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Penpal

  • Compatibility After Effects
    Please check exact version compatibility under the "COMPATIBILITY" tab below

Author: Steve Kirby

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Price:
$40.00
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Quick Overview

Penpal enables new ways to edit paths, points and tangents previously impossible with After Effects’ native tools.

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What is it?

Penpal is your new, friendly path-editing assistant.

Adjusting path points and tangents in After Effects has always been a frustrating experience when compared to the power and ease-of-use of dedicated vector tools like Illustrator. In native After Effects, you can't

  • flip a path shape exactly from one side to another
  • align a point to the position of another point
  • see the actual values that lie behind where those points are
  • copy a tangent and paste it to another point
  • move points precisely along their layer’s X or Y axis if that layer has been rotated…

With Penpal , you can easily do all this, and much more. In fact, it has over 40 functions, and can do a few things that even Illustrator can’t.

Penpal is a collaboration between renderTom and Steve Kirby

How does it work?

Penpal utilises HTML wizardry to display a representation of your paths in it’s panel. Load paths from selected layers into Penpal by clicking the reload button at the top-left, or double-clicking anywhere in the canvas space below.

It’s here that you can select the elements you want to work with by either dragging a marquee over them, or shift-clicking on them one-by-one. You can select whole paths, and the individual points and tangents that construct those paths. Selected points and tangents are indicated with a filled icon just like you’re used to from Adobe applications, while unselected ones are stroked and empty.

Click on any of the three tabs at the top of the panel to see Penpal's function buttons that are associated with that element - paths, points and tangents. As you do so Penpal also highlights that element blue, so you always know what you’re doing with just a quick glance.

Penpal is localized for Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish

What else do I need to know?

Penpal has a feature we call Spaces, which is incredibly useful, and here’s an example why:

If your path is inside a shape group that’s rotated, or a layer that’s rotated, or just parented to a layer that’s rotated, you can’t edit the path in AE’s composition panel with any kind of useful snapping.

With Penpal, you can switch to Local space and see the path as it really is, without any rotation, and more importantly - you can use Penpal's functions to edit the path in this ‘true’ space. It’s a bit like having your shapes in Precomps or external files - you can go inside and see it’s original state. But unlike using precomps or external files, it’s a live path property that you can keyframe and adjust right there in your timeline, seeing how it ends up looking in the Composition panel at the same time.

This tutorial video is available with Chinese subtitles, here.

Trial mode

Penpal has a free trial mode which will only load paths with 10 points or less, and functions for 10 days. If you purchase a license, you can enter the license code and use Penpal without restriction.

Penpal is compatible with After Effects CC2018 and later
After Effects 2020, CC 2019, CC 2018

1.2.0  (Current version)  -  Nov 29, 2020

Added support for Simplified Chinese

1.1.0  -  Sep 7, 2020

Added:
- Small indicators on UI buttons that have unveiling items.
- Use Backspace key to remove path(s) or to zero tangent(s).
- New function buttons: "Path: Center Vertically" and "Path: Center Horizontally"
- Option in the context menu to solo selected paths in the canvas.
- Better experience when working with multiple shapes.
- Interface translated into Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish languages.
Changed:
- "Tangents: Match angle" now makes selected tangents opposite rather than equal to their point’s other tangent angle.
Fixed:
- "Paths: Center" and "Paths: Flip" functions now ignore the two open segments of open paths.
- Modifier keys in the tooltip to open/close shapes for "Paths: Toggle open/close" and "Points: Toggle open/close at index".

1.0  -  May 18, 2020

Initial Release
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