Pre-composing (precomping) & nesting:

• Nesting—putting a composition inside another composition

• Precomping—selecting a layer or multiple layers inside an existing composition that you want to contain in another composition (for organizational or complex animation use)

• To Precomp, go to Layer > Precompose (Command+Shift+c)

• When precomping a single layer, you will have two options

• “Leave all Attributes in current comp”: if the layer has any keyframes/effects, they will remain attached to the newly created composition and not be encompassed inside this composition as part of the precomped layer

• “Move all attributes into the new composition”: all keyframes and effects will move into the newly created comp and remain attached to the precomped layer

Collapse transformations:Use the “continuously rasterize” symbol (*) to insure that After Effects continues to display vector layers inside nested comps as continuously rasterized when scaled beyond 100% (if you don’t turn this option on, AE will treat a precomped vector layer as a bitmap and pixelate the edges)

Keeping comps organized:Always name your comps and put them in appropriate folders inside your project window! ALWAYS

Masks:

• To create a mask, make sure you have a layer selected

• Use the geometric tools or your pen tool to apply the mask shape. Note: When using the pen tool, you must make sure to close the path in order for the mask to work.

• Keep your masks organized by naming them (select mask, hit Return and type) and changing the mask color (click in the color box and choose from the color wheel)

• Use mask modes to hide/reveal different areas of the mask (add, subtract, intersect, etc)

• Use the “Inverted” option when combining multiple masks and mask modes

• To change the shape of your mask, you can:

• Use the selection tool to click on individual vector points. Once the vector point is selected, you can click and drag.

• Shift-click on vector points for a multiple-point selection

• Double-click on any vector point to create a transform box around the entire shape

• Select multiple vector points and press Command+t to create a bounding box around your selection

• Note: When adjusting your mask shape, make sure you have at least one point  selected before dragging. If you simply click and drag,  you might be moving the layer itself, not the mask.

• Keyable mask properties (click on the “stop watch” symbol next to each property to begin setting keys):

• Mask Path: adjusts the shape of your mask

• Mask Feather: adjusts the feathering (blurring) of the mask edges

• Mask Opacity: control the opacity of an individual mask area (rather than the opacity of the entire layer)

• Mask Expansion: expand/contract the borders of your mask without changing the Mask Path

• Shape layers are great for creating ambient, background animations

• To create a Shape layer, use the geometry or pen tool without having a layer selected.

• Note: The ancor point of a Shape layer is in the center of the comp, not in the center of the shape you create.

• You can apply multiple shapes to one shape layer (once you create a shape layer, make sure you have it selected before using the geometry/pen tool to create a new shape)

• Note: Having multiple shapes on one shape layer will allow you to apply one set of property keyframes to both shapes, saving you time and creating better layer organization

• Keep your individual shapes organized by renaming (select the shape name, hit “Return” and type)

• Shape layers (similar to Illustrator) have an independently adjustable fill and stroke

• The most powerful way to use a shape layer is to animate “Contents”(not “Transform Properties”):

• You can explore the basic Contents properties and apply animation to any that have the “stop watch” symbol

• Shape layers allow you to apply a wide range of deform effects using the “Add” menu to the right of “Contents”

• You can apply these deform animations to all shapes on the shape layer or to individual shapes

• All shapes: have “Contents” selected when using the “Add” menu

• Individual shapes: have the desired shape selected when using the “Add” menu