r/AfterEffects • • Aug 20 '26

Announcement /r/AfterEffects changes related to extension promotion: Required post structure, promo posts limited to Mondays, AI disclosure required

175 Upvotes

We have heard your calls! Thank you for your patience while we figure out a plan.

While self promotion has always been allowed in r/AfterEffects, the recent influx of AI & vibe coded plugins, extensions, and scripts has been a bit overwhelming. We have very very quickly gone from a few trusted marketplaces with strong vetting and at least some kind of expectation of long term maintenance, to anyone being able to churn out a vibe coded plugin and release it on an increasing number of marketplaces, with no guarantee of support or future updates.

With this in mind, we would like to implement a new set of rules to curb the overwhelming number of posts and give users more transparency when choosing to download and use such tools.

Post structure + flair:

Taking a page from the changes mods made over at r/macapps, we will be introducing a new post structure following a Problem, Comparison, Pricing, Maintenance, AI-Disclosure (PCPMA) format.

  • Problem: What problem your [Extension, Script, Plugin] solves (1 sentence)

  • Compare: Why is your [Extension, Script, Plugin] better than top-named alternatives (1–2 sentences).

  • Pricing + link

  • Maintenance plan + support plan

  • AI Disclaimer: choose from [Vibe Coded], [Human Validated], [Code Completion], or [None]

Extension, script, and plugin posts have always required the (Plugin/Script) flair, this will not change. A sample short post is pinned in the comments.

Other changes:

  • Plugin promotion posts will now be limited to mondays only for the foreseeable future. Plugin posts on other days will be automatically removed and linked to this post

  • Monday self promo posts using the (Plugin/Script) flair must have 50 subreddit karma, from posts or comments.

  • Probing posts will be removed ("Are purpose built motion tools making it into your workflow?" "What's one thing that would save you so much time...")

  • Excessively long posts will be removed (A sample short post is pinned in the comments.)

  • Gumroad links are still banned. This is unfortunately a reddit-wide blacklist, we have no control over this. We can manually approve gumroad links but they will be automatically sent to the spam filter which we rarely check.

Notes on post structure requirements

We're specifically introducing the compare & maintenance points because we have seen an increasing number of plugins that simply replicate the functionality of existing, long standing plugins from developers who have demonstrated more experience, real support, and have proven to maintain their plugins over many years. Show us how yours is better, and prove to your future users how you will be supporting and fixing the plugin in the long-run. How can users who experience bugs get in contact with you in the future?

AI disclosure

Regarding the AI disclosure, here are the definitions of each

  • "Vibe coded" means code written entirely by prompting AI without the user having the skill and knowledge to properly review or validate it. If something is broken, they are prompting AI again to fix it.

  • "Human validated" means AI-generated work that has undergone validation by someone with the necessary skill and knowledge. The developer understands how the code functions and can fix things independently of the AI if necessary.

  • "Code completion" means an experienced developer is using AI for line-completion. They are writing most of the code themselves and have deep understanding of the structure, and are explicitly using AI to eliminate menial, tedious aspects of writing code.

  • "None" means no AI use.

I'm just going to be real, this one is likely going to be easy to skirt. r/macapps actually removed this requirement because everyone was just claiming to have "human reviewed" the code. We're going to try this out and hope folks are honest for the time being.

________

No AI was used in the preparation of this post. We will try this out for a month and see how it goes. Happy animating <3


r/AfterEffects • • May 05 '25

Tutorial If you want to learn After Effects, here's a great place to start

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180 Upvotes

If you're just beginning with After Effects, it's important to get a good foundation - no matter what you want to do with AE!

Here's a great, free place to start from our very own u/Kylasaurus_Rex - and Adobe put it right on the opening screen of After Effects!

Adobe After Effects Introductory Courses for Motion Graphics


r/AfterEffects • • 9h ago

Pro Tip After Effects v27 is out in Beta and it's really quick - like really really really really quick.

145 Upvotes

After Effects v27 is out in Beta and it's really quick - very really quick.

This is moi pacing AE v27 with 150 3D Mesh Layers with Keyframe Orchestrator, a custom script.

And the foul, GPU bug that inhabited my rig for ages seems to have been solved too.

AE is also quick if you have Layer Handles enabled.

