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TommyBashore
Participant
October 31, 2019
Answered

Importing .PSD file with layers as a sequence

  • October 31, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 4985 views

I'm in an animation class where the teacher showed us a way to create a .PSD file with multiple layers and import it into After-Effects as a sequence so it plays the layers like frames for an animation, but I'm not able to re-create it from home. 

I have a .PSD with layers named from 001 - 030 that I attempt to import into my After-Effects composition. I checkmarked the Import as Sequence, the Create Composition, and the Force Alphabetical Order boxes and set AE to import the .psd as "Composition - Retain Layer Sizes". I've tried about as many variations of this as I can, but when I import this I end up with a new composition that somehow uses all of the other files on my desktop (where the .psd is located) instead of the frames of the .psd. What am I doing wrong and how can I make this work? Thanks in advance.

Correct answer Martin_Ritter

What you want to do is to import one file with several layers, and sequence those layers. What you did is importing several files as sequence.

 

So just import the PSD as composition and follow this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGE_dL4E0Vw

 

*Martin

2 replies

stollinger
stollinger
Participant
November 12, 2025

Hi everyone,

I created this free script to make this workflow quicker and also to avoid framerate troubles. Especially Adobe Fresco and Procreate have become great tools to create frame-by-frame animations, so this workflow got more important to me in the last years.

The script automates the entire process from importing the PSDs correctly to managing the animations. You can batch-create layer sequences with one click. The script makes shure that your FPS is a correct fraction of your desired final FPS. Finally it creates loops that are not jerky - which is not as easy as it sounds. Also you can easily change the Framerate if you need another Timing.

Its available for free on gumroad:
https://stollinski.gumroad.com/l/jvhdo

nishu_kush
Community Manager
nishu_kushCommunity Manager
Community Manager
November 12, 2025

That's great! Thanks for creating and sharing the script. 


Thanks,
Nishu

Martin_Ritter
Martin_RitterCorrect answer
Legend
October 31, 2019

What you want to do is to import one file with several layers, and sequence those layers. What you did is importing several files as sequence.

 

So just import the PSD as composition and follow this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGE_dL4E0Vw

 

*Martin

    T
    TommyBashoreAuthor
    Participant
    October 31, 2019

    Awesome, thanks! 

    I did hit another snag though, when I go to use the Keyframe Assistant, it keyframes everything from top to bottom so the animation effectively plays backwards instead of forwards. Right now 030 is the last frame but AE uses it as the starting point for the keyframe as it's at the top of the list of layers in AE, is there a quick way to reverse this without going through the list and changing the order of all these layers manually?

    Kyle Hamrick
    Community Expert
    Kyle HamrickCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 31, 2019

    Selection order matters in AE. If you select the bottom layer first and then Shift-click the top one, the Sequence Layers command will work the way you're wanting it to. 

    Side tip - this is relevant for copy/paste as well. The order you select layers is the way they'll be stacked when you paste.

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