Editing and animating shape paths and masks

Scott Squires provides a pair of movies that show how to rotoscope, both painting and masking:

• www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_scottsquiresrotoscope1

• www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_scottsquiresrotoscope2

Alejandro Pérez provides a script on the AE Enhancers forum with which you can use tracking data to position individual mask vertices: www.adobe.com/go/learn_ae_alejandrotrackmaskvertices.

• View mask paths and shapes
• Select shape paths, shapes, and shape groups
• Select masks, segments, and vertices
• Lock or unlock masks
• Duplicate a shape group while transforming
• Move vertices in free-transform mode
• Convert a path between manual Bezier and RotoBezier
• Modify a Bezier mask path or shape path
• Change a mask path numerically
• Designate the first vertex for a Bezier path
• Animate a mask path with Smart Mask Interpolation
• Move a mask or pan a layer behind a mask
• Apply motion blur to a mask

 community help (adobe.com)