After Effects opens to display a blank, untitled project.
5. Choose File > Save As > Save As, and then navigate to the
Lessons/Lesson04/Finished_Project folder.
6. Name the project Lesson04_Finished.aep, and then click Save.Creating the composition
Next, you’ll import the background movie and create the composition.
1. Click New Composition From Footage in the Composition panel.
2. Navigate to the Lessons/Lesson04/Assets folder on your hard disk, select the
Background.mov file, and then click Import or Open.After Effects adds the Background.mov file to the Project panel, creates a composition based on
the Background.mov file, and opens the new composition in both the Timeline and Composition
panels.
3. Press the spacebar to preview the background movie. In the scene, night turns to day as the
sky lightens and the colors brighten. Press the spacebar again to stop playback.Adding a shape layer
After Effects includes five shape tools: Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and
Star. When you draw a shape directly in the Composition panel, After Effects adds a new shape
layer to the composition. You can apply stroke and fill settings to a shape, modify its path, and
apply animation presets. Shape attributes are all represented in the Timeline panel, and you can
animate each setting over time.
The same drawing tools can create both shapes and masks. Masks are applied to layers to hide or
reveal areas or as input into effects; shapes have their own layers. When you select a drawing
tool, you can specify whether the tool draws a shape or a mask.
Drawing a shape
You’ll begin by drawing a star.
1. Press the Home key or move the current-time indicator to the beginning of the time ruler.
2. Press F2 or click an empty area in the Timeline panel to make sure no layers are selected.If you draw a shape when a layer is selected, the shape becomes a mask for that layer. If you
draw a shape when no layer is selected, After Effects creates a shape layer.
3. Choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects CC > Preferences >