How to Crop in After Effects

Details (6 min read)

Cropping a layer in Adobe After Effects can be a useful technique for isolating specific elements within your composition, or for hiding certain parts of a layer that you don’t want to be visible.

Here is a way to isolate elements using Mask tools in After Effects:

Open your composition in the Timeline panel, and select the layer that you want to crop.

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Go to the Tools panel on the top side of the screen. This is where you can find a variety of tools for working with layers and elements in After Effects.

Select your mask tool – Rectangle tool or Pen tool. These tools allow you to draw a mask around the area of the layer that you want to keep visible.

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Use the tool to draw a mask around the area that you want to keep in the layer. You can use the mouse to draw the mask, or you can use the Mask Path property in the Timeline panel to modify the shape of the mask by adjusting the path points.

To soften the edges of the mask, you can use the Mask Feather tool in the Tools panel. This tool allows you to adjust the feathering (blending) of the mask edges, which can help to create a more natural, seamless transition between the masked and unmasked areas of the layer.

I hope this instruction is helpful! If you have any other questions or need further assistance, don’t hesitate to ask us.

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