How to reveal 3 masks with Stroke in After Effects

Question

How to reveal this image with Stroke Effect in a single image layer?

1. I created 3 masks using Pen Tool
2. For each mask , I added a Stroke effect and animated everything.
3. In Stroke effect the settings, I switched Paint Style to Reveal original image

The problem is that I can reveal only one mask, and for two or more, nothing happens. How to animate each mask individually on one single layer using Stroke Effect?

Thank you.

Answer 1

If I understand this correctly, your goal is to be able to adjust the stroke effect in one shape and have it applied to every other shape, right?

If so, here's how I'd approach this:

• create your shape layer and add the stroke effect to reveal the image
• Pre-compose the shape layer
• Duplicate the precomp three two times and scale them, so you have three different sizes
• To remain the same thickness of your shapes, you could apply the "min-max" effect and widen the alpha- and colorchannels to make the shape appear thicker.

If you now adjust the stroke-effect of the shape in any of your three precomps, it is applied to every precomp, effectively changing the animation for all the three shapes.