We have 2 related items here today: Ross Plaskow’s Half Cap and LimberTools Faux 3D Cap Expression.
Half Cap
Ross Plaskow is a London animator with some really fun work on his Gum Road page.
Download Half Cap tutorial and file
Here’s a tutorial from Ross about how to create a Half Cap.
LimberTools created an expression based on the Half Cap, called Faux 3D Cap.
Inspired by Ross Plaskow's beautifully simple Half Cap, here's an expression-based FAUX 3D CAP.https://t.co/ELubWOwiUq https://t.co/nLfyfm4OCG pic.twitter.com/3t6K1kpPPv
— Limber (@limbertools) September 10, 2019
Want more ideas for Paths in After Effects?
First, we posted this earlier this week: Free Thiic Stroke After Effects Plug-in from Plugin Everything.
Below, a few After Effects stroke tools that you may find useful.

Red Giant Trapcode 3D Stroke
Create glowing shapes and lines, then fly the camera through them
With Trapcode 3D Stroke, your logos, text, and paths take on lives of their own. Lines can glow, taper, and move in complex ways through 3D space, as a built-in camera lets you capture the action from any angle. 3D Stroke is broadcast TV’s secret weapon for animated logos and sophisticated write-on effects.

Digital Film Tools Power Stroke for After Effects
A simple, interactive stroke-based workflow to quickly and intuitively perform targeted adjustments
Instead of meticulously drawing exact masks, using inaccurate matte extractions or hand painting frame to frame, regions of interest are isolated by drawing a few simple and loose After Effects open or closed masks.