Adobe After Effects CS3 - Manual (Page 476)

AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
471
Paint effects
Paint effect
Apply the Paint effect using the paint tools.
This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.
See also
“Work with paint tools and paint strokes” on page 302
Vector Paint effect
For most drawing and painting tasks, use shape tools and paint tools, not the Vector Paint effect.
For more information, see “Work with paint tools and paint strokes” on page 302 and “Shape layers overview” on
page 312.
This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.
Original (top left), brushstroke with selection spline (bottom left), and second stroke created with Wiggle control (bottom right)
Vector Paint strokes are made up of many tiny points that create the stroke path. You cannot isolate or adjust these
individual points, but you can affect them using Vector Paint features such as smoothing and wiggling. The wiggling
of a stroke is created by manipulating and displacing these points along the stroke path.
Vector Paint strokes are nondestructive, so painting and erasing actions affect only the appearances on a layer; they
don’t alter the original source file of any image on the layer. All paint strokes are recorded and stored as they are
drawn, so you can make the strokes appear in various sequences, such as animated over time or all at once.
For animated strokes, the exact timing (real time) you used to draw the strokes can be played back and rendered. You
can adjust the playback speed to fit the timing you want. You can also create new strokes by blending existing strokes,
both in space and in time.
Vector Paint supports the Wacom and Creation Station tablets’ pressure-stylus and erase functions.
Note: The Vector Paint options menu contains some unique commands and settings that are otherwise unavailable.
Open this menu by clicking the Vector Paint toolbar options button when a Vector Paint painting tool is selected.