AE41:
Create a new comp-sized solid and apply 3D Stroke. Double-click the layer to bring up the footage window and paint a mask using one of the mask tools. While painting it, if you hold down opt/alt, you can see in the comp window what 3D Stroke does. Then go into 3D Stroke and open the Transform group and twirl open the Y Rotation control. Drag the angle a bit while holding down the opt/alt key to see the stroke rotate around the Y-axis.

New in 2.0

The 2.0 version introduces tapering so that the width of the stroke can taper off at the ends. Another new feature in 2.0 is the loopable offset that makes it easy to move the strokes along their paths. Furthermore the Bend feature has been extended with a Bend Axis parameter so it is no longer limited to the Y-axis. Lastly, a Fade Start control in the Camera group has been added so the strokes can fade out into the distance.

Main controls

Path selects which mask to extract the path from. Use All Paths - if this checkbox is set, the paths from all masks in the layer are stroked. Stroke Sequentially - this checkbox only works if Use All Paths above is checked. If checked, it means that the Start and End sliders below will affect the paths sequentially. This is handy for a "text reveal" effect. Color sets color for the stroke. Thickness sets thickness of the stroke. See also: very thin lines. Feather sets softness of the stroke edges. Start sets where on the path(s) the stroke starts. End sets where on the path(s) the stroke ends. Offset provides an offset for both Start and End above so that the stroke can slide on its path. Loop - if checked, the stroke will re-enter the path when it is slided past the end. Negative values for Offset can be used to reveal/hide the stroke when Loop is on.

Taper

Compress to fit On Compress to fit Off

Enable turns tapering on and off. Compress to fit - if this checkbox is set, the tapered stroke is compressed to fit inside the Start and End sliders (from Main Controls). This option does not work with Stroke Sequentially. Start Thickness sets thickness of the start of the stroke. End Thickness sets thickness of the end of the stroke. Taper Start controls where on the stroke tapering begins on the "Start" side. Taper End controls where on the stroke tapering begins on the "End" side. Start Shape controls the shape of the tapering on the "Start" side. End Shape controls the shape of the tapering on the "End" side. Step Adjust Method - this pop-up presents two alternatives for how the step size should be handled when using tapering: None means step size is fixed. Dynamic means the step size is adjusted dynamically along the tapered stroke.

Bend = 0.0 Bend = 0.4 Bend = 1.0 Bend = 2.0

Bend - bends the path around the Bend Axis. At 1.0 the path will form a half circle. At 2.0 it will become a full circle. It can be set even further up to 100. Bend Axis sets the axis for bending. Bend Around Center offsets the stroke so that the center for rotation is the same as center for bend. Warning: At low bend settings this will offset the stroke a lot. When bend is zero this checkbox has no effect. XY Position sets the position of the stroke center in the XY-plane. Z Position sets the position of the stroke center in the Z direction. X,Y,Z Rotation sets the strokes rotation about the X,Y and Z axis. Order sets in which order the rotation and translation should happen. The default is Rotate, Translate which is useful when syncronizing with a 3D layer. The other setting, Translate, Rotate is useful when it is desired to offset the rotation center of the stroke. AE5 users, see also: Use transform of null-object

Repeater

Enable turns the repeater on and off. Symmetric Doubler makes two symmetric repetitions of the strokes. Instances sets the number of repetitions. Opacity sets the percentage of Internal Opacity that should remain for each repetition. Scale sets the scaling for each repetition. Factor affects the Displacement and Rotation below. This is used to create exponential growth or decay for each repetition. A value larger than 1 will create growth and smaller than 1 will create decay. X,Y,Z Displace sets the displacement in respective direction for each instance. X,Y,Z Rotate sets the rotation about respective axis for each instance.

