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Check out these four techniques to precisely position and align graphic elements in your next Adobe After Effects project.
If you’re relatively new to Adobe After Effects then you might not feel completely comfortable with the interface. You can quickly get lost if you don’t know the ins and outs of the program. It can be particularly frustrating if you don’t know how to properly controllayers within the composition panel.
Sergei Prokhnevskiy is a Charlotte, NC based motion graphics designer, an online tutor, an entrepreneur, and Adobe MAX Master Speaker. Sergei is known for his quick and practical After Effects tips and tricks on YouTube, where he generated well over 6 million views on his tutorials. Jun 04, 2019 Looping video in After Effects is a useful way of making a repeating pattern with footage or animation. What’s also helpful about looping is that you don’t need to have several layers or keep copying and pasting a clip to drag it out.
Looping video in After Effects is a useful way of making a repeating pattern with footage or animation. What’s also helpful about looping is that you don’t need to have several layers or keep copying and pasting a clip to drag it out. Using snapping in After Effects isn’t difficult. However, there are a couple of options that we’ll need to cover in order to master the snapping feature in AE. Turning on Snap. To turn on the snapping feature in After Effects, simply click the small button next to the word “snapping” in the top tool bar. Rename selected Layer, Composition.
Perhaps you’re having trouble getting a graphic exactly where you want it. Or maybe you want to alignseveral shape elements with a title, but you just can’t figure it out. Check out the four tips and tricks below to get a better grip on how to use Adobe After Effects.
Understand Anchor Points
All layers have an anchor point, also known as a transformation point or the transformation center. This is an apt name because all of the transformations you perform on a layer are affected in relation to the anchor point’scenter. You can move an anchor point with the Pan Behindtool, or by adjusting the properties of the anchor point in the transform section. The anchor point is often located conveniently at the center of a layer. If it’s not, you can quickly move it there by selecting Layer > Transform > Center Anchor Point in Layer Content.
Manually Position Layers
If you’re working on a project where eyeballing a graphic’s position is insufficient, you can always manuallyposition the layer. To do this, first, choose the layer and then go to Layer > Transform > Position. This will bring up your position dialog box, which allows you to specify exactly where you want your layer to be on both the X and Y axes. Choose the location in a variety of different units, including pixels, inches, millimeters, or a percent of the source or composition. Bring up the position dialogue box with the keyboard shortcut Command+Shift+P.
Use Grids & Guides
While positioningassetsmanually can prove helpful, it can also quickly become cumbersome. If you’re working with multiple assets and you need more precision, you’ll want to harness the power of grids, guides, and rulers. Both grids and guides help you quickly align and snap assets to specific locations. Whether you’re trying to keep your graphics proportional or alignseveral elements, these tools can help. To use grids and guides, go to the Viewdrop-down menu or click on the grids and guides button in the composition panel. Customizegrids and guides in the Preferencespanel.
Align & Distribute Assets
If you aren’t already using the Alignpanel then it’s time to start. The tools in this panel allow you to perfectly positionsingle or multiple layers in After Effects. Quicklyalign a layer to the composition’s horizontal right, left, or center — or vertically to the top, bottom, or center. You can also alignlayers to other layers. This is especially useful when working with multiple text elements that need to be preciselypositioned. In addition to aligning, you also have several options to distribute layers vertically and horizontally.
Positioning layers with snapping
You’ve created and manipulated shapes in a variety of ways. Now you’ll create a checkerboard pattern. Positioning the layers will be easy with the snapping feature in After Effects.
Creating a new composition
After Effects Snapping Grid
This checkerboard background includes multiple layers, so you’ll create a new composition for it.
- Press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS) to create a new composition.
- In the Composition Settings dialog box, name the composition Checkerboard, choose HDTV 1080 24 from the Preset menu, and type 10:00 for Duration. Then click OK.
After Effects opens the new Checkerboard composition in the Timeline and Composition panels. You’ll start by adding two solid layers—the building blocks of the checkerboard background.
- Choose Layer > New > Solid to create a solid layer.
In the Solid Settings dialog box, do the following, and then click OK:
- Name the layer Dark Red.
- Change both the Width and Height to 200 px.
- Choose Square Pixels from the Pixel Aspect Ratio menu.
- Select a dark red color. (We used R=145, G=0, B=0.)
With the Dark Red layer selected in the Timeline panel, press R to display the Rotation property for the layer. Then change the Rotation to 45 degrees.
Select the Selection tool (). Then, in the Composition panel, drag the layer up so that only the bottom half of the diamond appears in the composition.
- Press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac OS) to create another solid layer.
- In the Solid Settings dialog box, name the layer Light Red, and change the color to a light red (we used R=180, G=75, B=75). Then click OK.
After Effects Snapping Not Working
The default width and height for the new solid layer match the settings you used previously, so the Light Red layer has the same dimensions as the Dark Red layer.
With the Light Red layer selected in the Timeline panel, press R to display the Rotation property. Then change the Rotation to 45 degrees.
Snapping layers into position
You’ve created two layers, but they have no relationship to each other in the composition. You’ll use the Snapping option in After Effects to quickly align the layers. When the Snapping option is enabled, the layer feature that is closest to your pointer when you click becomes the snapping feature. As you drag the layer near other layers, features on other layers are highlighted, showing you where the snapping feature would snap if you released the mouse button.
Select Snapping in the options section of the Tools panel, if it’s not already selected.
- Using the Selection tool, select the Light Red layer in the Composition panel.
When you select a layer in the Composition panel, After Effects displays the layer handles and anchor point. You can use any of these points as the snapping feature for a layer.
Click near the corner handle on the left side of the Light Red layer, and drag it near the lower right edge of the Dark Red layer until it snaps into place, with the sides abutted. Be careful not to drag the corner itself, or you’ll resize the layer.
As you drag the layer, a box appears around the left corner handle you selected, indicating that it is the snapping feature.
After Effects Snapping To Objects
- In the Timeline panel, select both of the layers, and press R to hide the Rotation property for both layers.
With both layers still selected, choose Edit > Duplicate to copy them.
In the Composition panel, drag the two new layers down to the left, and then down to the right, so that the new Dark Red layer abuts the original Light Red layer. Remember that the snapping feature is determined by where you initially click when you begin to drag.
- Repeat steps 5–6 until you have a column of diamonds filling the screen.
- Choose Edit > Select All to select the layers in the Timeline panel.
- Press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (Mac OS) to duplicate the layers. Then move them to the left in the Composition panel until they snap into place.
Repeat step 9 until the Composition panel is full. Pull the duplicate layers to the left or right as necessary. Remember to click near an appropriate snapping feature as you begin dragging each time.
- Choose File > Save to save your work.