How to apply effect to an image layer?

[Jdingers]

Hello all,

I'm very new to using AE, having been a digital designer for years now I'm trying to add AE to my arsenal of skills so this question is probably ridiculous to most of you.

Currently I have a PSD file open in AE consisting of 2 layers, one of which is an image of water and the top layer a boat sat on that water, I've tried to apply a subtle ripple to the water. I've dropped the effect onto the water layer and adjusted it all to make the ripple as I want it but my issue is the effect covers the image layer I want to apply the effect to with a grey fill? So I can see the boat on the top layer sat on a grey fill with the ripple effect under it and I've searched tutorials and unable to find what I'm sure is a simple answer to this?

Any help would be fantastic, I'm sure it's just me missing something entirely.

Thanks!

[Mylenium]

Show us screenshots of the comp and your timeline with the effect settings. Distortion effects normally don't change the appearance of the colors, so something specific is going on here.

Mylenium

[Jdingers]

Thanks for the reply guys, screenshot as below. I'm I'm trying to apply the ripple effect onto the water layer but it's just appearing as a grey area below the model shot.

[Szalam · Accepted solution]

Wave World only makes greyscale maps. It is intended to be used to drive other effects. You could use it to drive Displacement Map or Caustics. Probably Caustics, but I don't really know what you're trying to do.

There are other effects (like Ripple) that might do more what you want.

[Dave_LaRonde]

Ah.  New to AE.  Well, the application's used a lot but the most charitable thing you can say about how it works is....

well, "strangely".

i.e. you really have to know the basics or you'll get lost so fast it'll make your head spin.

I STRONGLY recommend that you get some basic training so you learn the weirdness and quirks of AE:

After Effects tutorials | Learn how to use After Effects CC

I can pretty much guarantee that at some point in the training you'll think to yourself, "Now why on God's Green Earth did they make it work like THAT?  That's crazy!"

And the only adequate answer is,  "well, that's the way it's always been one."  And that's why learning the basics is so valuable.  You lear to accept the weirdness.