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Importing masks from Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop


    You can import paths from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop and use them in After Effects layers. Using the special path-editing tools available in these applications, you can create a wider variety of shapes for your After Effects masks.

    Path in Adobe Illustrator (left), and that same path imported into an After Effects Layer window as a mask (right)
    Path in Adobe Illustrator (left), and that same path imported into an After Effects Layer window as a mask (right)

To import a path from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop:

  1. Open Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop and create a path. For more information about creating a path in Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop, see the user guide for the application.
  2. Select all of the control points on the path that you want to copy to After Effects.
  3. Choose Edit > Copy.
  4. Open After Effects.
  5. Open the Layer or Composition window into which you want to paste the path, and choose Edit > Paste.
  6. Note: Each path from Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop is imported into After Effects as one mask.