Hey everyone! I spent some time cleaning up my workflow and realized Adobe shipped a few tiny native features that replace stuff I used to need expressions and paid scripts for.

Thought I'd share the actual breakdown, since they flew under the radar with all the 3D/SVG talk:

1. Proportional Scrubbing:

Select multiple layers, hold Ctrl + Alt (Win) / Cmd + Option (Mac) and drag any numeric property like Opacity or Position.

Instead of setting everything to the same value, AE spreads it proportionally from your first-selected layer to your last. Works on keyframes too. Select 10 layers with the same drop animation, hold the shortcut and drag the keyframes to get a perfect cascade.

Tip: The order you select matters. Top-to-bottom vs bottom-to-top completely changes the spread direction.

This one alone replaced my staggering plugin.

2. Copy Frame to Clipboard

There's now a button in your Comp panel that copies the current frame to your clipboard as a clean render. No more Composition > Save Frame As...or screenshots full of guides/nulls.

Just park your playhead, click it, and Ctrl+V straight into decks, communication, anywhere. Super handy for storyboards and quick client checks.

3. You can finally edit Illustrator gradients natively 

If you import art with gradients, right-click the layer > Create > Create Shapes from Vector Layer > delete the extra group.

Now under Gradient Fill, you get full control over Scale, Rotation, Opacity, Start/End points.

All inside AE. No need to jump back to Illustrator to tweak it.

4. Crop Comp to Selected Layer Bounds

Not brand new, but they finally put it where you need it. 

Select any layer > Right-Click > Crop Comp to Selected Layer Bounds and AE instantly resizes the comp to that layer's exact size.

Perfect for cleaning up pre-comps for icons, character parts, or reusable assets. No more manually creating a new comp and copying layers over.

None of these are flashy features, but together they've cut a lot of annoying busywork. 

If you want to see real examples, you can check out the full breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y4hveZUvY4

Hi

I have this sort of agreement with a guy who runs this Discord server. He wants to make a series of YouTube videos where he does a whole storyline with his voice over and stuff and I basically animate. I have animated I think about 16+ scenes - all still (I used this subreddit because I guessed it was the easiest to get answer for this sort of stuff). In the beginning we basically agreed that I would be working for free and give him these scenes and then whatever he gets out of this video , he’ll give me a bulk of it with percentage. I made a contract with him to sign so that he has to show me what he makes and that the percentage we agree on is what he gives me. And that he can’t gain profit and keep without my permission. Stuff like that.

My problem now is that I agreed to this very quickly and early on. I just realised after working on this video how much work it takes and how it would be nice to have some sort of compensation /before/ the video , a commission. While the idea that I’ll get a bulk of video profits sounds nice , I also know that he might just not get any views at all and I won’t get what my video is worth.

I’m not forcing him to pay me now or anything. But I did tell him if he doesn’t get enough profit for this first video , I am not going to go ahead with the second (he wants to make many so I’m trying to find out how to settle this before I go too deep into it). I know I’ll be losing a lot if the first video doesn’t work but I’m willing to take that loss under the guise that I won’t lose any more hours to free labour basically for the second video. It’s a sort of learning curve for me.

I’m now thinking of asking him for a flate rate he needs to pay me for the second video if the first video does well. And that this flate rate he can give me once he gets enough profit for the first video , and doesn’t need to pay me whatever else he earns after that because at least I’ll be getting money. And if he can’t agree to this , I won’t be continuing. He hasn’t paid me for anything at all yet so it’s not like I’m bound to anything.

I guess now I’m wondering what you guys think and how you go about as illustrators and animators for YouTube videos. And how much would you even charge for this? I usually charge OC or painting commissions , so a set of scenes for a YouTube video is still new to me.

Ps: I understand this is unorthodox and that I should have asked for commission straight up - there was always that thought in my mind but I also thought about how it would be nice to get profit from the views. I now know that doesn’t rly make sense.

1. Design the storyboard / shot list first, then generate each shot?
2. Build character / prop / location assets first, then directly generate videos from those references and iterate by “rerolling.”?

Which approach do you think works better in practice?

I recently switched from Premiere to DaVinci Resolve and was really missing my old preset library. Found a massive bundle on .that has over 7000 transitions, LUTs, and titles.

