PRESERVING PHOTOSHOP LAYERS IN MOTION

Preserving Photoshop Layers in Motion
By Steve Martin

There are several ways you can import a Photoshop File into your Motion project and preserve your layers.

1. Drag the file directly into the Canvas from the Finder or File Browser. When your mouse is inside the Canvas you will be presented with a drop palette giving you several options.

The first option, Import Merged Layers, is the default and flattens the Photoshop file. This is the option you don’t want if you intend on animating the individual layers in Motion.

The second option, Import All Layers, will give you access to all your Photoshop layers. After importing, you can view your layers as objects in Motion by pressing F5 on you keyboard to reveal the Layers tab.

You are also presented with an option to import individual layers of your Photoshop document. This is helpful for example, if you wanted to work with just a logo or text layer without having to deal with layers you won’t be using anyway.

There is a second method of importing your layered Photoshop files.

2. Choose “Import” from the file menu or press Command-I on your keyboard. An import dialog will appear giving you the same options you saw in the Canvas drop palette. Just choose an option from the drop down menu.

That’s all there is to it. It’s nice to know Motion gives you so much flexibility when working with Photoshop graphics.