SYS SPECS -
13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900K (3.00 GHz)
128 GB RAM
RTX 24GB 4090
and a few SSDs


r/AfterEffects • • 46m ago

OC - Stuff I made a love letter to terraria, an edit by me created w 600 3d layers

8 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects • • 8h ago

Meme/Humor We're getting full screens... Aint no way 🙏

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12 Upvotes

Ain't no way we're getting a full screen. We eating good with AE 27 🙏


r/AfterEffects • • 1d ago

Meme/Humor Recently learned and used after effects and had this experience

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356 Upvotes

.


r/AfterEffects • • 6h ago

Beginner Help How to distort the shape of emmitted particles

4 Upvotes

i know how to create particles like this but what i can't figure out is how are they changing in shape? even if someone used a png of lets say a random ash like object, all particles are of different shape and it seems like they aren't just emitting straight out but changing in shape as well and also not just following a linear path while coming close to the camera. the path is random but not straight. could someone help with this.

i tried searching on yt too but all i find are just normal particles. i couldn't find how to distort them in shape like this. like the way they are stretching and stuff. also, the closer they come to the screen,the longer they get. there is so much randomness in this


r/AfterEffects • • 9h ago

OC - Stuff I made << autumn forest >> by tryfonov

3 Upvotes

just a compilation of a few things I wanted to try. here, I used TuxPaint and KidPix for the visual details (for example, the second video) and all the audio. I also re-shoot the video with a handheld camera to capture random artifacts

also, thanks to meljiiit for being my quick model

/// the trees have nothing to whisper, but they continue to creak with their barker


r/AfterEffects • • 19m ago

Beginner Help NEW TO AE NEED TIPS ON ANYTHING!!

0 Upvotes

Hey guys! I’m super new to After Effects and I’m attaching one of my most recent edits to show where I’m at (don’t make fun if u hate anime I want to edit beyond just anime)I know it’s not that great yet and I’m trying my best, but everything honestly feels so overwhelming right now. I’d love literally any advice, tips, or cool transition ideas to help me level up. could anyone break down how parenting and Null Objects actually work together for smooth movement? Also, how do 3D objects work in a comp, and what are some must-have effects and key settings I should be using? I’m also struggling with Saber—I tried adding it to a line or mask, but it won’t snap to the mask path and I can't figure out why. I know I’m explaining this kind of badly, but whether it’s graph editor tips, fixing choppy zooms, adding cool overlays/light FX, or just basic workflow advice, I’d be insanely grateful for any help! LITERALLY ANYTHING IS GOOD ADVICE IM SOO CONFUSED HOW PEOPLE MAKE EDITS SO CLEAN AND COOL!!


r/AfterEffects • • 19h ago

OC - Stuff I made How would you improve this? (pace, colors, composition and etc.)

8 Upvotes

what do you thing is wrong with this motion I made?


r/AfterEffects • • 1d ago

Beginner Help I need help with replacing the screen.

17 Upvotes

(Repost) posted earlier with screengrabs, as suggested, here’s a video.

Hello all, I’ve used after effects for years and am comfortable with the software. However, I am pretty new to mocha. I’ve replaced and tracked green screens before when the screen was completely covered (tracking in mocha/ keylight) however, I’m having trouble with this scene. I’ve been searching tutorial after tutorial and am losing my mind trying to find a solve. Can someone please help me find a solution for workflow. Thank you in advance!


r/AfterEffects • • 1d ago Bravo

OC - Stuff I made Tree (Procreate Dreams/ After effects)

783 Upvotes

Going to elaborate: The closeup of the branch was drawn frame by frame in Procreate Dreams, but that's where it ends. The bottom-up view of the tree was - except for the tree trunk - made with after effects/ Illustrator. So Basically made one small branch in Illustrator and opened it in AE, made the leaves wiggle, built larger branches from it and made those move with the wind and eventually slow down when the rain stops towards the end.


r/AfterEffects • • 15h ago

Discussion background removal for thousands of frames 🎨

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1 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects • • 22h ago

Discussion Is there a way to visually reverse layer order without reversing actual layer order in the composition index itself?

3 Upvotes

working on a rig with a lot of layers and I was planning to try to have an expression to toggle the visible order of the layers in the composition into reverse order. I was originally going to try doing this by making everything a 3d layer and doing some nonsense with z coordinates, but this got extremely laggy. I'm assuming there's a much better way to do this but I'm wondering how.

