Beginner's Guide to Masking In Adobe After Effects

Click the link below to access millions of creative assets, with unlimited downloads and a commercial license!

This tutorial will demonstrate two commonly used techniques for masking in Adobe After Effects.

0:00 Intro
0:12 Importing assets
1:00 Adding layer masks
3:03 Track matte masks
5:05 Keyframing animation
5:53 Feathering masks
6:20 Colour correction

#AfterEffects #Tutorial #Masking

This video is sponsored by Envato Elements.

⭐️ Master Adobe Illustrator and unleash your creativity!

🤝 Get professional guidance with a 1-2-1 coaching session!

✅ Download unlimited photos, videos, fonts, brushes, music, mockups, icons, templates, UI kits, and much more!

💻 My design tools and studio setup

Some links may be affiliate links for products and platforms that power by business. I make money with these which helps support the channel, so if you do use them, thank you for being awesome!

[natalietuckwell]

An excellent reminder of two masking options (in-layer and shape layer), plus tips on using Gaussian Blur for quick feathering or Lumetri effects to adjust the lighting /colour temperature/curves to make the image and masked video to blend in better. Thank you!

[YunusKeven]

possibly the best tutorial I've watched, you make it so clear.

[designdeity]

I have watched a bunch of videos today trying to get a grasp on masking AND this one made the most sense. Thank you for the tutorial! You're the

[BackPacker]

Excellent tutorial! You simplified everything so well, this video alone solved the dilemmas I was having in After Effects. Masks felt so daunting, yet I see now how useful and fun they are. I feel a lot more confident in After Effects now, thank you so much!!!

[gellayo]

Very good tutorial. Thanks a lot for sharing!

[LovecraftsCatName]

is there any way to have two track matte masks affected by one alpha matter inv of a layer below it?
For example, I'm using a blur layer as a alpha inv, i set up a track matte shape on top of it, is there a way to have one more track matte shape on top of it to also affect the blur layer?

[imbulgen]

Thanks, you are the best! I love envato and use it daily.

[dodgealbert]

Hey YouTube, Dansky's Channel deserves to be verified.

[Hyperdriveuk]

Odd, going over basics and on AE 2023 the shape/mask no longer works with alpha/luma... god dammit. After messing around with it, I find that using a pre-made shape works, but the pen tool drawn shapes don't appear to work at this time. A bug? No clue.

[iLoveTurtlesHaha]

why isn't this working for me? When I click on the pen tool, a Shape layer isn't added and it instead draws over the image layer with a black box around the shape I drew.

[simplysurfing]

How do i draw a shape layer with exact symmetric proportions. Example a butterfly logo. I can draw one half of the butterfly and do you mirror a shape and fuse/weld the ends together ?

I tried using Merge Paths by making 2 shapes on the same layer but hat doesnt work, it doesnt consider each shape on the same layer as separate objects i guess. Then i tried duplicating the same shape layer and giving it a horizontal flip. But theres no way to rasterize/bake them or merge them into 1 path or shape to make a full butterfly shape. I know we can just do a sketch thing....when that style works its fine. What when its a logo and it should be mathematically the same butterfly wing shape and size on both sides....a perfect mirror image.

[PRB]

how Can i distort Video in Inclined or perspective video or TV Screen

[WorldofElsuon]

I need help! I have a tall column of text I want to mask so it scrolls vertically inside a small window. I built this in two different ways. The first way I created the copy was as a live TEXT layer. Most of it was white with a few words highlighted in butterscotch yellow. The minute I mask the text, it turns ALL my text to white—all the highlighted colors go away! The whole column of text is now 100% white. The second way, I exported a tall .png file of the colored text and imported it as a GRAPHIC. Again, I positioned it and animated it on its own layer. Somehow, when I mask that .png file… IT TURNS ALL THE COPY WHITE AGAIN! How the [expletive] does one mask a vertically scrolling column of text with different colored copy!? It doesn’t matter if I build the text as a text layer or import it as a graphic—the text always turns white. So, obviously, I am not as good at Adobe After Effects as I thought I was. I can’t solve this problem. What am I doing wrong? Anybody?

[wolffycatto]

Okay I think this video gave me some idea of how I can mask what I want to mask

[diy_rabbithole]

In your first example, you were moving the interior layer, that's why the mask was moving with it. If you moved the mountain layer, wouldn't it work in the same way as method 2?

Edit: I understand that in the 2nd method, the mask is independent of all layers, but it wasn't really a fair comparison.

Great introduction to both the concepts though, thanks for making it.

[christopherkerhin]

Thank you for the great video, I'm using 2023 so something were slightly different.

[salvatoredisanto]

when i mask its just black.. i dont see the layer underneath plz help

[sikeyimboyleisi]

Just can’t get my head around masks and track mattes :(

Photoshop ile görseldeki seçili alanı transparent yapıp içeriye aktarmak daha mantıklı geliyor😊

[NickGioiaJoya]

When I click on the track matte I don't get those option. I get to layer options.