Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 - About Motion Paths; Creating and Modifying Motion Paths; Keyframes and Motion Paths; To Create a Motion Path

ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
User Guide
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Creating and modifying motion paths
About motion paths
When you animate position values, After Effects displays the movement as a motion path. You can create a motion
path for the position of the layer or for the anchor point of a layer. A position motion path appears in the Compo-
sition panel; an anchor point motion path appears in the Layer panel. A motion path appears as a sequence of dots,
where each dot marks the position of the layer at each frame. An X in the path marks the position of a keyframe.
Note: The density of dots between the Xs in a motion path indicates the layer’s relative speed. Dots close together indicate
a lower speed; dots farther apart indicate a greater speed.
You can control the display of motion paths by setting View Options in the Composition panel menu or Display
preferences.
You can modify a motion path either by changing an existing keyframe or adding a new keyframe. A motion path is
less complex and generally easier to modify when you use fewer keyframes to describe the path.
To create a motion path
1 In the Composition panel, position the layer at the point where you want the motion to begin.
2 In the Timeline panel, Press P to display the Position property, and then click the Position stopwatch to create an
initial keyframe.
3 Move the current-time indicator to a point later in time.
4 In the Composition panel, drag the layer to a new position. After Effects automatically creates another keyframe.
5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the motion path is complete.
Keyframes and motion paths
If you want to add a new keyframe to a motion path, make sure that the current-time indicator is positioned at the
time at which you want the new keyframe to occur. If you want to change an existing keyframe, make sure that the
current-time indicator is positioned at the existing keyframe; otherwise, After Effects adds a new keyframe if you
move the layer instead of moving points on the motion path.
Themotion-pathcontrolsthatyouseeintheCompositionpaneldependontheoptionsselectedintheComposition
panel menu. For maximum control over the shape of a motion path, use the pen tools and the spatial interpolation
methods.