Whiteboard Video Scribe Animation - Bezier Path
In this tutorial, we will continue to build a simple whiteboard video in MotionR. The next step is to draw the Bezier path that is the basis of the animation.
You will be drawing a Bezier path that will control the movement of the hand. A duplicate of this Bezier path will be used to create the mask that will hide the graphic that is being drawn on the screen and reveal it as the arm passes over. Because the mask is created from a duplicate of the Bezier path that the hand will follow, the result is a simulation of the hand drawing on the screen.
Before we draw the Bezier path, we need to adjust the anchor point of the Hand graphic. Be default, Motion puts the anchor point in the center of the graphic. But this anchor point will be what follows the path. We don't want the center of the arm to draw on the screen. We want the tip of the pencil to draw on the screen. Let's fix this.
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Copyright 2018 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe, Photoshop, Photoshop Album, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Acrobat, Cue, Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements, Bridge, After Effects, InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash, ActionScript, Fireworks, Contribute, Captivate, Flash Catalyst and Flash Paper is/are either [a] registered trademark[s] or a trademark[s] of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
You will be drawing a Bezier path that will control the movement of the hand. A duplicate of this Bezier path will be used to create the mask that will hide the graphic that is being drawn on the screen and reveal it as the arm passes over. Because the mask is created from a duplicate of the Bezier path that the hand will follow, the result is a simulation of the hand drawing on the screen.
Before we draw the Bezier path, we need to adjust the anchor point of the Hand graphic. Be default, Motion puts the anchor point in the center of the graphic. But this anchor point will be what follows the path. We don't want the center of the arm to draw on the screen. We want the tip of the pencil to draw on the screen. Let's fix this.
- Select the Hand graphic and then select the Anchor Point tool. Use the Red and Blue arrows to place the anchor point over the tip of the pencil.
Now we get to that good part.
- Select the Hand graphic layer and then select the Bezier tool. Place the first Bezier point over the tip of the pencil. Next, move over to the Logo and draw a zig zag path over the Logo. Finally, go back to the Hand and add the last point. Do not close the path.
- To tell Motion that you are finished drawing the Bezier path, select the Select/Transform tool. You will get a new Bezier layer in the Layers pane. Drag this new layer under the Hand layer and rename it "Bezier_Logo" because this is the Bezier path for drawing the logo image.
Now that we have the Bezier path, we can add the Motion Path behavior to the Hand graphic. This behavior is what will cause the hand to animate. But we want the hand to follow the Bezier_Logo path. So we will tell Motion to use the Bezier_Logo path for this Motion Path behavior.
- To add the behavior to the Hand graphic, select the Hand graphic layer in the Layers pane. From the Behaviors menu at the lower right, choose Motion Path. You will see a new Motion Path layer added below the Hand layer.
- Select the Motion Path layer and go to the Inspector (Inspector - Behaviors - Motion Path). Set the Path Shape menu to Geometry. Uncheck the Attach to Shape option. Go back to the Bezier_Logo layer in the Layers pane and click/drag over to the Shape Source well. When you see the small arrow, release your mouse.
With the Playhead still on the first frame, test the animation. If the pencil doesn't directly follow the path, make adjustments to the anchor point at the tip of the pencil as needed.
Does the hand seem to draw a little to slowly for a whiteboard animation? Well, we can speed it up by shortening the Motion Path and Bezier_Logo tracks in the Timeline.
- Go to the Timeline and find the purple colored Motion Path track. Drag the right edge to the path track to the left until it is at the two second position on the Timeline (02:00). Repeat this for the Bezier_Logo track.
← Back | Next →
Tutorial Example:
Apple, Motion, iBooks Author, GarageBand, TextEdit, Pages, iMovie and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
BellaOnline is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Screenshots used by permission.
Copyright 2018 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe, Photoshop, Photoshop Album, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Acrobat, Cue, Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements, Bridge, After Effects, InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash, ActionScript, Fireworks, Contribute, Captivate, Flash Catalyst and Flash Paper is/are either [a] registered trademark[s] or a trademark[s] of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
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