Shape Layers

A shape layer is a drawn primitive — rectangle, ellipse, polygon, or star. It’s the most common layer type and the basis for anything you’ll style, animate, or fill with an image or video.

Create one from the toolbar’s Shape icon: click to drop it at default size, Shift-click to fill the comp, or activate the shape tool and click in the viewport to place one where you clicked. Each shape type has its own parameters in the Properties Panel — corner radius on rectangles, sides on polygons, inner radius on stars. You can also add a new Shape Layer by right-clicking (New > Shape > Rectangle) an empty area in the Viewport or Timeline.