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WillowScofield
Participant
March 4, 2026

Layers disappear and flicker

  • March 4, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 9 views

Objects are turning black, disappearing, and flickering. I didn't make any edits or anything since I last worked on it (worked fine then) but when I opened my computer to the open file it started glitching. I exited out of the document without saving because I assumed my previous save from when it worked normally would save me. When I opened my save from before the glitch, it was still glitching, and it got even worse. My layers are mostly imported from Illustrator, but I didn't touch the file I had on there either. The layers in the project window also show up mostly all black when I look at their previews, although I am new at AE so unsure if this is common. I am working on a Mac and the program should be up to date. Any ideas on what could make individual art objects flicker or turn black?  

1 reply

nishu_kush
Community Manager
Community Manager
March 4, 2026

Hi there,

 

Thanks for reaching out and sharing the screen recording. I can see the issue. Can you share your system specifications (CPU, GPU, RAM, OS version)? Also, try clearing media cache (Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disk Cache).

Let me know how it goes.

 

Thanks,

Nishu

WillowScofield
Participant
March 4, 2026

Hello,

Thanks for taking a look. My OS version is Tahoe 26.3 with 16 GB memory and M4 chip. Not fully sure how to find specifications for CPU and Ram and stuff since none of the extra info on tutorials shows up on my device. Clearing the media cache made it way worse, now the shapes are just gone instead of flickering.