Re: Making an after effects layer thick?

I'm sure there are better ways but what I've done to make a layer thicker in z-space is to add duplicate layers behind it and then parent them to your original layer.

Something to keep in mind when doing this...

If the video you want to add thickness to is a shape you can easily recreate as a solid (ie. a rectangle) I wouldn't duplicate the actual video layer numerous times, but would create a solid layer that same size and position it exactly 1 pixel behind in z-space... then duplicate this solid layer and move each copy back 1 pixel.

If the element you wish to add thickness to is a shape that is difficult to duplicate or that actually changes shape (like a keyed out figure) then you might have to duplicate the actually source layer a number of times.

Some things I've done in a similar situation was to insert keyed out footage of a person... duplicated that layer once and moved it back in z-space... added a white fill to the duplicated layer... added a simple choker with a negative number to the duplicated layer, this gives the appearance of a white border to my actor making it look like a cartoon child's pop up book... then I duplicate this filled layer a number of times moving each one further back in z-space... finally I parent all the duplicated layers to the original layer and make them shy.

Hope this helps.

Mark Fogarty
Media Missionary
Muddy River Media
www.MuddyRiverMedia.org