Importing (and converting) Illustrator files into After Effects can leave you with some extra stuff that you don’t really need. What is going on there, can lead to creating some interesting effects using EPS Paths.
Once you know what EPS Paths are doing in Ae, you can recreate it to give you a similar effect to the merge paths function.
Here, Workbench’s Joe Clay gives us a better understanding of EPS Paths and a neat track that can have you cutting out and playing with shapes more in After Effects.
Some of the links on lesterbanks are "affiliate links", a link with a special tracking code. This means if you click on an affiliate link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. The price of the item is the same whether it is an affiliate link or not. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will add value to our readers. By using the affiliate links, you are helping support our Website, and we genuinely appreciate your support.