Vector drawing is an incredibly important tool in Alight Motion. By mastering it, you can create custom shapes, design unique animations, and elevate your overall editing workflow. When you open the vector drawing interface, you will see a variety of specialized tools.
Part 1: Navigating the Core Interface and Creating Shapes
The primary drawing canvas includes a control area used to move the on-screen cursor. Wherever you position the tracking arrow, you can tap the plus icon to add a point. The point is always added exactly at the anchor location of the cursor arrow. By systematically moving the cursor and tapping the plus icon, you can place sequential points to map out a rough shape.
While a shape may look complete after placing several points, the initial points are not structurally connected to one another. To bridge them together, use the connection tool. Selecting this option instantly closes the path and joins the first and last points of your custom shape.
Grouping is an essential workflow step if you want to keep your project organized. While you can technically create individual shape layers and group them manually afterward, Alight Motion allows you to build multiple independent vectors inside a single layer. By returning to the shape menu and selecting “Add Contour,” you can draw entirely new shapes that exist dynamically within the exact same layer. When you close or join an added contour, advanced editing and modification tools automatically unlock.
Part 2: Advanced Vertex Editing and Curve Controls
Once a vector shape is drawn, you can enter the “Edit Points” menu to modify individual vertices. Moving a vertex point up, down, or sideways instantly warps the geometry of the connected lines.
To convert sharp, rigid corners into smooth curves, select a vertex point and toggle the rounding tool. This changes a sharp corner into a curved node controlled by a pair of path handles. Pulling or rotating these handles scales and skews the curvature of your shape.
The application offers multiple handle control modes to modify your curves precisely:
- Symmetric Mode: Moving or scaling one handle automatically rotates and scales the opposing handle identically, keeping the curve uniform.
- Independent Length Mode: Disabling universal controls lets you shorten or lengthen a single handle independently, though both handles still rotate on a shared axis.
- Single Handle Mode: Turning off the linking completely isolates the selected handle line, allowing you to manipulate one side of a vertex curve without affecting the other side at all.
You can also delete any unnecessary vertices entirely by selecting the target point and tapping the vertex deletion tool.
Part 3: Character Masking and Cut-Outs
The vector drawing tool is highly effective for isolating objects or subjects within an image. To cut a subject out from its background, follow these steps:
- Import a PNG or image layer into your project timeline.
- Tap the plus icon and open a new Vector Drawing layer directly on top of the image.
- Trace carefully around the silhouette of the subject, placing vertex points close together. You can utilize the canvas zoom feature to ensure precision along complex edges.
- Once the path is fully closed and connected, return to the main timeline.
- Tap and hold the vector shape layer to select it, then select the underlying image layer simultaneously.
- Choose the “Masking Group” option from the top menu.
This processes a clean cut-out, leaving your subject perfectly isolated on a transparent background while discarding the unwanted environment.
Part 4: Building a Layered Motion Graphic Scene
You can combine vector drawing with keyframes to create a complex, stylized motion graphic landscape.
Step 1: Background and Sky Element Creation
Begin by creating a standard rectangle shape to serve as the background canvas. Open the “Color & Fill” settings and select the gradient tool to blend custom tones together. Next, add a star shape from the default assets menu, change its color to white, and use the “Move & Transform” tool to scale it down. Duplicate this star five to six times, and randomly scatter the duplicate layers across the upper portion of the canvas to simulate a night sky. Group all the star layers together and label the folder.
Step 2: Drawing the Mountain Ranges
Open the vector drawing tool to build layered mountain silhouettes. Map out a broad, sweeping mountain path across the lower half of the screen and connect it. Use the path smoothing tools to soften the peaks so they mimic natural hills. Fill this foreground layer with a solid color. Repeat this process to draw a second and third mountain ridge, making each progressive layer slightly smaller than the last. To build a proper sense of depth, arrange the colors as a gradient: keep the closest foreground mountains light, and make the distant background mountains progressively darker.
Step 3: Animating Clouds and the Moon
Draw an organic cloud shape using a series of smooth vector contours. Once styled, duplicate the cloud layer and use the layer settings to flip it horizontally. To animate the clouds moving across the sky, add a keyframe at the start of your timeline, move to the end of the project, add a second keyframe, and shift the cloud slightly forward. Repeat this process for the second cloud in the opposite direction to establish a dynamic parallax effect. Next, sketch a crescent moon vector, fill it with white, and apply vertical keyframe positioning to make the moon gently rise over the mountain ridge as time progresses.
Step 4: Adding Wind-Blown Grass Elements
To finish the landscape, use the vector tool to draw sharp, organic blades of grass. Close the shape, duplicate it twice, and scatter them slightly to the left and right. Group the grass vectors together, enter the effects menu, and apply a “Gradient Overlay.”
To simulate a realistic swaying motion caused by wind, add a “Bend” or “Wave Warp” effect to the grass group. Set a starting keyframe value of 5 degrees on the angle property, and set a matching keyframe value of -5 degrees at the end of the timeline. Apply a smooth animation curve graph between the keyframes so the oscillation feels fluid. Duplicate this entire grass group, position it on the opposite side of the screen, and flip it horizontally. By layering an additional grass group slightly lower in the layer stack with a tweaked color hue, your multi-layered, fully animated motion graphic scene is complete.
