If the effect can use a matte layer, it will have a Matte parameter when you expand its parameters list. In the Timeline view, an effect must be rigged as the child of the drawing layer or group it is meant to affect. The colours and details in the matte layer are ignored by the effect, only its shape is taken in account. The effect takes the shape of the drawing in the matte layer to determine the area of the drawing it affects. Even if the matte's shape bleeds outside of the drawing's outlines, the shadow will only be applied within the drawing's outlines.Ī matte layer is simply a regular drawing layer that is connected to an effect as its matte. Once combined with a matte layer, the Tone effect will use the matte's shape to apply a shadow to the drawing. Alone, the Tone effect has no impact on the drawing it is connected to. A good example of this is the Tone effect, which is used to add a shadow of a given shape to a layer. Some effects need to be linked to another layer, referred to as a matte layer, which is used to define the area they should affect. This gives you flexibility in deciding which elements of your scene are affected by an effect. Effects only alter the element that they are connected to. For an effect layer to work, it must be connected as the child of a drawing, a group, or another effect. Effects change the way layers or groups of layers are rendered in your scene.Įffects are special types of layers that you can add to your scene's structure.

When creating a scene, rigging a character or once your animation is finished, you can add effects such as blurs, glows, shadows, colour filters and transparency filters and to enhance your project's quality.

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