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karmart93
karmart93Participating Frequently

Advanced Duplicator SystemOpen for Voting

As a long-time user and motion designer, I’m writing to request the addition of a native Duplicator system in After Effects—comparable to the powerful one available in Cavalry. While After Effects is excellent for compositing and animation, its current duplication and instancing workflow is extremely manual and outdated compared to modern tools.The ProblemCurrently, duplicating objects and managing variations in AE requires a combination of precomps, parenting, expressions, or third-party tools. This process is slow, lacks flexibility, and is not visually intuitive—especially when working with large numbers of repeated elements in motion graphics, UI, or pattern-based animation.Proposed Feature: After Effects DuplicatorHere’s what the new Duplicator panel/system should offer, inspired by Cavalry:Core FeaturesInstance-Based DuplicationLike shape layers or nulls, duplications should be instances (linked copies), not flattened clones. Editing one updates all.Grid / Radial / Linear / Point-Based LayoutsBuilt-in layout engines that allow creating arrays of layers in:Rows and columns (Grid)Circular patterns (Radial)Along a path or set of positions (Point distribution)Random scatter within a defined areaPer-Instance ModifiersBuilt-in controls that allow modifying individual instance properties, such as:Scale, Rotation, Opacity, Position OffsetColor TintDelay / Time OffsetExpression access (instance index, total count)Live Preview & AdjustmentReal-time UI to adjust parameters such as instance count, spacing, rotation offset, and distribution shape, with instant feedback.Effector-Like System (Inspired by Mograph/Cavalry)Allow effectors (such as falloffs, noise, or fields) to drive variations across instances:Example: Use a linear field to progressively scale instancesCombine multiple effectors to create organic, procedural animationsPath-Based DuplicationDistribute instances along a Bézier path, with rotation alignment, spacing, and directional animation.Shape Layer CompatibilityFull support for duplicating within shape layers (like repeater, but enhanced and more visual), as well as across compositions.Performance-OrientedInstancing should be memory-efficient and GPU-accelerated, allowing hundreds of duplicates without slowdown.Advanced IdeasTagging System for Layer GroupsTag a layer or group, then duplicate it via rules (e.g. "duplicate this logo 5 times in a spiral, fade opacity")UI Panel or Modifier StackA dedicated Duplicator Panel with an intuitive modifier stack system (similar to how layer styles or effects work).Export to Precomps or Bake to LayersAfter building an instance-based system, users should be able to bake it into real AE layers or precomps for final polish and export.Why This Is ImportantMotion designers are increasingly looking for fast, procedural, and modular workflows. Tools like Cavalry, Cinema 4D’s MoGraph, and Blender’s Geometry Nodes are offering highly creative workflows that save hours of manual duplication and give designers more power and control.Bringing a similar system natively into After Effects would:Greatly improve motion graphics workflowsReduce reliance on third-party pluginsMake After Effects competitive with modern procedural toolsOpen up new creative possibilities without codingWho Would BenefitMotion designers working on UI/UX, HUDs, infographicsSocial media content creators and template makersVFX artists need fast repetitive structuresEducators teaching procedural design in AE

Paul Slemmer
Paul SlemmerKnown Participant

Artboard Selection When Importing Ps/Ai FilesOpen for Voting

When a single designer is creating many boards for a video, they often utilize the Artboards feature in either Illustrator or Photoshop. As an animator receiving designs in this fashion, there exists no simple way to import them into After Effects in a useful way. Both Illustrator and Photoshop have "Artboards to Files" workflows, but that's not ideal because it creates redundant versions of the artwork. This can complicate folder structures, take up filespace, and cause the opportunity for conflicting versions as changes are made. In essense, this workflow goes against what artboards are for in the first place! The proposed solution is an additional option in the dialog that appears when importing Ps/Ai files to select which artboard should be imported. This should include:[Each Artboard by Name and Index] - Imports a layer or composition the exact size of the selected artboard.All Artboards - All artboards are imported in as a single large layer or composition. In contrast to the existing Ps functionality, when Retain Layer Sizes is selected, each artboard should be imported as a comp of its appropriate size, NOT the document size. Note that this would work in tandem with the existing Footage / Composition options. Some thought will have to go into how this interacts with the Layer options for importing an individual layer. Here's a stab at it:Import Kind: Footage / CompositionImport Scope: Document (Default) / Artboard / LayerSelection: [Each Artboard / Layer] (If Scope is Document this would be disabled)Size: Document / Artboard / Layer(s)Layer Options: Editable Layer Styles / Merge Layer Styles into Footage (Ps Only) If the team takes on a revision of the importer, here are several other options that would be useful:Convert all text to text layers (Ps & Ai)Convert all vectors to shape layers (Ai)Unembed & Import Linked Images (I can't overstate how nice this would be.) (Ps & Ai)Ignore Non-Overlapping Artwork (Actually eliminate from the layer stack any layers/groups not seen by the selected artboard) (Ps & Ai)Duration & Framerate (Ps & Ai)