Adobe After Effects CS3 - Manual (Page 327)

AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
322
Draw curved manual Bezier path segments with the Pen tool
You create a curved path segment by dragging direction lines. The length and direction of the direction lines
determine the shape of the curve.
Shift-drag to constrain the angle of the direction lines to whole multiples of 45˚. Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag
(Mac OS) to modify only the outgoing direction line.
1 Place the Pen tool where you want the curve to begin, and hold the mouse button down.
A vertex appears, and the Pen tool pointer changes to an arrowhead.
2 Drag to modify the length and direction of both direction lines for a vertex, and then release the mouse button.
Drawing the first vertex in a curved path
A. Positioning Pen tool B. Starting to drag (mouse button pressed) C. Dragging to extend direction lines
3 Place the Pen tool where you want the curved segment to end, and do one of the following:
• To create a C-shaped curve, drag in the direction opposite from the direction that you dragged the previous
direction line, and then release the mouse button.
Drawing the second vertex in a curved path
A. Starting to drag B. Dragging away from previous direction line, creating a C curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
• To create an S-shaped curve, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line, and then release the mouse
button.
Drawing an S curve
A. Starting to drag B. Dragging in same direction as previous direction line, creating an S curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
4 Continue dragging the Pen tool from different locations to create a series of smooth curves.
A B C
A B C
A B C