I was skeptical because of the price, but the quality is surprisingly high. The transitions are seamless and the LUTs actually look professional, not just random color filters.

Saved me hours of work on a wedding highlight reel I finished yesterday. Just thought I’d share for any fellow editors looking to beef up their Resolve toolkit without breaking the bank.

You can find it here

Quanto dovrei chiedere per l'editing e il motion graphics di questo video? (100% faceless come potete vedere, Il cliente mi da solo il voiceover e io penso a creare le varie animazioni, testi, grafiche, sound effects ecc.)

Hey all! Has anyone here taken the I Love Creatives Motion Design course? As an in house graphic designer, I’m trying to bring more motion into my daily workflow to keep things fresh and aligned with ongoing design trends. I like that their curriculum focuses on modern motion systems and current visual styles rather than just isolated software tricks. But, I'm curious how deep it actually goes compared to School of Motion or Ben Marriott. Would love to hear any honest feedback, pros/cons before diving into it! Thanks :)

We’ve all been there: After Effects starts crawling, previews take forever, and your disk is suddenly full. Here’s how to fix the most common performance bottlenecks in 2 minutes:

1. The Disk Cache Secret

If you haven't cleared your cache recently, that’s your #1 enemy. Go to

Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disk Cache

.

Pro Tip: Set your Disk Cache to a dedicated SSD (not your OS drive) for a massive speed boost.

1. RAM Allocation

AE is a memory hog. Make sure you're giving it enough room to breathe. Go to

Preferences > Memory & Performance

and ensure you’re leaving only 3-4GB for other applications. Let AE take the rest!

1. Use Proxies for Heavy Assets

Working with 4K footage or heavy EXR sequences? Right-click your footage >

Create Proxy > Movie

. Working with lower-res proxies will make your timeline fly.

Bonus Tip: If you're looking for optimized templates that won't crash your system, check out my latest curated collection: [رابط متجرك على Etsy]

What’s your go-to trick for keeping AE fast? Let’s discuss below! 👇

I'm 27M and have been working in motion design/video editing for almost 8 years… full-time, freelance, contracts, studio work, etc.

I've worked on projects for brands like Netflix, Hulu, Puma, Havells, JCB, Citroën and others. My main work has been motion design… explainers, typography, UI animation, transitions, overlays, etc. I also have experience with editing, cinematography, color grading, VFX and 3D, and I'm comfortable with After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator and DaVinci.

On paper, I feel like I have a decent amount of experience and skills.

But right now… I feel completely lost.

I've been trying to find a stable job since March 2026 and I'm getting almost no traction. I've been applying aggressively across Naukri, LinkedIn, Indeed, Instahyre, YT Jobs, Roster, direct emails, Reddit, Instagram, etc. I've probably sent hundreds of applications a day at times.

I've also tried Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer and direct freelance outreach.

Almost nothing.

And the people/studios who used to regularly give me freelance work aren't getting much work themselves either. No disagreements or anything like that… the industry just seems slow idk.

The financial side is what scares me the most.

I'm currently sitting on nearly ₹10L of debt through credit cards and personal loans. A lot of it came from family emergencies, along with some bad financial planning on my part. I've never missed an EMI or bill so far, but my savings are almost gone.

Every day has basically become:

"How am I going to arrange money for the next payment?"

And it's destroying my ability to actually do creative work.

I overthink everything. I start personal projects and never finish them because I'm constantly questioning whether they're good enough to publish. I wanted to build my own content and personal brand, but the financial pressure makes it incredibly difficult to focus.

It's also starting to affect my friendships, family relationships and overall mental state. I'm seriously considering therapy because I don't think I can keep carrying this pressure alone.

What confuses me is that I have almost 8 years of experience, recognizable brands in my portfolio and a pretty broad skill set… yet I can't seem to get through the door.

So I'm wondering if I'm approaching this completely wrong.

Should I specialize?
Move into something adjacent or temporarily leave the creative industry just to stabilize financially?

I'd really like to hear from people in motion design, editing, VFX, filmmaking, post-production or similar creative fields who have gone through a rough phase like this.

What would you do if you were in my position?

