Fix Imperfections using the Paintbrush Tool in Adobe After Effects

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VFX Paintout Tutorial Overview

In this tutorial, we tackle the challenge of removing distracting cracks from a shot of a skate park. The director has requested a seamless, clean surface, and we'll guide you through the process step by step.

Using After Effects and Mocha, we demonstrate how to track the footage, create a clean plate of the concrete, and seamlessly apply it to the original shot.

The tutorial goes beyond just fixing imperfections, showcasing how these skills can be applied as the base for other various shots.

Whether it's removing cracks, adding text, or incorporating additional elements, this tutorial provides valuable techniques to learn while working in post production.

What are VFX paintouts?

VFX paintouts are a visual effects technique used to remove unwanted objects from a scene. There are many different ways of doing paintouts that all call for different techniques depending on the shot.

Why should you learn VFX paintouts?

Learning to remove things from a shot is an amazing tool to have in your skillset. It leaves you open for a wide variety of work not just in one genre of filmmaking.

While large feature films often have paintouts on most shots, there is a large world of Commercial advertising that uses this skill and is highly sought after.

When are VFX Paintouts used?

So when would you need to have something painted out in post production and what types of things get painted out? Well lets look at the example in the tutorial.

We have a shot that production has chosen and either while shooting it or after the fact it has been decided the cracks in the block are too distracting are the shot is now unusable. And this kind of shot can be totally fine up until the client sees it and askes for the change.

So now where are you left? You either have to change the edit to replace that shot with something else, or you go reshoot something better. One of those things could cascade more changes in your edit depending on shot length, music, and color correction, and the other is a much more expensive alternative for a single or even multiple shots.

You can save the whole issue by taking your desired shot and cleaning it up in post, both saving money and keeping the client happy!

What else can VFX Paintouts be used for?

Paintouts aren’t just a tool for making things look pretty and perfect. Paintouts are often the very beginning of a larger shot composite.

Lets say you have a shot that you have to do a lot more compositeing work on and like comping in some CG assets. There’s a good chance tracking markers were used on set to help with tracking.

One of the first steps on that shot would be to create a perfect clean master plate to do the rest of your compositing on.

If you watch till the end of the tutorial I show a couple examples of how completing the act of the paintout in a procedural way will help you complete extra work without having to redo what you have already done.

In this case since you already tracked the shot to stabilize and paintout, you can just put any other images into it and it will be a seamless update.