Skip navigation
420jammer
420jammer
Currently Being Moderated

Anchor Point Issue

Sep 13, 2012 10:14 AM

I'm looking to have an achor point in the middle of an image for all frames leading up to one point, then have the anchor point switch to a different point, and then finally have the anchor point switch back.  I tried doing this with keyframes on the anchor point, but the problem is that when I move the anchor point in a second keyframe (the first keyframe having the original anchor point position), the position of the image changes when I go back to frames before the second keyframe. 

 

In other words:

I'm trying to move the anchor point without affecting the position of the image for this particular animation.  Animating the anchor point seems to affect the position of the image.  What can I do?  Keyframe the position to stay still? Is there a better way?

453 Views   4 Replies   Latest reply: 420jammer, Sep 14, 2012 9:25 PM
 
Replies
  • 420jammer
    Currently Being Moderated
    1. 420jammer,
    Sep 13, 2012 10:49 AM   in reply to 420jammer
    Report

    Okay, so I made a workaround by duplicating the layer and changing the anchor point, but this seems like kind of a weird workaround, and I feel like somehow probably knows a better way.

     

    p.s. Do you guys ever have moments working with AE where you are like, "This program rocks."?

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Rick Gerard
    Currently Being Moderated
    2. Rick Gerard,
    Sep 13, 2012 11:01 AM   in reply to 420jammer
    Report

    The first question I have is why do you want to do that?

    If you're doing a rotation or scale around the anchor point and you want to change the axis as the animation proceeds then I could possibly understand, but this is kind of a wonky workflow to me.

     

    Be that as it may, try adding this expression to your position value:

    apAdjust = anchorPoint  - [width, height]/2;
value + apAdjust

     

    Changing the anchor point will now now not change the position of the layer. This will work for 3D and 2D layers.

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Mylenium
    Currently Being Moderated
    3. Mylenium,
    Sep 13, 2012 11:03 PM   in reply to 420jammer
    Report

    What Rick said. It's a pretty atrocious workflow. You better learn the fine art of building hierarchies using parenting for this kind of stuff...

     

    Mylenium

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • 420jammer
    Currently Being Moderated
    4. 420jammer,
    Sep 14, 2012 9:25 PM   in reply to Mylenium
    Report

    Can you be more specific please, Mylenium?  I'm interested in creating as clean workflows as possible, so this could be a learning opportunity for me. 

     

    Thank you Mr. Gerard for the expression. 

     
    |
    Mark as:
Actions

More Like This

  • Retrieving data ...

Bookmarked By (0)

Answers + Points = Status

  • 10 points awarded for Correct Answers
  • 5 points awarded for Helpful Answers
  • 10,000+ points
  • 1,001-10,000 points
  • 501-1,000 points
  • 5-500 points