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is excellent for compositing and animation, its current duplication and instancing workflow is extremely manual and outdated compared to modern tools.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 Problem
Currently, 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 Duplicator
Here’s what the new Duplicator panel/system should offer, inspired by Cavalry:
Core Features
Instance-Based Duplication
Like shape layers or nulls, duplications should be instances (linked copies), not flattened clones. Editing one updates all.
Grid / Radial / Linear / Point-Based Layouts
Built-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 area
Per-Instance Modifiers
Built-in controls that allow modifying individual instance properties, such as:
Scale, Rotation, Opacity, Position Offset
Color Tint
Delay / Time Offset
Expression access (instance index, total count)
Live Preview & Adjustment
Real-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 instances
Combine multiple effectors to create organic, procedural animations
Path-Based Duplication
Distribute instances along a Bézier path, with rotation alignment, spacing, and directional animation.
Shape Layer Compatibility
Full support for duplicating within shape layers (like repeater, but enhanced and more visual), as well as across compositions.
Performance-Oriented
Instancing should be memory-efficient and GPU-accelerated, allowing hundreds of duplicates without slowdown.
Advanced Ideas
Tagging System for Layer Groups
Tag 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 Stack
A dedicated Duplicator Panel with an intuitive modifier stack system (similar to how layer styles or effects work).
Export to Precomps or Bake to Layers
After 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 Important
Motion 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 workflows
Reduce reliance on third-party plugins
Make After Effects competitive with modern procedural tools
Open up new creative possibilities without coding
Who Would Benefit
Motion designers working on UI/UX, HUDs, infographics
Social media content creators and template makers
VFX artists need fast repetitive structures
Educators teaching procedural design in AE
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