepath.TheimagebelowshowsanexampleofaclosedpathwithCyclePathonandoff.


Star

t

End


Phase : 180°(Cycle Path : On)


Star

t

End


Phase : 180°Cycle Path : Off

Excluded

Included


CFXPathToolsManual


PathSegment(Group)

StartAt%andEndAt%Usethesecontrolstodefineasegmentofthepathwhereastrokeisgenerated.Valuesareapercentageofthedistancefromthebeginningorendofthetotalstroke.Whenanimating,thesecontrolsaregreattocombinewiththePhasecontrolbuttheycanalsobeused“standalone”toanimatestrokesastheseg-mentofthefullpathisalteredwhenchangingtheirvalues.StartAt%andEndAt%valuescanoverlap,i.e.,endcanbesetbeforestartandviseversa.

PhaseUsethiscontroltooffsetthestartandendpointsandtherebyanysegmentde-fined,alongthemaskpath.Note.AnimatingthiscontroldoesnotaffectanywigglevaluesbutanycurvedefinedinTaperSegmentwillbemappedaccordingly.

BrushColorUsethiscontroltoselectastrokecolor.Supervised:ThiscontrolisnotusedifaColorGradientischosen.

BrushRadiusUsethiscontroltodeterminestrokewidth.

BrushHardnessUsethiscontroltodeterminethesoftness,orfeathering,ofstrokeedges.100%producethehardestedgeand0%thesoftestedge.

BrushOpacityUsethiscontroltodeterminethestroketransparency.

CFXPathToolsManual


:WiggleControlGroupsOverview:Asseveralpropertiesineachgrouparethesame,amoredetailedexplanationisprovidedinthisoverviewandashorterdescriptionineachindividualgroup.:WiggleType:Thesecontrolsspecifythemodifiertobeusedtowiggleagroupproperty.Threekindofmodifiersareavailable;basicnoise,wavenoiseandwavefunctions.Thebelowpicturesshowsanexampleofhoweachwigglepropertyisaffectedbytheselectedmodifier.Propertiesfromtoptobottom,(P),(R),(O).Availableoptionsare:Basicnoisetypes:

LinearNoise SoftishNoise SmoothNoise

Wavenoisetypes:

LinearNoiseWave SoftishNoiseWave SmoothNoiseWave

Wavefunctions:

SineWave TriangularWave CogWave

SquareWave

CFXPathToolsManual


:Amount:Thesecontrolsdeterminetheamountofwigglingappliedtoastrokeswigglingproperties.Theavailablepropertiesareposition(P),radius(R)andopacity(O).EachpropertiescontrolnamewillbeAmountfollowedby(P),(R),or(O).Howamountaffectseachpropertyisdescribedbelow.

Amount(P)determinesthedisplacementamountbetweenastrokeandtheoriginalmaskpath.Highervalueswillproducegreaterwiggling,asthedistancebetweenthestrokeandtheoriginalmaskpathwillincreasebygreateramount.

Amount(R)determinestheamountbywhichtheradiuswillvary.Thisvalueisrela-tivetothevaluessetwithBrushRadius.Itwillintroducebothpositiveandnegativevalueswhereat100%thepropertywillvarybetweentwicetheinitialvalueand0(zero).

Example1:BrushRadius=3.0Amount(R)=100Radiuswillvary3.0pixelsfromitsinitial3.0pixelradius(3.0±3.0px).Radiuswillvary:0.0pixel<(Strokeradius)<6.0pixel(3.0±3.0px).

Example2:BrushRadius=3.0Amount(R)=50Radiuswillvary1.5pixelsfromitsinitial3.0pixelradius(3.0±1.5px).Radiuswillvary:1.5<(Strokeradius)<4.5(3.0±1.5px).

Amount(O)determineshowmanypercenttheopacitywillwigglefromtheinitialvalue.ThisvalueisrelativetothevaluessetwithBrushOpacity.Itwillintroducebothpositiveandnegativevalueswhereat100%theopacitywillvarybetweentwicetheinitialvalueand0(zero).

Note:Opacitywillneveractuallywiggleover100%.

