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Introduction
This is the result we will create, a highlighted poppy fruit within the mask while the rest of the video becomes blurry and dark, a technique often used in educational videos. Let's get started. Welcome back to the complete Adobe After Effects series from Cerdas Inovasi Digital. Module seven covers masks and track mattes, how to limit which part of a layer is visible. We start with basic masks, rectangle, ellipse, and free-form shapes.
Step 1: Mask versus shape
Create a composition from the poppy fruit footage. Select the footage layer, then select the rectangle tool. Since there is a selected layer, dragging a rectangle in the composition panel does not create a new shape layer but instead creates a mask on that layer. Drag the rectangle in the center, only the area inside the mask is visible.
Step 2: Mask in Timeline
Press M to display the mask, or M twice to show all mask properties. A mask has a mask path, mask feeder, mask opacity, mask expansion, and mode add. Delete this mask by selecting it and pressing delete.
Step 3: Elliptical Mask
Select the ellipse tool then drag an ellipse around the yellow poppy fruit on the left. The fruit is now visible within the oval shape, and the rest is transparent so the black composition background appears. Select the pen tool then click and drag several points following the shape of the green poppy fruit on the right, until returning to the starting point.
Step 4: Freeform Mask with Pen Tool
Mask two is created with a different line color. A single layer can have multiple masks, and all of them combine because of the add mode. Duplicate the footage with Ctrl D, move the duplicate down, then delete the masks.
Step 5: Faded and Dark Background
Apply the Gaussian Blur 20 effect and Brightness and Contrast with Brightness minus 60 on the duplicate. Now the poppy fruit appears sharp against the blurry and dark background.
Step 6: Editing Mask Corners
Select the top layer, then click the mask line in the composition panel. Search simple to refine the mask shape to better fit the fruit's edge. Rotate the preview to see the highlighting work along the entire video.
Done!
Done. We have understood the difference between masks and shape layers, creating rectangular masks, ellipses, and pen masks, multiple masks on a single layer, spotlight effects with blurred and dark backgrounds, and editing simple masks. In the next episode, we will adjust faders, expansion, modes, and infart. Need a promotional video, logo animation, motion graphics for social media, or visual effects for short films? Cerdas Inovasi Digital provides motion graphics and visual effects services, as well as opens After Effects courses from beginner to advanced. Want to master the entire series, 104 episodes from the interface to the final project? All episodes, complete with PDF step-by-step guides, source footage, and project scripts, are available for premium tutorial subscribers. Subscribe starting at Rp69.000 per month, save 28% with the 12-month package, or pay once Rp999.000 for lifetime access. Want just one class? Buy single classes with lifetime access. Subscribe now at the premium page cerdasinovasidigital.com Contact our WhatsApp, or visit cerdasinovasidigital.com Thank you for watching, see you in the next episode. Thank you for watching, see you in the next episode.
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Cerdas Inovasi Digital Team
Software developers, BIM & 3D engineers, and AI practitioners
52 video classes1,276 episodes
We build software, BIM models, games and AI automations for clients every day, and turn that hands-on work into step-by-step classes: every step is shown on screen and comes with a PDF guide you can keep.
