I'm not good at English. I used "translation software"
I don't know if you understand your question properly.
But I will answer in my own way.
I think your method is a very good idea.
In the case of I
STEP1 adobe After Effects → add wave warp effects
STEP2 abobe Media encoder → Export as PNG sequence
STEP3 adobe Character Animator → Import PNG sequence in cycle layer
I am working on the process.
Thank you