I'm not really looking for sympathy… just some honest perspective because I genuinely don't know what my next move should be.

TL;DR:
27M, 8 years in motion design/editing with work for brands like Netflix, Hulu, Puma, etc., but I've been unable to find stable work since March 2026 despite hundreds of applications and freelance outreach. I'm carrying nearly ₹10L in debt and the financial pressure is starting to affect my work, relationships and mental health. Looking for honest advice from people who've been through something similar… what would you do in my position?

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a short excerpt from a personal motion design project I made about Camille Claudel, the 19th-century French sculptor who spent the last 30 years of her life locked away in an asylum, her work largely erased from art history in favor of her mentor (and lover) Auguste Rodin.

The goal was to give her story the visual weight it deserves — using motion to translate the intensity, isolation, and raw talent that defined her life and work.

Full project on Behance: https://www.behance.net/gallery/254923783/Camille-Claudel-The-Sacrificed-Genius

Would love to hear your thoughts. Feedback (harsh or otherwise) very welcome!

Hello Everyone , i know the video kinda sucks and not so good , because this is my first real motion design video for me so i tried my best , also i tried to do like the after effects pros on davinci ( like animations and stuff ) but i couldn't do it , i don't know if it's the lack of me or the program can't do that , if you guys think that motion design can be on davinci , pls leave a youtube link or any link it would help me a lot , and thank you

How do I download ae I want to just start knowing the software

Hi everyone, I am a teenager and I would love to learn motion graphics but I have no idea where to start or what resources to use. So if you have any tips or you can teach me I would really appreciate it🤗🫶

I want to learn motion graphics to showcase my company's SaaS product, make regular feature explaining videos. I'm currently using claude + remotion to publish short videos. But for pure professional work I need a professional training. Could you guys please help me out here by recommending a good course that will help me down the line?

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m Nermin, a Motion Graphics Designer and 2D Animator with 6+ years of experience, specializing in Adobe After Effects.

I help startups, SaaS companies, agencies, and brands turn ideas into engaging visual content.

What I can help with:

• 🎥 2D Animation & Motion Graphics
• 📱 Social Media Videos
• 💡 SaaS & Product Explainer Videos
• 🎨 Logo Animation & Brand Motion
• ✨ Text & UI Animation
• 📊 Promotional & Marketing Videos
• 🎬 Animated GIFs
• 🧩 Storyboards & Visual Storytelling
• 🔄 Editing + Motion Graphics

Tools

After Effects · Illustrator · Photoshop · Premiere Pro

I’ve worked on projects ranging from SaaS explainers and product videos to marketing content and branded animations, and I’m comfortable taking a project from an idea or rough brief through to the final animation.

I’m currently available for freelance and remote projects.

If you’re looking for a reliable Motion Designer or 2D Animator for an upcoming project, feel free to DM me with the details.

Thanks for reading! 🙌

Today i have created my first cgi or vfx project , i made my 3d character model animation appear in my 2d video footage . things i learned are motion tracking in blender which we can make the camera to wok as in 3d for 2d video footage .the basic things are motion trackers,then orientation

xaxis,yaxis,origin,floor and wall orientation and set scale .i done everything using jist these simple things .tripod ,keyframes ioption .blender create camera solve automatically for the given set frames in motion tracker vfx in blender ,if we use that option.

As you look in the video ,the character is sitting on floor object which were just a motion trackers selected and applied it has a memory due to that .the magical thing happening is your camera object is not moving , but the due to motiontracking and orientation floor object your camera seeung this 2d video footage as a 3d workspace .i can many more characters there .still learning compositing ( this thing is responsible for lightning effects).like my video footage lighting and the character model lightings are different ,if they match its a perfect vfx with shadow.

i am so thrilled now ,because i can make a spaceship appear outside my house with this ,i can make fictional character flying .or i can even dance with my fav imaginary people .

so this think is amazing but next i am working on ,how to implement like a fictional weapon object model animation ,can i make fictional object hold in my hands ?

the problem is i need to make multiple objects tht can fit in render one example a book .it looks different when no one touches ,but when i touch it the fingers on my hands should appear on that object so duplicate object with edited kodel so it dont hide my fingers .

#cgi_blender

relax and enjoy...