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prancibald
prancibald
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Problems working with layers when importing multi-layered Illustrator file.

Apr 23, 2012 9:18 AM

Pardon the beginner-ness, but I'm very new to AE and have been trying to solve this problem for a day.

 

So I've got a file where I'm working with a bunch of tiny red dots from Illustrator. I put them all on their own layer so I could keyframe them individually. I've been struggling to get the setup right. I managed to import the file as a composition and retaining layer sizes. When I got into AE, I noticed it nested all the dots together. When I opened up that nested comp, I found all my individual layers, but I can't do anything with them. The layers in the timeline all have a blue bar (which I've never seen) and I can't zoom out the time ruler beyond 1 frame. Everything is just stuck there.

 

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Here's a pic of my AE window.

 

Screen Shot 2012-04-23 at 10.17.18 AM.png

 

Thanks for the help    

2705 Views   3 Replies   Latest reply: Dave LaRonde, Apr 23, 2012 10:28 AM
 
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  • Mylenium
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    1. Mylenium,
    Apr 23, 2012 9:49 AM   in reply to prancibald
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    Well, they are just 1 frame long! You imported it as an image sequence...

     

    Mylenium

     
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  • prancibald
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    2. prancibald,
    Apr 23, 2012 10:06 AM   in reply to Mylenium
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    Ha! Yeah I'm too new. What would have been the right way to import it?

     
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  • Dave LaRonde
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    3. Dave LaRonde,
    Apr 23, 2012 10:28 AM   in reply to prancibald
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    Actually, you did import it properly, as a comp.  Now you need to change your comp's duration in the comp settings, and extend layer out-points after that. 

     

    But there's something else:  if you're really new, you need to know that it's virtually impossible to get AE to do what you want it to do without a good knowledge of the basics.  If you're trying to use it intuitively, or you're going by some high-school kid's tutorials on youtube, you're headed for a boatload of trouble and frustration.

     

    You'll find excellent resources for the beginner here, from the folks who created the software or who are real AE Pros: people you can trust, y'know?  This stuff really will help, and it's worth every minute of your time investment.

     
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