Rotoscoping and Paint

Rotoscoping and Paint

Rotoscoping is something many artists strive to avoid,

yet denial can be costly; although usually quicker and

easier, procedural solutions can bog down. Adding roto

into the mix solves the problem straightforwardly. Rotoscoping

(or roto) is simply the process of adjusting a shot frame

by frame, generally using masks. Cloning and fi lling using

paint tools are variations on this task.

After Effects is not famed as a rotoscoping tool, but the

truth is that there is a lot of ignorance as to how to use it

most effectively for this purpose. Not only can the masking

and previewing tools be made less cumbersome if applied

correctly, but you can often combine paint and roto with

tracking and keying.

Here are some overall guidelines for roto and paint:

. Keep it simple. In particular, pay attention to strategies

using the fewest possible number of keyframes.

. Consider your options in the following order of diffi -

culty and automation: keying, tracking, animated masks,

paint. Paint is almost always slower and more painstaking

than animating masks and should be reserved for

times when it’s truly the most expedient method.

. Review constantly at full speed (taking care to use the

setup described next).

. Combine strategies. A color key or hi-con matte may

take your matte 80 to 90% of the way there, so that

roto merely completes the job. Stabilizing an element

prior to rotoscoping it can save a lot of extra work. The

tracker can be combined with individual adjustments

rather than relying only on one or the other.

It can be satisfying to knock out a seamless rotoscope, especially

when you avoid fi ghting the tools.