Beyond Keyframes: Your Journey into After Effects Scripting (and Expressions!) Are you a motion designer looking to elevate your craft, automate tedious tasks, and create animations that seem magically complex? If so, diving into After Effects expressions and scripting is your next big leap. I know, the word “code” can be daunting, but think of…

Script Preset Manager for After Effects: The Ultimate Script & Extension Installer If you’ve ever managed multiple scripts, ScriptUI panels, and extensions for Adobe After Effects, you know the pain of navigating directories, copying files, and ensuring compatibility across different AE versions. The Script Preset Manager—an advanced After Effects script—solves all these headaches with an…

Script Launcher is a fully responsive and customizable ScriptUI panel for Adobe After Effects, designed to streamline your workflow by letting you launch your favorite scripts with a single click. Whether you’re a motion designer, VFX artist, or AE power user, this panel automatically detects .js, .jsx, and .jsxbin files in its dedicated Scripts folder…

This After Effects script thoroughly cleans your project by automatically removing all expressions from every layer and property within your compositions. It recursively scans through property groups, ensuring that even nested expressions are eliminated. With built-in error handling and detailed logging, the script not only reports the total number of expressions removed but also provides…

This script automates the process of creating multiple compositions in After Effects from a single template. Each line of text that you input will become its own composition. The script first validates that your project is open and then displays a user-friendly dialog for you to enter your text. It then searches your project for…

This script automates many of the repetitive tasks involved in creating transitions and setting up a composition, letting you focus on adjusting creative parameters as needed. Usage: To use the script, follow these steps:

When working with Adobe After Effects, you may need to identify property names for specific elements within a layer. This can be a crucial step in scripting and automation. The following script provides a way to recursively walk through the property chain of selected layer(s) and outputs the match names and display names directly to…

Here is a function to convert any shape path into a bezier path. Make sure that you selected the sub path under contents. Manually Convert Parametric Shapes into a Bezier Path In this short guide, I’ll demonstrate how to effortlessly transform any Parametric Shape into a Bezier Path within Adobe After Effects. Step 1: Choose…

This script sorts all layers in a composition by their Z position, moving them into order based on their depth in 3D space. It does the following:

When working with Adobe After Effects, you may sometimes need to resize a composition to match the bounding box of selected layers and center them within the resized composition. Performing this manually can be time-consuming, especially in projects with multiple layers. This script automates the entire process, making your workflow much more efficient. Script Overview…

Tracking motion in Adobe After Effects is an essential skill for visual effects artists, compositors, and motion designers. While After Effects offers built-in tracking tools, they often struggle with complex shots or incomplete tracking data. This is where ReTrack 2 comes in—a powerful motion tracking and editing plugin designed to rebuild, refine, and enhance existing…

Place a shape or an image on your composition. Convert it into 3D Layer. Click T to open its opacity property. Alt-Click on Stop-Watch icon to enable expressions. Delete and paste the following expression in this field. Now add two Expression Controls: Both should be Slider Control. You can add Expression Controls from: Effect –…

Create a New Shape Layer Add a Path to the Shape Layer Add Expression Controls for Custom ParametersYou’ll need to create several controls to tweak the organic line’s behavior with noise. Change the “Length” to increase or decrease the overall size of your line.Modify “Points” to add more or fewer vertices, which will affect how…

Step 1: Create a New Shape Layer Open your After Effects composition.Create a new Shape Layer by navigating to:Layer > New > Shape Layer. Step 2: Add a Path to the Shape Layer With your Shape Layer selected, click the “Add” button (next to Contents in the Timeline) and choose “Path”.This adds a default path…

Step 1: Create a New Shape Layer In your After Effects composition, create a new shape layer (Layer > New > Shape Layer).In the shape layer, add a “Path” property (for example, by adding a “Shape” → “Path” under Contents). Step 2: Add Slider ControlsTo control the spiral, add the following slider effects to your…

Create any shape layer. Go to contents and expand. Delete the current shape (Ellipse and etc.) Click on the little right arrow icon next to Add. Click Path. Now expand path by clicking down arrow icon. Alt-Click on time-watch icon to create an expression. Copy and Paste the following code. Now we need to add…

Today we’re going to build an expression-driven arc stroke. Start with creating any kind of shape. For example ellipse. Now go to your shape layer and expand the contents. You can delete the Ellipse 1 path. Right next to Contents, you should see an Add option with a right arrow next to it. Now click…

Adobe After Effects Expression Controls Adobe After Effects is a powerful tool for creating motion graphics and visual effects. One of the advanced features of After Effects is the use of expressions, which allow you to create sophisticated animations and effects using code. Expression Controls are special effect controls that let you create custom user…

Optimizing Adobe After Effects for better performance can save time and improve your workflow. Here are some tips and techniques: Here’s an in-depth guide to boosting After Effects performance—ideal for motion designers looking to work faster, smoother, and more efficiently. 🚀 1. Upgrade Your Hardware Setup a) CPU & Multi‑Frame RenderingEnable “Multi‑Frame Rendering” (in Edit…

After Effects plugins and scripts can significantly enhance your workflow and creativity. Here are some resources and popular options: These tools can help you achieve stunning visual effects, streamline repetitive tasks, and unlock new creative possibilities. Let me know if you’d like recommendations for a specific type of plugin or script!

After Effects expressions are snippets of JavaScript code that allow you to create dynamic animations and automate tasks within Adobe After Effects. They can be applied to properties like position, scale, rotation, and more, enabling you to achieve effects that would otherwise require extensive keyframing. Here are some popular expressions:

Bring your motion graphics to life with dynamic text effects and presets in After Effects! This section dives into everything from eye-catching animations and kinetic typography to subtle text reveals and complex transformations. Learn how to customize built-in presets, create your own unique text animations, and efficiently apply these effects across your projects. Whether you’re…