Example1:BrushOpacity=100Amount(O)=100Opacitywillvary100%fromitsinitial100%opacityvalue(100%±100%).Opacitywillvary:0<(Strokeopacity)<200(100%±100%).

Example2:BrushOpacity=100Amount(O)=50Opacitywillvary50%fromitsinitial100%opacityvalue(100%±50%).Opacitywillvary:50<(Strokeopacity)<150(100%±50%).

CFXPathToolsManual


:Periods:Thesecontrolsdeterminehowmuchdetailwigglingwillapplytoastroke.Highervaluesaddmoredetail,whichgeneratesmorefrequentwiggles.BelowaretwoexamplesoftwodifferentPeriodssettingsforvariouswiggletypes.Propertiesfromtoptobottom,(P),(P),(R),(O).

Periods=3 Periods=10

Note.WhenusingwavefunctionsonaclosedpathitisnecessarytouseintegervaluesforPeriodsinordertogenerateacontinuouswave.

:Offset:Thesecontrolsmoveanywavetypewigglingalongthemaskpath.Thevalueispercentageofthemaskpathlength

:Evolve:Thesecontrolschangetheappearance(orshape)ofthenoise.Touseanotherword,theEvolvepropertycanbeseenasa“shapeshifter”thatcanbeinterpolatedinanimation.LargechangesinEvolvevaluesbetweenkeyframes,causesnoisetochangemorerapidly.LargechangesinEvolvevaluesoverashortperiodoftimemayresultinflashing,orevenrandomanimation,ratherthansmoothchangesinthenoise,e.g.,animatingEvolvebyoneunitpersecondissimilarinspeedtothepulseofabeatingheart.

:EvolveLoopPeriod:Thesecontrolscreateaseamlessloop(orcycle)ofevolvingnoisewithinaspeci-fiedrange.EvolveLoopPeriodcanbeusedtoseamlesslylooptheEvolvepropertyincludingtheEvolveDeltapropertiesintheRepeatcontrolgroup,whenenabled.EvolveLoopPeriodinterpolatesthenoise,inaspecificway,toreturntoit’sstartingpointinordertocreatealoopinganimationwithouttheneedtoreverse-keyframeanEvolvepropertytoreturntoit’soriginalstate(orappearance),e.g.,0->1->0.Althoughsettingkeyframeswhichreturntothesamevaluewillreturnnoisetothesamestate,theanimationmayappeartosimplybeingplayedbackandforthratherthanbeingasmoothtransitioningloop,repeatingitselfasitinterpolatesbetweenthekeyframes.Instead,useEvolveLoopPeriodandthedesiredEvolveproperty

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tocreateacontinuoussmoothprogressiveloop(orloopsegment).Thiscontrolcansaveagreatdealofrenderingtime.Useittocreateashortseamlessstrokewiggle(wherethelastframematchesuptothefirst)tobepre-renderedandloopedasanewsourcelayerinacomposition,ratherthansettingEvolvetoanimateoveragreaternumberofframes.

Aseamlessloop.

Start End

EvolveLoopPeriod=0 EvolveLoopPeriod=1

Moreinformationonhowtosetupapropertyforseamlessloopanimationclickhere.

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:NoiseWaveLoops:Thesecontrolsseamlesslyloop(orcycle)asegmentofaNoiseWave(WiggleType)anumberoftimesalongamaskpath.E.g.,settingthistofourwillrepeatthefirstquartersegmentofthenoisewavefourtimesalongthemaskpath.Settingthistozerowillcreateaninfinitelylongwavetotravel(oroffset)alongthemaskpath,howeverforclosedmaskpathsthissettingwilloftenresultinasharptransitionwhereitisjoined(start/end).

DifferentNoiseWaveLoopsettings.

Noise wave shape

0

1

2

3

4

Noi

se W

ave

Loop

val

ue

1

Noi

se W

ave

Loop

val

ue

End Start

0

Noi

se W

ave

Loop

val

ue

End Start

Notethesharptransitionatstart/endwithNoiseWaveLoopsettozeroonaclosedpath.

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WigglePosition(Group)

WiggleType(P)Usethispop-upmenutoselectthetypeofmodifiertobasepositionwigglingon.Theavailableoptionsare:LinearNoise,SoftishNoise,SmoothNoiseLinearNoiseWave,SoftishNoiseWave,SmoothNoiseWave,SineWave,TriangularWave,CogWave,SquareWave.

