Hi, I'm getting into studying the things that can be done with paths. I've read all the posts on the synthetik.com blog site about them. I'm getting lost in a couple of places.
at:
http://www.synthetik.com/tips/2008/08/what-to-do-with-bezier-paths/comment-page-1/
there is this:
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Or the paint synthesizer can use the individual bezier paths as internal keyframes that are interpolated over time in an animation or while drawing.
bezier path shape interpolation example
When used with the region Fill as Brush pen mode this provides a way to generate a dynamic brush shape from the interpolating animation of the individual bezier paths.
bezier brush shape interpolation example
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But it doesn't really say HOW to do it. I am particularly interested in the bezier path shapes as internal keyframes that are interpolated over time, as in the first movie example there, the one that looks like swimming jelly fish. I know how to record a path and have it saved in a paint preset, but I can't figure out how to make those paths do the interpolating animation, and the blog posts I have found don't say exactly how to accomplish it. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! - Thor Johnson
Replies
Well, there are different approaches.
You can use bezier context action steps in a PASeq. If they are keyframed, then they will interpolate their internal stored bezier paths over time between keyframes. The bezier context action step sets up the bezier path frame for the associated layer. So then you could use Path commands to paint with the contents of the bezier path frame.
The paint synth also has an associated internal bezier path frame. So that is stored in the actual paint preset. And a paint action step that uses the internal bezier path frame can also be key-framed in a PASeq. So that's another way to do it.
I probably have the animating jellyfish preset you mentioned around somewhere, so let me look for that and then i can post it for you if you don't have it.
Here's a Dual Mode Paint preset that does the swimming jelly fish animation. It's using time particles for the multiple 'jelly fish'. Each jelly fish is based on interpolating through a set of bezier paths over time that are stored in the internal bezier path frame in the paint synth part of the preset. If you draw with the pen while in paint synth op mode you can see it cycle interpolate through the various bezier paths stored in the internal bezier path frame.
The Dual Mode Paint preset is attached below.
The complete jelly fish is drawn with one bezier path. So it's kind of sloppy, and was just meant as an example to show off the Cycle Interpolate Internal Path Memory1 option for the Path Type in the Path Shape control panel.
jellyFishBezInterpEx2.zip