How to have a set of elements follow a path in a clip?

General
1

Wondering if there’s something simple I’m missing or if this should be turned into a feature request…

For example: Let’s say I have a line I’ve turned into a line of lines with the grid feature (say 6 lines across). I want to be able to make those lines follow a path like a snake. So for example the end of the right-most line moves around an infinity-loop path and the other lines follow it (rather than the whole set of 6 lines moving like they’re all fixed to a bar).

I’ve found a sort-of workaround with the trim feature where if the timing with the movement is correct it looks like elements are moving but this only works in a few simple path cases.

Is there currently a way to do this, & how?
If there’s not, could this be added to the feature request list?
Thanks!

2

Hi Ian,

Unless I’m missing something, you should be able to do this with the Trimmer, along with the Trails.

The “Loop” setting in the trimmer makes a smooth loop around a closed path object.

Then set the trails node to make an “echo” type effect to create multiple lines following the path.

Let me know if you need more explanation or if there’s something I’m missing and I’ll make a video to demonstrate.

Seb

3

Thank you! That does create the effect I’m looking for, so I think my next question is how can I do that on more complex shapes other than the standard line/circle/polygon generators? Say I want a custom path for it to follow, would I have to create an SVG of the path & upload it that way? Will this method still work with an SVG path?
And/or is there a way to create a custom path/shape/drawing directly in the clip editor? Say for example I wanted the effect to trace some letters.

4

Yes the effect should work on SVG shapes that you import. If you want to trace some letters, you can use the Text Creator node. If you want more fonts, you can put them inside your Liberation working folder (on Macs it’s in your home folder under Documents/Liberation/0.6.0/data/resources/fonts ) OTF and TTF should work

Cheers

Seb