Repeater Off	Repeater On - Symmetry Off	Symmetry On

Advanced

Step normal Step high Internal Opacity = 100 Internal Opacity = 5 Sat Boost = 0 Sat Boost = 100 Hue Rotation = 0 Hue Rotation = -100 Bright Boost = 0 Bright Boost = 30

Adjust Step - The stroke is made up of a number of filled circles, this setting adjusts the step length between the circles. The step is calculated using the stroke Thickness and Feather settings and the value you set here is what percent of the calculated step length to actually use. This setting should normally stay at 100, but in special situations it can be altered to produce a better result. For example, if you encounter a situation when the circles of the stroke begin to appear, try decreasing this parameter a little. Exact Step Match Checking this box will make 3D Stroke calculate the lenght of the stroke and then try and find a step size so that the last circle is drawn exactly on the endpoint of the path. This is will remove endpoint flickering that can appear with animated paths. Internal Opacity sets the opacity of the circles. Try setting this down a lot for a more volymetric or defocused feel. It can also be used to increase feathering if set down a little. Low Alpha Sat Boost This will boost saturation in the areas of low alpha. In order for this to have any effect, the Color parameter should have a desaturated color and either Feather has to be close to 100 or Internal Opacity has to be low. Low Alpha Hue Rotation This will change the hue in areas of low alpha. In order for this to have any effect, either Feather has to be close to 100 or Internal Opacity has to be low. Hi Alpha Bright Boost This will boost brightness in areas of high alpha. This setting looks best if either Feather is close to 100 or Internal Opacity is low. Animated Path - Use Layer Time when checked, the paths animate normally. When unchecked, the paths do not animate unless the Path Time below is animated. Path Time sets the time for the path. This is useful for example when you have an animated path that takes on a number of shapes and you whish to switch/morph between them freely.

Comp Camera - check this to use the Comp Camera (AE5 only). View - selects view. There is the Camera view and there are six ortho views: Front, Left, Top, Back, Right and Bottom. The ortho views were mainly supplied for AE5 users to use when the Comp View is set to one of the ortho views. Z Clip Front sets the clipping plane close to the camera. Z Clip Back sets the clipping plane far away from the camera. Clipping planes can be used to make simple object intertwinings and intersections. Always remember that they are in view space, which means that one must take care when moving the camera. Clipping can be inspected in the ortho views. Start Fade by setting a value lower than Z Clip Back, the strokes will fade out in opacity from this position, reaching zero opacity at Z Clip Back. Auto Orient - when checked the camera always points to the center regardless of the camera position. However, the Rotation parameters will still have effect so the camera can be made to always look at a point, for example, 30 degrees left of the center. Normally, one should leave the Rotation parameters at zero when using Auto Orientation. The center is defined as: X=half the width of the layer, Y=half the height of the layer, Z=0. Auto Orient is useful for maintaining the object in center during a fly-by. XY Position sets the camera position in the XY-plane. Z Position sets the camera position in the Z direction. Zoom sets the camera zoom. The zoom indirectly sets the Field of View of the camera. X,Y,Z Rotation sets camera rotation around X,Y and Z axis.

Motion Blur

Motion Blur is a pop-up with the choices: On, Comp Settings and Off. On means motion blur is on, no matter the comp settings. Shutter angle and phase are set below. Comp Settings means the comp settings for motion blur are used. This is the default and recommended. Shutter angle and phase are taken from the compostion settings. Off means motion blur is not used. Shutter Angle sets how long time the shutter stays open to capture one frame. 360 means it's open the entire time of the frame. 180 means it is open half the time of a frame. Shutter Phase sets when the shutter opens. 0 means at start of frame. AE5: If set negative and the plug uses the comp camera the camera layer needs to start one frame before the layer to which 3D Stroke is applied. Levels sets at how many points in time the image should be sampled. If movement is very fast, this should be high to make smooth images. If movement is slow, this should be set low (or motion blur should be turned off) to reduce render time. This setting can be keyframed for optimal performance.

Opacity & Transfer Mode

Opacity sets how opaque the stroke should be. Transfer Mode sets the transfer mode for the plug-in. This can be used when stacking many 3D Stroke plugs in one layer. Leave the first at None and the rest switch to (for example) Normal.

AE5: Use transform of null-object

Sometimes it is very handy to make 3D Stroke use the transform of a 3D null-object or a 3D layer. This is done using expressions. Enable expressions for all parameters under the Transform group. Then grab the small spiral symbols (the "pickwhip") and drag them to corresponding parameters in a null or layer as described in the image to the left. Notice that XY Position is dragged to the Position parameter name, but Z Position is dragged to the actual Z-coordinate to the right. Also make sure that Order is set to Rotate, Translate It is possible to use the orientation values instead.