Animated Brushes

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Vagabond
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:44 pm
Location: Connecticut
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Animated Brushes

Post by Vagabond »

If you change the stroke width or color in the timeline a keyframe is created but not if you change brushes. This would be one way to have an animated brush. I checked these postings and it seems I'm not the only one interested in animated brushes.
viewtopic.php?p=58851&highlight=animate+brush#58851

viewtopic.php?p=61786&highlight=animate+brush#61786

viewtopic.php?t=1887&postdays=0&postord ... h&start=45

While searching the topic I thought of copying a shape and renaming each copy so I could choose it in the style panel. Then each shape would have a different brush applied so I can control stroke change/speed/orientation by switching from shape to shape.

A lot of work and it would take a lot of shapes and brushes to make a fluid movement.

Then I made a scatter brush of animated strokes "blowing in the breeze" (about 12 frames worth) but when I tried using the brush in a new file the strokes started off the size I wanted then by the 12th frame it grew to the size I drew it in the original scatterbrush file. Not a good look for hair.

Hmmm. So I humbly request either
an animatable brush or
a script to automatically create shapes for a predetermined set of brushes or
a scripted scatterbrush that keeps geometry the size it's set at instead of the size iit was drawn.

I wasn't sure whether to post this in feature request or in scripting. But I doubt this will be done until I learn how to script. So come on Agent Smith Micro. We need more tools to finish the Matrix!
Vagabond
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:44 pm
Location: Connecticut
Contact:

Post by Vagabond »

OK. I also wish we could set soft edge shapes to be solid on edges that have a stroke applied that way shapes could start with the solid stroke color then the fill with a soft edeg effect could make it look like the color is smeared in one direction. There is no way to get that effect without masking one side of a soft edge shape.

The soft edge and gradient effects could have a check box saying "center on stroked edge" That would be very helpful!
Vagabond
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:44 pm
Location: Connecticut
Contact:

Post by Vagabond »

Oh. and I wish that I could apply a script to a layer that turns all the shapes of that layer into "little layers."
Meaning... when I choose the select shape tool I get a drop down for every shape I click on. That drop down menu will control the fill and stroke effects and the opacity and blur and vector noise and shading and shadow. And if I select points it will list the shapes that use that point.
Vagabond
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:44 pm
Location: Connecticut
Contact:

Post by Vagabond »

AND I would like the option to create a new "populated bone layer" (PBone in the drop down) This would create a bone layer with two vector layers inside it. A "PSwitch" layer would have vector layers inside it too.

PLUS if I select multiple layers then choose create BONE or GROUP or SWITCH then the selected layers will be moved to inside the newly created layer.
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