Amount(P)Usethiscontroltodeterminetheamountofwiggling,ordisplacement,appliedtostrokes.Highervalueswillproducegreaterwiggling.

Periods(P)Usethiscontroltodeterminehowmuchdetailwigglingwillapplytoastroke.Highervaluesaddmoredetail,whichgeneratesmorefrequentwiggles.

Offset%(P)Thiscontrolwillmoveanywavetypewigglingalongthemaskpath.Thevalueispercentageofthemaskpathlength.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledforbasicnoisetypesunlessTwistsCanOffsetisenabled.

Evolve(P)Usethiscontroltochangetheappearanceorshapeofthenoise.LargechangesinEvolvevaluesbetweenkeyframes,causesnoisetochangemorerapidly.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledifawavefunctionisselectedinWiggleType.

EvolveLoopPeriod(P)Usethiscontroltochangetheappearanceorshapeofthenoise.EvolveLoopPeriodinterpolatesthenoisetoreturntoit’sstartingpointinordertocreatealoopinganimation.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledifawavefunctionisselectedinWiggleType.

NoiseWaveLoops(P)Usethiscontroltoseamlesslyloop(orcycle)asegmentofwavenoiseanumberoftimesalongamaskpath.Supervised:ThiscontrolisenabledifawavenoisemodifierisselectedinWiggleType.

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WotatePositionWigglingdisplacethestrokefromtheoriginalmaskpath.Usethiscon-troltochange/modifythedirectioninwhichwigglingwilltakeplace.

TwistsUsethiscontroltointroduceacontinuousrotationofthedisplacementdirectionalongthemaskpath.

TwistCanOffsetCheckthiscontroltolinkTwiststotheOffset%control.WhenenabledTwistswillmovealongthemaskpathwhenOffsetchanges.

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WiggleRadius(Group)

WiggleType(R)Usethispop-upmenutoselectthetypetobaseradiuswigglingon.Theavail-ableoptionsare:LinearNoise,SoftishNoise,SmoothNoiseLinearNoiseWave,SoftishNoiseWave,SmoothNoiseWave,SineWave,TriangularWave,CogWave,SquareWave.

Amount(R)UsethiscontroltodeterminethepercentagebywhichradiuswillbewiggledfromtheinitialvaluesetintheBrushRadiuscontrol.Itwillintroducebothposi-tiveandnegativevalueswhereat100%thepropertywillvarybetweentwicetheinitialvalueand0(zero).

Periods(R)Usethiscontroltodeterminehowmuchdetailwigglingwillapplytoastroke.Highervaluesaddmoredetail,whichgeneratesmorefrequentwiggles.

Offset%(R)Thiscontrolwillmoveanywavetypewigglingalongthemaskpath.Thevalueispercentageofthemaskpathlength.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledforbasicnoisetypesunlessTwistsCanOffsetisenabled

Evolve(R)Usethiscontroltochangetheappearanceorshapeofthenoise.LargechangesinEvolvevaluesbetweenkeyframes,causesnoisetochangemorerapidly.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledifawavefunctionisselectedinWiggleType

EvolveLoopPeriod(R)Usethiscontroltochangetheappearanceorshapeofthenoise.EvolveLoopPeriodinterpolatesthenoisetoreturntoit’sstartingpointinordertocreatealoopinganimation.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledifawavefunctionisselectedinWiggleType

NoiseWaveLoops(R)Usethiscontroltoseamlesslyloop(orcycle)asegmentofaNoiseWaveanumberoftimesalongamaskpath.Supervised:ThiscontrolisenabledifaNoiseWaveisselectedinWiggleType

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WiggleOpacity(Group)

WiggleType(O)Usethispop-upmenutoselectthetypetobaseopacitywigglingon.Theavail-ableoptionsare:LinearNoise,SoftishNoise,SmoothNoiseLinearNoiseWave,SoftishNoiseWave,SmoothNoiseWave,SineWave,TriangularWave,CogWave,SquareWave

Amount(O)UsethiscontroltodeterminethepercentagebywhichopacitywillbewiggledfromtheinitialvaluesetintheBrushOpacitycontrol.Itwillintroducebothposi-tiveandnegativevalueswhereat100%theopacitywillvarybetweentwicetheinitialvalueand0(zero).

