Gradient Path plug-in
Gradient Path wraps a gradient around a path (Bezier mask). You can use Gradient Path to create color effects around masks, custom glow effects, custom grayscale maps, backgrounds based on mask shapes, and much more.
Gradient Path plug-in.
Path pop-up
Lets you select the path that Gradient Path will use. The path must be on the same layer that the plug-in is applied to. The path has no limits on number of points and can be open or closed, although some features work differently if the path is open.
TIP: For more flexibility, you can create paths in Illustrator or Photoshop and paste them onto your After Effects layer.
Output View pop-up
There are three Output View modes.
Rendering Style pop-up
The three Rendering Style modes affect how the gradient is drawn on its layer.
Left to right, On Black, On Clear, On Image.
Line Rendering group
This group sets the properties of how the gradient affixes itself to the linear path.
Line Rendering> Line Width
Sets how thick the gradient renders, which affects how the gradient handles sharp corners. With a thicker line, the corners tend to become more rounded. Actually, the corners are always rounded, but it's less noticeable with a thinner Line Widts.
Left to right, Width at 30 and 300.
Line Rendering> End Point Style pop-up
Gives two rendering styles for the terminating points of an open path. This only affects open ended paths (paths whose first and last points don't meet), and does not apply to closed paths.
Left to right, Flat and Round.
Line Rendering> Falloff
Sets how much the gradient's overall transparency falls off along the outer edge. Falloff is different than just setting a gradient color's opacity, as it affects the whole gradient and can cross over colors if you set it high enough. It's basically like feathering the edge of the gradient, allowing it to blend into the background or original image better.
You can set Falloff high enough that it fades out the entire gradient, which gives more control than fading with the final Color Dot's Opacity. On the other hand, using a Color's Opacity can be a more precise method of determining exactly where you want the gradient to be transparent or opaque.
Line Rendering> Repeats
Specifies the number of times the gradient repeats itself. There is no limit to this number, except a practical limit based on the Line Width. You can only fit so many repetitions within a given width. The Repeat Style pop-up sets the method by which the gradient repeats.
Line Rendering> Repeat Style pop-up
You can repeat the gradient as many times as you want creating a sort of 'wood grain' pattern. There are two options.
Left to right, the Repeating gradient, Repeat at 1, Repeat at 2, and Repeat at 8.
Left to right, the Repeating gradient, Reflect at 2, and Reflect at 8.
Line Rendering> Gradient Offset
Moves the whole gradient backward or forward, allowing you to transpose where the colors are. You can shift the entire gradient by using Offset, instead of moving its color individually with the Color Dots.
The colors will wrap as you move them off the outside or inside edge; if a color goes off the outside edge, it willl reappear on the inside edge. This can create 1970's style cycling animations.
Line Rendering> Wrap Gradient Around checkbox
When turned on, this checkbox blends the first and last Color Dot together for you. It's sometimes helpful to make sure the first and last colors are not 0 or 100, respectively. If you set the last color to a value like 98 or 95, you will often get a smoother transition when the gradient repeats.
When turned off, there is no blending between the first and last colors. This can cause a hard aliased edge where the gradient repeats.
Line Rendering> Gradient Mode pop-up
Specifies whether the gradient rendes along the inside or outside of the path. By default, the gradient is rendered inside and outside of the path, creating a sort of reflection as the gradient passes over where the actual path is.
This applies only to closed paths (paths with no opening). The control has no effect on open paths, for which both sides of the gradient are always rendere, regardless of whether it's rendered outwards or inwards.
Left to right, Outside Only and Inside Only.
Gradient Color Dots group
This group gives up to 10 colors to make your gradient colors. Each color is defined by a section containing four controls: Use Color checkbox, Position slider, the Color Chip and Transparency slider. By default only the top three colors are used to generate the gradient. Colors can be turned on, turned off, changed or animated by adjusting the Color Dot controls.
Gradient Color Dots group
Gradient Color Dots> Activate checkbox
When you select one of these boxes, the color below the box is turned on or off. If the color is turned on, the color is blended with the colors in front and behind it. If it's turned off, the colors in front and behind are blended to remove it. The exact effect this will have is determined by where the associated color is located in the gradient.
How to position colors in the gradient is discussed in the Position section of this manual. You can animate turning the color on/off, however it will not smoothly transition. It abruptly changes from one to the other, much like flipping a light switch
Gradient Color Dots> Color swatch
Colors are deternined by the Color boxes (Color 1, Color 2). You can change the color by clicking on the Color chip. Alternately, use its Eye-dropper tool to select a color from anywhere on your screen. Colors can be animated and will smoothly blend from one color to the next.
Gradient Color Dots> Gradient Position
Sets where the Color lies along the gradient, measured in percentage, which determines its effect. The Color Position slider is a simple way of setting up a gradient. Since Position can be animated, it also gives you a precisce way to control the look of the gradient.
The default position of the three colors that are initially active create the default gradient shown below. Red has a Position of 0, Yellow has a Position of 40, and Blue has a Position of 95. Since Yellow is at 40%, it's in the middle of the gradient, getting blended with Red and Blue.
A Color's Position can be in any order. Color 1 could be the last color in the gradient, Color 6 could be the middle color, and Color 3 could be the first. In the following example, notice that Color 1 is in the middle, Color 2 is last, Color 3 is NOT used, and Color 4 is the first color in the gradient. As you can see, it makes no difference how your colors are arranged.
There are a variety of configurations the colors can take. For example, Position does not need to start and end at 0% and 100%. If the first color starts at 25%, then the first 25% of the gradient will be a solid color. Only after 25% will the color start blending with the other colors in the gradient.
Gradient Color Dots> Opacity
Sets the transparency of a Color. Each Color has its own transparency setting so transparency can vary throughout the gradient. If you want a gradient to show another image behind it, set Transparency to 100%. The surrounding colors will blend in both color and transparency.
The Transparency setting will affect your alpha channel if nothing is behind the layer that Gradient is applied to. If you are going to take the gradient to a different application for compositing, you should not save out a transparent gradient to a PICT sequence or QuickTime movie. Instead, save out the gradient with no transparency, and then save out the alpha channel seperately, which you can use as a matte. If you save out the gradient and alpha channel seperately, the alpha produces a result that looks exactly like what we had in AE originally. You want the pure color to be transparent, not a color that's been blended already.
Original Blend Transfer pop-up
Use the Transfer Modes to composite the gradient with the layer it is applied to. Do not confuse these with the Transfer Modes in After Effects' Timeline. The built-in Gradient modes will only affect the blending between the gradient and its underlying image. It will have no effect on how the Gradient layer interacts with other layers in your composition.
Composite with Original
Blends the gradient with the underlying image that it’s been applied to. Use the Transfer Mode pop-up to determine how they blend.