After Effects creates a new composition named Starscape that contains the seven star shapes; the
new composition replaces the layers in the Background composition. You can continue to edit
the star layers by opening the Starscape composition, but precomposing the layers keeps the
Timeline panel organized.
12. Choose File > Save to save your work so far.Creating custom shapes
You can use the five shape tools to create a wide variety of shapes. However, the real power in
using shape layers is that you can draw any shape and manipulate it in a myriad of ways.
Drawing a shape with the Pen tool
You’ll use the Pen tool to draw a shape that resembles the bottom of a flowerpot. You’ll also
animate its color so that the flowerpot is dark at the beginning of the scene, but gets lighter as the
sky lightens.
1. Make sure no layers are selected in the Timeline panel, and then go to 1:10.
2. Select the Pen tool ( ) in the Tools panel.
3. In the Composition panel, click an initial vertex, and add three more to draw a shape that
resembles the bottom of a flowerpot, as in the illustration. Click again in the initial vertex to
close the shape.