# vector drawing tools Quite often you will be bringing in elements from other programs, such as Photoshop or Illustrator or even 3D modeling programs. After Effects is where you composite the different elements into an animated sequence. There are some decent built-in tools for creating elements directly in After Effects. ## what is vector? Vector is a combination of points and lines… fill this section in. Additional links from my [[! vector drawing resources|Vector Illustration class]]. ![[vector vs raster#^bbz8cy]] ## basic vector shapes These tools are used to draw vector shapes. Although a limited set of options, most of the basics are covered. ![[Pasted image 20221011101424.png]] Once you place a shape on your Comp, it will appear as an object layer in the Timeline. You can open up the different settings to adjust everything from the Stroke outline and Fill color as well as opacity, blending modes, and transforms. The image below shows all the options for a basic Polygon. ![[Pasted image 20221011102246.png]] All the items with a little stopwatch icon can be animated over time. This means you can make the Polygon change size, opacity, rotation, even the number of points/sides. Pretty cool. You can make some quick edits by selecting the object in the Comp and moving, rotating, etc. There are additional options in the top menu for changing colors quickly. ![[Pasted image 20221011103250.png]] ## pen tool and bezier curves The Pen tool allows you to draw custom freeform vector shapes as well as modify existing vector shapes. To edit a vector shape, first right-click on the shape and select **Convert to Bezier Curve**. ![[Pasted image 20221011103648.png]] The Pen tool is quite powerful but can also be confusing to learn. Although this note is from my [[! vector drawing resources|Vector Illustration class focusing on Adobe Illustrator]], this breakdown still applies: ![[drawing tools#PEN TOOL]] --- Learn more… - [overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics from adobe help](https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/overview-shape-layers-paths-vector.html) --- tags: #aftereffects #resources home: [[! after effects]]