Some effects or animation needs to have a specific vertex order in After Effects. More specifically where the first vertex is. Anytime you draw something on a computer, behind the scenes, the application will keep track of the order for how each point was placed.
Easily set the first vertex of masks or paths in After Effects.
This is true of all programs from 2D vectors to 3D shapes. Performing some operations may require you to edit the first vertex in order to have that operation behave the way you like.
After Effects is no different. Certainly, you can edit the first vertex using the Ae menu system, but it is a command that is a few levels deep.
So if you find yourself needed to alter the first vertex order in a mask or path frequently, you might want to have a look at the First Vertex Toolkit script, from Cody Sorgenfrey, and aescripts+aeplugins.
First Vertex Toolkit offers a panel that makes it easy to set the vertex order of any mask or path in After Effects. It has three different modes that will allow you to randomize the starting point, reverse it, or choose the closest point.
First Vertex Toolkit is under the “name your own price” point at aescripts. Learn more about the First Vertex Toolkit script here.