Note:Opacitywillneveractuallywiggleover100%.

Periods(O)Usethiscontroltodeterminehowmuchdetailwigglingwillapplytoastroke.Highervaluesaddmoredetail,whichgeneratesmorefrequentwiggles

Offset%(O)Thiscontrolwillmoveanywavetypewigglingalongthemaskpath.Thevalueispercentageofthemaskpathlength.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledforbasicnoisetypesunlessTwistsCanOffsetisenabled

Evolve(O)Usethiscontroltochangetheappearanceorshapeofthenoise.LargechangesinEvolvevaluesbetweenkeyframes,causesnoisetochangemorerapidly.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledifawavefunctionisselectedinWiggleType

EvolveLoopPeriod(O)Usethiscontroltochangetheappearanceorshapeofthenoise.EvolveLoopPeriodinterpolatesthenoisetoreturntoit’sstartingpointinordertocreatealoopinganimation.Supervised:ThiscontrolisdisabledifawavefunctionisselectedinWiggleType

NoiseWaveLoops(O)Usethiscontroltoseamlesslyloop(orcycle)asegmentofaNoiseWaveanumberoftimesalongamaskpath.Supervised:ThiscontrolisenabledifaNoiseWaveisselectedinWiggleType

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:TaperControlGroupsOverview:Taperingisoftenusedtoallowapropertytobecomegraduallysmaller,lessopaqueetc,towardoneorbothends.AsWiggleStrokeuseacurveeditor,thesecontrolsallowsforgraduallydecreasing/increasingpropertiesalongthefulllengthofthemaskpath.Asthecontrolgroupnamesimpliestherearetwooptions,taperthefullmaskpathortaperinstances.Bothtaperoptionscanbecombinedtogetthedesiredresult.

Exampleshowingafullpathandapathsegment.

Mask Path start Mask Path end

Path

Start

End

Path Segment

Exampleshowingtaperingafullpathand/orapathsegment.

Taper Path

Taper Segment

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Curveeditorshaveonemaineditorwhereallavailabletaperpropertiescanbeac-cessedandedited,simplypressthebuttonforthedesiredpropertytoactivateforediting,whilestillbeingabletoviewcurvesforotherpropertiesastheyareoverlaidintheUI.

Ifhigherprecisionisneededforfinetuning,eachpropertyhasit’sowncurveeditorrepresentingtheactualpropertyinthemaineditor.TheseallhavealargercurveeditorUIandotherinactivecurvesarenotoverlaidforacleanerview.AllchangesdoneintheindividualcurveeditorsarereflectedinthemaineditorUI.Individualtapercontrolscanbeanimated.

Valuesaredisplayedintheeditorsinteractivelyasyoumoveapoint.Tocheckcur-rentvaluesforanypoint,hoverthemouseoverthepointandhecurrentvalueisdisplayedintheAfterEffectsInfowindow/panel.

Tapereditorshaveanidentifier(e.g.,TS)tomakeiteasytoquicklyidentifywhichtaperpropertyiswhichwhenworkingintheTimelinewindow/panel.

MainEditorandSoloEditorwithinactivecurvesoverlaid.

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TaperPathisappliedoverthewholepathlength.TaperSegmentonlyaffectsthesegmentdefinedinPathSegment.Combiningthetwomayoccasionallycauseonetocancelouttheother.However,thisinteractionalsoprovidesgreatcontrolovertheappliedtapering.Thepicturesshowexamplesoftaperingsandhowtheyinter-act.

Segmentdefined.Start:40andEnd:80

TaperPathapplied.

TaperSegmentapplied.

TaperPathandTaperSegmentapplied.

