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Participant
Mar 15, 2021 1:07 PM UTC
Question

Ae Rotobrush keeps propagating over and over again?

Hi everyone, I've run into the same problem with the Ae Roto Brush a few times now and it's more or less making it impossible to use the tool at all;

 

Whenever I finish rotobrushing a video clip and go back to the composition window, when I change anything in the composition that somehow triggers the Roto Brush to completely restart the propagating process, which can be very time consuming. Those changes don't even need to be something related to the rotobrush, even stuff like adding a text layer or just looking at a different part of the compisition can trigger this to happen. 

 

Has anyone had this same problem? 

50 replies

Participant
Aug 29, 2025 8:18 PM UTC

Hello, my fix was to use Rotobrush 2 instead of 3, and use shorter clips. After the initial rotobrush (first outline) I move frame by frame (cmd/ctrl + right) to make sure the outline stays in tact. After a few frames I'll press space. Then freeze after one loop

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jobel
Participant
Aug 22, 2025 4:43 PM UTC

The long awaited SOLVE, an immaculate dicovery, the extensive workflow allowing you to keep as many rotos as you want in your composition, unlocking max power and ENDING auto propagation from your roto brush comps ....

 

STEP ONE: LOCK YOUR LAYER.

Lock the layers using roto brush and the problem is fixed.

 

Thats it. Enjoy

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Participant
Jul 19, 2025 11:55 PM UTC

Rotobrush keeps re-propagating try freezing the roto to stop it

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Participant
Jul 18, 2025 10:10 AM UTC

following;

  1. Freezing the roto once done.

  2. Trimming the comp to needed frames.

  3. Clearing cache if it best loops.

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Participant
Jul 16, 2025 9:08 AM UTC

Try freezing the Rotobrush after refining. This stops it from re propagating.

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Participant
Jul 16, 2025 2:57 AM UTC

If AE Rotobrush keeps propagating, try freezing the frame after refining, or clear the cache and restart the app.

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Participant
Jun 20, 2025 2:48 PM UTC

What worked for me, I had a very simple video 5 seconds long with high contrast and barely any movement, was usign rotobrush 1 instead of rotobrush 3. For some reasons rotobrush 3 didn't work at all, it would go into loop rotoscoping for hours. I tried frame by frame, it would still mess up everything after hours of frame by frame work. Rotobrush 1 solved the issue. I have now successfully rotoscoped my first clip. 

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Known Participant
Feb 15, 2025 1:17 PM UTC

Just my two cents on this, as I've recently been running into the same problem:

It seems to be a RAM issue. I think, at a certain point (and this might vary with different RAM setups from 3 seconds into the clip to 6 f.i.) After Effects seems to forget the previous propagation and starts all over again and then it is not possible to go on with the roto job unless doing some of the suggested precautions (splitting up the file, precomposing, cropping to area of interest …). One thing also mentioned here or in another thread: You mustn't have any other layer activated than the roto layer. Otherwise repropagation will be triggered even sooner. What might help before splitting up the clip, though, is to apply a new starting point for propagation. To do this, I shorten the right marker of the green rotobrush span to the frame where the issue arises. Then I proceed one frame. There is no roto mask now and I paint a new one. Now I can go on from that point and repropagation will start from this new base frame when triggered and not from the very beginning of the clip. However, why is it not possible to apply the current roto mask to a new base frame without redoing the whole masking procedure? If I'm missing something, please let me know.

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Inspiring
Feb 21, 2025 1:20 PM UTC

I have these issues everytime I try to use the rotobrush. Since we pay for a subscription, I wish they'd put some effortg into making this tool work in a reasonably intuitive way rather than bring up features we never asked for and which bring little value to the production.

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Participant
Oct 30, 2024 6:35 PM UTC

For me I just didn't have enough RAM, still if I slap a lot of refine edge and have Premiere pro open alongside AfterFX I have to remake the whole thing

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Participant
Oct 30, 2024 6:40 PM UTC

Also, for anyone finding this, don't use roto brush in a linked composition, at least for me it's broken as hell

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Participant
Jun 23, 2024 7:59 PM UTC

Hi, I've the guy who wrote the comment with all the upvotes on it on page one.

It's been a couple years, but I stopped getting this problem about a year ago when I stopped pirating After Effects and started using a legitimate subscription. 

If you happen to be pirating the software and you get this issue, try buying a subscription and see if that works.

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