Beyond Built-in Limitations

Beyond Built-in Limitations

As mentioned earlier, masks in After Effects haven’t evolved
as a feature in quite some time. Here are some common
limitations, followed by tips to work around them.

. After Effects has no built-in method for applying a
tracker to a mask. There is, however, a way to do this
thanks to at least one third-party script (credited in the
front of the book): TrackerViz, detailed in the following
chapter, lets you convert trackers to mask vertices.
. You can’t translate multiple mask keyframes at once;
even if you select multiple keyframes, the move is
applied only at the current frame.
. After Effects lacks the ability to specify whether a
feather is applied to the inside or outside of a mask,
nor can you vary feather settings on a per-vertex basis
. If you really need this ability, check out PV
Feather from RE:Vision Effects.

. Adding points to an animated mask has no adverse
effect on adjacent mask keyframes. Delete a point,
however, and it is removed from all keyframes, usually
deforming them.
. There is no dedicated morphing tool in After Effects.
The tools to do a morph, however, do exist, along with
solid deformation tools generally.


The following sections elaborate upon the above points
in depth.