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Atdefaultsettingsallcurveeditorshavefourvertexpoints,butpointscanalsobeaddedorremoved.Toadd/removepointsusethefollowingmodifiers:

•Addapoint:Option(Alt)-clickonacurveaddsapointatthatposition.•Removeapoint:Option(Alt)-clickonthepoint.Note.Option(Alt)-clickclosetoahandlehasnoeffect.Curvesandpointscanalsobeedited.Toedit,usethefollowingmodifiers:•Splitdirectionhandles:Cmd(Ctrl)-clickanddragadirectionhandle.•Movefirstandlastpointsverticallywithconstraint:Shift-dragfirstorlastpoint.

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TaperSegment(Group)TapersthesegmentdefinedinthePathSegmentcontrol.

Editor(TS)MainEditor.Clickdesiredpropertytoactivateforediting.Curvesforinactivepropertiesareoverlaid.AvailablepropertiesarePosition,RadiusandOpacity.

Position(TS)Soloeditorforposition,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

Radius(TS)Soloeditorforradius,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

Opacity(TS)Soloeditorforopacity,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

TaperPath(Group)Tapersthefullmaskpath.

Editor(TP)MainEditor.Clickdesiredpropertytoactivateforediting.Curvesforinactivepropertiesareoverlaid.AvailablepropertiesarePosition,RadiusandOpacity.

Position(TP)Soloeditorforposition,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

Radius(TP)Soloeditorforradius,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

Opacity(TP)Soloeditorforopacity,providingalargercurveeditorUI.ChangesarereflectedinMainEditor.

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:RepeatControlGroupOverview:ThecontrolsintheRepeatgroupaddsanextradimensiontoWiggleStroke.Astrokecanberepeatedandeachrepetitioncanvaryfromtheprevious.Thevaria-tioncanbesettobecompletelyrandom(Randomize)ortoaffectspecificwigglingpropertiesinacontrolledmanner(OffsetDelta&EvolveDelta).Deltavaluesarevalueswithwhicheachrepetitionwilladdtospecificwiggleproperty.CheckinganyRandomizecontrolwilldisabletheOffsetDeltaandEvolveDeltacontrolsforthatproperty.

Thepicturesbelowshowsomeexamplesofastrokerepetitionwheredeltavaluesareused,inthiscaseforthepositionOffsetandEvolveproperties.

1repetition.Deltavaluesnotused. 12repetitionsusingOffsetDelta.

12repetitionsusingEvolveDelta. 12repetitionsusingOffsetandEvolveDelta.

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Repeat(Group)

RepetitionsUsethiscontroltosetthenumberoftimesastrokeisrepeated.Allothercon-trolsinthisgroupwillbedisabledunlessthestrokeisrepeatedmorethanonce.

RandomizePositionWiggleCheckthiscontroltogeneratecompletelyrandompositionwiggleoffsetandevolvevaluesforeachrepetition.

PositionOffsetDeltaUsethiscontroltoincreasetheOffset%(P)valuebythisamountforeachrep-etition.Supervised:EnabledwhenWiggleType(P)issettoanywavetype,orifTwistsCanOffsetisenabled.

PositionEvolveDeltaUsethiscontroltoincreasetheEvolve(P)valuebythisamountforeachrepeti-tion.Supervised:EnabledwhenWiggleType(P)issettoanynoisetype.

RandomizeRadiusWiggleCheckthiscontroltogeneratecompletelyrandomradiuswiggleoffsetandevolvevaluesforeachrepetition.

RadiusOffsetDeltaUsethiscontroltoincreasetheOffset%(R)valuebythisamountforeachrep-etition.Supervised:EnabledwhenWiggleType(R)issettoanywavetype.

RadiusEvolveDeltaUsethiscontroltoincreasetheEvolve(R)valuebythisamountforeachrepeti-tion.Supervised:EnabledwhenWiggleType(R)issettoanynoisetype.

RandomizeOpacityWiggleCheckthiscontroltogeneratecompletelyrandomopacitywiggleoffsetandevolvevaluesforeachrepetition.

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OpacityOffsetDeltaUsethiscontroltoincreasetheOffset%(O)valuebythisamountforeachrep-etition.Supervised:EnabledwhenWiggleType(O)issettoanywavetype.

OpacityEvolveDeltaUsethiscontroltoincreasetheEvolve(O)valuebythisamountforeachrepeti-tion.Supervised:EnabledwhenWiggleType(O)issettoanynoisetype.

