Draw a shape
- Choose the Rectangle (R) or the Ellipse (E) from the rail down the left of the Stage.
- In its Tool options, set the Fill, Stroke and Stroke width for the next shape, and for a rectangle its Corner radius.
- Drag on the Stage. Hold Shift to keep it square or round.
Each shape is a layer with a clip, like text or footage. Its Inspector has Size and Corner radius for a rectangle, and its fill, stroke and transform.
The Pen
Choose the Pen (G). Its Tool options has Draws: a Shape, with the fill and stroke you set, or a Path that layers can follow.
- Click for a corner, and drag for a curve.
- Click the first point to close the shape.
- Double-click to finish an open line.
- Esc cancels, then returns to Select.
A rectangle or ellipse can become a Pen shape too: right-click it and choose Convert to path, then edit it point by point.
Edit points
Double-click a shape or Path to edit its points. Drag a point or a handle to reshape it, and double-click a point to switch it between a corner and a smooth curve. Right-click for Copy Path and Paste Path, which copy a whole outline from one shape to another, and Exit Path Editing when you're done.
Key the Path property to animate the outline itself. Keys between outlines with the same number of points blend from one shape to the next.
Fill and stroke
- Fill and Stroke
- Each is Solid, Linear or Radial. A gradient shows a bar of colour stops you can move.
- Stroke width
- The outline's thickness in pixels.
- Dash pattern and Dash offset
- A dashed outline, and how far along the dashes start. Key the offset to make the dashes march.
- Line cap, Line join, Miter limit
- How the ends and corners of the outline are drawn.
- Shape shadow
- A shadow with its own colour, opacity, offset and blur.
Draw a line on
Path trim start, Path trim end and Path trim offset show part of an outline, from 0 to 1 along its length. To draw an arrow on, key Path trim end from 0 at the start of the move to 1 at its end, and ease the keys with F9. Key Path trim offset with both ends set to make a segment travel around a closed shape.
Group shapes
One shape layer can hold several shapes. In its Inspector, Shape 1 is the original; press Add group member and choose a Rectangle, Rounded rectangle, Ellipse, Line or Path. Each member has its own position, rotation, scale, size, fill and stroke, and the arrows move it toward the front or the base. A group moves, scales and animates as one layer.
Repeat a shape
A collection lays out copies of its members. Its Layout section in the Inspector chooses how:
- Repeat
- Copies of one shape in a Row, a Grid or a Circle. Copies counts the original, Columns sets where a Grid starts a new row, and Face outward turns each copy in a Circle to face out.
- Layouts
- One member per shape, placed in a Row, a Column, a Grid, a Circle, Along a path or Fit to a box.
Ask Ape to make a collection, such as "Make twelve dots in a circle 300 pixels across". A member you change keeps your change; Reset gives it the layout's values again. Break Out, in the Timeline's right-click menu, turns every member into an ordinary clip you can edit on its own.
Paths
A Path is a shape with no fill and its stroke off, drawn with the Pen set to Path. It's there to be followed: select a layer, open Transform's Add menu, and choose Follow path. Turn on Show as stroke to see the Path in the picture too. See Follow a path.
Generate shapes with Python
For a pattern no layout gives, a shape generator draws the copies from Python: a spiral, a sound-reactive ring, a grid that ripples. Select a shape, then in Code choose New code, Operator…, Shape generator. See Generate shapes.