Here’s another animation that takes advantage of the simplicity of expressions. On the layer you want the animation to occur on (such as a circle shape layer), press Alt then click on the scale properties and paste the Squash and Stretch code. Afterward, press Alt, click on the position property and then type in the Wiggle expression. Don’t forget also to zoom in to compensate for the black areas which may appear as the position changes over time.Īnother interesting expression is one that is used to create a continuous squash and stretch animation, perfect for adding some emphasis to something as simple as bullet points or plain text.

To accomplish this, select all the times in the composition, right click, then press the Pre-Compose button to group all the layers in the comp. The next technique is useful for adding camera movement to shots that seem a bit too static, such as a cloning shot wherein the camera had to be put on a tripod for easier compositing. Copy and paste the Bounce code, and you will end up with a simple yet appealing animation. Afterward, press Alt then click on the stopwatch, which will open up the expression editor. First, animate the scale/position of your layer to your liking using the keyframes. The first trick is useful for making a move-in animation seem more dynamic and smooth (and give it a nice ‘bouncing’ effect). Luckily for you, Jordy Vandeput from show us five really easy animations in Adobe After Effects, all with the use of expressions. For instance, rather than having to manually animate a circle to rotate randomly, you could use a simple line of code to have the computer do that for you.īy understanding this powerful feature, you can further unleash the capabilities of After Effects to enhance your visual effects workflow. If you’re new to using Adobe After Effects, you may or may not have heard of this useful feature called an expression, which essentially consists of a few lines of code (based on JavaScript) that you can use within the program to automate certain animations.

Smooth wiggle expression after effects