3D Stroke Effect Tutorial

Iaroslav Kononov

Founder of Motion Design School

In this After Effects tutorial I will prove you that with the help of 3D Stroke effect you can create so much more than just tapered 2D lines.
Also, check my Hyperkey logo animation breakdown on my channel.

3D Stroke in After Effects Tutorial

Step 1: Create a New Composition Open After Effects and create a new composition by going to “Composition” > “New Composition.” Set the desired dimensions, frame rate, and duration for your composition.

Step 2: Create a Shape Layer In the Project panel, click on the “New Composition” button to create a new shape layer. Select the “Rectangle” tool from the toolbar, or press the “Q” key to activate it. Draw a rectangle shape on the composition.

Step 3: Add a Stroke With the shape layer selected, go to the “Add” dropdown menu and choose “Stroke.” This will add a stroke to the shape layer. In the “Paint Style” dropdown menu of the Stroke options, select “On Transparent.” Adjust the stroke color, width, and other settings as desired.

Step 4: Enable 3D for the Layer To make the stroke layer 3D, click on the cube icon located next to the layer name in the timeline panel. This will enable 3D properties for the layer.

Step 5: Position and Animate the Stroke Now, you can position and animate the stroke in 3D space. Select the “Pan Behind” tool (shortcut: “Y”) and click on the anchor point of the shape layer in the Composition panel. Move the anchor point towards the end of the stroke to create a starting point for the animation.

With the layer still selected, press the “P” key to reveal the position property. Create a keyframe at the beginning of the animation, move the timeline indicator to a later point in time, and then adjust the position to animate the stroke’s movement.

Step 6: Add Camera and Lights (Optional) To enhance the 3D effect, you can add a camera and lights to the composition. Go to “Layer” > “New” > “Camera” to create a camera layer. Adjust the camera settings and position it in 3D space.

Similarly, you can add light layers by going to “Layer” > “New” > “Light.” Adjust the light settings and position them as needed.

Step 7: Preview and Render Finally, preview your animation by pressing the spacebar or using the RAM Preview function to see how the 3D stroke looks. If you’re satisfied with the result, you can render the composition by going to “Composition” > “Add to Render Queue.” Adjust the render settings and output format, then click on the “Render” button.

That’s it! You’ve created a basic 3D stroke effect in After Effects. Remember, this tutorial covers the fundamentals, and you can explore further by adding additional effects, modifying keyframes, or experimenting with different settings to achieve the desired look.