3 Uncommon Tricks Every After Effects User Should Know
corpacer / / Adobe After Effects Categories / July 5, 2022
3 Uncommon Tricks Every After Effects User Should Know
BY MIHAI SESSA
When you start learning Adobe After Effects, you tend to look for basic stuff. However, after you master them, you want to jump directly to the cool stuff. There is nothing wrong with doing so, but some of the tricks, methods, or features get lost along the way in this process. You might not think you need them until you learn what they can do.
There are a lot of tricks and ways to do things out there that make it impossible to cover all of them in one single article. Therefore, here are 7 uncommon tricks every After Effects user should know:
1. Math + Multiply the resolution
Have you ever wondered how to move an object a specific number of pixels, how to multiply the resolution of your composition by 2, or how to move the timeline cursor to exactly 14 pixels?
This is very possible and easy to do inside After Effects! This works with any parameter’s numerical value. There can be any type of mathematical operation: divide, multiply, add, and more.
Here are some examples:
After you press ok, the timeline cursor will move exactly 14 frames forward in time.
If you type in after the initial value +500, the layer will move 500 pixels forward. This way, you can set it to 4K faster, and you don’t have to know the exact values.
2. Copy With Property Links
As one of the many uncommon tricks every After Effects user should know, Copy with Property Links enables you to modify properties for many layers at the same time. This allows you to make quick adjustments when working with many similar layers whenever the need arises.
Instead of the normal copy shortcut, the shortcut for Copy with Property Links is Control + Alt + C (for Windows) or Command + Option + C (for macOS).
You can also do this by going to Edit and selecting Copy with Property Links. After you select the layers you want to apply it on, use the normal paste shortcut Control + V ( for Windows) or Command + V (for macOS).
I put together some barrels on the floor. I will use them to give you a good example of how this feature works — check the video below and see for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QyuDGPKjkQ
3. Spatial Interpolation – Movement between keyframes
I think this is a problem everyone who started using After Effects ran into. At first, I had no idea what was happening. I asked myself “Why is my object moving between two identical keyframes?”. After some digging, I learned about Spatial Interpolation and how to set it correctly so it won’t bother me anymore.
If you have this problem, simply select your keyframes, right-click on one of them and go to Spatial Interpolation. A new window with Temporal Interpolation, Spatial Interpolation, and Roving will pop up. Here, you have different modes for each of these settings and also a small description for each of them. All you have to do is to set Spatial Interpolation to Linear and press OK.
This setting is meant for shaping the path of the motion; this way, you can create curved movement paths with ease. To do so, drag one of the small handle sticks, just like you would do with a mask when you want to curve it. To make it work, you have to set Spatial Interpolation to Bezier.
Another way to solve this issue is to go to > Preferences in the General section and check the box for Default Spatial Interpolation to Linear.
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BY MIHAI SESSA
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