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:ExtrasControlGroupOverview:ForsomeofthecontrolsinExtrasamoredetailedexplanationisprovidedinthisoverviewandashorterdescriptionineachindividualgroup.:ColorGradient:Gradientscanbeappliedtosegmentsand/orrepetitions.Therearetwopop-upcontrols,SegmentGradientandRepetitionGradient,thatbothhavethreeoptionstochoosefrom,None,LinearorTriangular.

None:Disablesgradientsforsegmentsand/orrepetitions,i.e.,BrushColorisused

Linear:Appliesalineargradientfromthestarttoendpointsofasegmentorrep-etitions.Colorsareinterpolatedfromthefirstselectedcolortothesecondcolor.ForclosedpathsthismayresultinasharptransitionwhereEndjoinsStartTriangular:Appliesatriangulargradientfromstarttoendpointsofasegmentorrepetitions.Colorsareinterpolatedfromthefirstselectedcolor,tothesecondandbacktothefirstcolor,creatingaseamlessgradient.

Ifgradientsareappliedtoonlyasegmentorrepetitionsthefollowingcolorcontrolsareenabledtoselectthedesiredcolor:

SegmentGradientonly.SelectcolorsusingFirstInColorandFirstOutColor.

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RepetitionGradientonly.SelectcolorsusingFirstInColorandLastInColor.

IfgradientsareappliedtobothasegmentandrepetitionstheLastOutColorcon-trolisenabled.Thefourthcolorisneededtointerpolatefourgradientsinfourdirec-tionsthatareblendedtogether.Thefollowingcontrolsareenabledtoselectthedesiredcolor:

SegmentGradientandRepetitionGradient.AllInandOutColorcontrolsareenabled.

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Extras(Group)

BrushTransferModeUsethispop-upmenutoselectwhichcompositemethodtousewhengenerat-ingastroke.Eachoffersadifferentresult.Chooseoneofthefollowingoptions,Composite,Screen,Add.

ColorGradient(Sub-group)

SegmentGradientUsethispop-upmenutoenablesegmentgradient.

RepetitionGradientUsethispop-upmenutoenablesegmentgradient.Supervised:Enabledifastrokeisrepeatedmorethanonce.

FirstInColorUsethiscontroltoselectthefirstincolorforthegradient.Supervised:EnabledwhenSegmentorRepetitiongradientisused.

FirstOutColorUsethiscontroltoselectthefirstoutcolorforthegradient.Supervised:EnabledwhenSegmentGradientisused.

LastInColorUsethiscontroltoselectthelastincolorforthegradient.Supervised:EnabledwhenRepetitionGradientisused.

LastOutColorUsethiscontroltoselectthelastoutcolorforthegradient.Supervised:EnabledwhenSegmentandRepetitionGradientisused.

RandomSeedUsethiscontroltosetauniquerandomseedvalueforwiggling.Thismakesiteasytousemultiplelayers,usingthesameWiggleStrokeanimation,andonlychangetheRandomSeedvaluetogiveeachlayerauniquelook.

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SynchronizeNoiseSeedsCheckthisoptiontoaddsomesortofordertorandomwiggling.Allnoiseandrandomvaluesuseacommonbasefromwhichtheyaregenerated.Thiswillaf-fectallnoiseWiggleTypeaswellasRandomizeoptions(IntheRepeatGroup).

Example1:PositionandRadiuswigglebothsettoSoftishNoiseWaveandsamePeriod.

SynchronizeNoiseSeeds-Off. SynchronizeNoiseSeeds-On.

Example2:RepeatwithPositionandRadiussettoRandomizeWiggle.SamewigglePeriod.

SynchronizeNoiseSeeds-Off. SynchronizeNoiseSeeds-On.

CompositeWithOriginalUsethispop-upmenutoselectwhichcompositemethodtousebetweentheeffectandthesourcelayer.Eachoffersadifferentresult.Chooseoneofthefol-lowingoptions,Composite,Screen,Add.

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Specialthanksgoesto:

Ourbetatesters

TheCoSAAfterEffectsTeam

JonatanAnderssonandJohanLindh

GorgenAbrami

Andlastbutnotleast,ourfamilies!

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