This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Duplicating a shape
The sky should have more than one star, and they should all shimmer. You’ll duplicate the star you created multiple times so that each of the new layers has the same properties as the original. Then you’ll adjust each star’s position and rotation separately.
Press the Home key or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
Select the Star 1 layer in the Timeline panel.
Choose Edit > Duplicate.
After Effects adds a Star 2 layer at the top of the layer stack. It is identical to the Star 1 layer, including its position.
Press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (macOS) five more times to create five additional star layers.
Select the Selection tool (
) in the Tools panel, and press F2 to deselect all layers in the Timeline panel.Using the Selection tool, drag each star to a different position in the sky.
Select the Star 1 layer, and then Shift-select the Star 7 layer. With all the star layers selected, press R, and then press Shift+S to reveal the Rotation and Scale properties for each layer.
Press F2 or click an empty area in the Timeline panel to deselect all layers. Then adjust the Rotation and Scale properties for each layer to create variation among the stars. You can also use the Selection tool to adjust the stars’ positions.
Press the spacebar to preview the animation. The stars twinkle and fade as night turns to day. Press the spacebar again to stop the playback.
Hide the properties for all layers. Then select the Star 1 layer and Shift-select the Star 7 layer to select all the star layers again.
Choose Layer > Pre-compose, name the new composition Starscape, and click OK.
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After Effects creates a new composition named Starscape that contains the seven star shapes; the new composition replaces the layers in the Background composition. You can continue to edit the star layers by opening the Starscape composition, but precomposing the layers keeps the Timeline panel organized.
Choose File > Save to save your work so far.