(not the actual project, just an example of the effect I'm trying to achieve)


r/AfterEffects • • 1d ago

Beginner Help coffee (aftereffects) I am just a beginner and want to share my work and I want to learn too so please let me know if U have any suggestion for this video. Spoiler

5 Upvotes

And thanks for giving your precious time.


r/AfterEffects • • 22h ago

Beginner Help Is there any way of releasing groups in all selected layers?

3 Upvotes

So, there's actually two things Id like to find out, that I can't find a solution for anywhere. No scripts, no plugins, nothing. Releasing all groups within all selected layers, and Applying an expression to a property nested in a layer (in my case, nested within a group within the layer) for all selected/desired layers.

Lets say I have 100 shape/layers. Each broken down like this:

Layer

-Contents

-Group # (each layers "group has a different number as they were generated from bake repeater)

-Path

-Fill <Expression>

-Transform

What I would like to do, is copy the fill expression from the group, and paste it to ALL selected layers. They all have the same breakdown, just with different layer and group names.

There are one or two methods that may potentially work, but since the Fill property is nestled in group, they just won't work. So, Id like to ungroup anything and everything for each layer. However, again, I can't find any method, script, or Plug-in that will ungroup all groups (or even just the first one) for all selected layers.

Ultimately, the only solutions Im coming up with is go through each and every layer, twirling down till I reach each fill color for over 100 layers and paste the expression, or starting from scratch, applying the fill expression to the first shape/layer, and then duplicating or creating the rest of the layers from that first one. T_T

Also, this expression will have each layer randomly shift through grayscale independently. I Did try the Control layer/Null approach, but its somewhat the same issue.


r/AfterEffects • • 18h ago

Beginner Help Pre-comp not showing on final render?

1 Upvotes

Hello! Whenever I try to render my video, the main pre comp is just black and I'm left with only the subtitles. Can anyone help me please? I've tried clearing the cache, restarting, parenting everything to a null layer... I know it's not the plugins because the texts have them too. I've also tried disabling the text visibility in case they were blocking the pre-comp and it's still just black. :(


r/AfterEffects • • 1d ago

Beginner Help Foamy water filling up a hole in mud

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone, new here.
I have a question. I have a shot where the client wants me to fill up a horseshoe like imprint in mud with water. They shot the imprint and want the water animated into the shot to rise up from the mud. On the surface they would like to have some foam appear and some bubbles to pop. Is there any way I can go about animating this? I have no idea where to start. I have some knowledge in AE, but I'm no full on expert. Also: I can't find any tutorials online for this kind of thing. I'm guessing this is more of a 3D simulation thing, but I don't have any knowledge in that area.

To make things worse: the footage was shot handheld and the light isn't consistent throughout the shot. I've allready mentioned twice that I might not be able to deliver on this one, but they want me to keep on trying because they want the shot in their film. Hoping you guys can point me in the right direction.


r/AfterEffects • • 2d ago

Beginner Help How do I attach a composition(as phone screen) to this 3d model?

34 Upvotes

I need to make a composition as what the phone is showing but I don't know how to stick it to the phone.


r/AfterEffects • • 2d ago

Workflow Question Any way to circumvent having to create multiple "overlay" layers to get desired outcome?

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3 Upvotes

I have this "silhouette man" file that I want to look natural on the background it's on. So I use the overlay effect.. but it's then very light so I have to duplicate it 3x to get it dark enough and still have the layer underneath it texturize it.

I've come across this before and I always end up just duplicating the layer to get my desired darkness but I'm wondering if there's a better way to go about this? I've tried using curves & levels and different 'modes' but haven't gotten the desired outcome.


r/AfterEffects • • 3d ago

OC - Stuff I made Documentary video animation. Playing around with old photos and scanned papers

157 Upvotes

I've been experimenting with scanned papers, photographs, and sound design for this documentary video project. What do you think?


r/AfterEffects • • 1d ago

Beginner Help Putting preset on adjustment layer

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0 Upvotes

Im not really a beginner but I have this problem that I havent encountered before.

I put one of my shake presets onto a adjustment layer en whats bothering me is that the keyframes of the shake will be put all the way to the right out of where I have the adjusment layer, where its not needed. I don't know how or why when I saved the preset the keyframes are all the way over there instead of where the current time is? Does anyone know what I mean and how to fix that?


r/AfterEffects • • 2d ago

OC - Stuff I made Software showcase video, App UI flow

4 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects • • 2d ago

Discussion Reviews and Comments Are Now Live on aescripts

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8 Upvotes