Skip to main content
charlied19812912
charlied19812912
Participating Frequently
March 26, 2020
Question

Do files with a lot of shape and text layers makes AE slow?

  • March 26, 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 2198 views

Hello,

 

My After Effects 2020 project is extremely slow and I want to know how to fix it.

 

It consists of 9 comps (about 12 seconds each) each containing 10 to 20 shape layers and 5 to 10 text layers with trim paths and opacity animations on each. That's litterally it. Then the 9 comps are put together in a sequence.

 

It's so laggy that I have to work in quarter resolution and preview (I also skip frames in the preview) for it to work fine, and even then, I wait 5 seconds every time I click somewhere or change the text. It's driving me nuts.

 

I purged the memory and cache, restarted AE (it sorta works but after half an hour or so, it slows down more and more), rebooted my computer. Anyone knows how I can work efficiently with such a project?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

    4 replies

    D
    Dan3526538247fc
    Participant
    November 22, 2024

    it's the "mee too" generation, I can't do a dang thing with only 6 shape layers, AE just crashes and burns. I even (blindly) bought OVERLORD pLUGIN to see if the illustrator files would import more expediantly, nope, big fail. So bummed.
    I could see that if the shapes were super simple things might be ok but I am dealing with "auto traced vectors" in illustrator  from my hand drawn cartoons, they are incredibly complex. It appears that the auto traced creates 100's of paths within the illustrator groups. idk??? feel like giving up. tried to figure out how to flatten the paths but found no real answer and AE just chokes on the shape layers and dies a slow death.

    P
    postman07
    Participant
    September 2, 2021

    I am dealing with this same issue as well.  This is a brand new computer.  High end build and 3d shape layers are slwoing everything to a crawl

      J
      jammerinsky
      Known Participant
      September 28, 2021

      totally!  me too , this is an absolute joke , im on a powerful machine, i have a buch of shape layers and its borderline unworkable, im so tired of adobe and their constant failings and issues.

        R
        Community Expert
        Rick GerardCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        March 26, 2020

        Comp size and frame rate? Motion Blur? What else is going on? On my system, you have to get to 50 or more of shape layers rendering at the same time to see noticeable slowdown. 

         

        A screenshot with the modified properties (uu will do that) and maybe a flow chart that has been expanded might help us figure out what is going on or it may help you diagnose the problem. That's always my first step - press UU and start turning things off or resetting them.

        R
        Community Expert
        RobShultzCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        March 26, 2020

        Please click the 3D switch and confirm that it is set for classic 3D. Even if you’re not in 3D I’ve found that sometimes the other settings slow things down.

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices