My AE workspace is much like other artist in the industry, it’s an evolution. This is where I am today on my small desktop screen. I work on a single 24 inch (1920x1200) monitor by choice. Yup, I said it. I have tried just about every monitor made between 27-34 inches. I just can’t find the comfort level that I have on my 24 in monitor. That being said, the tilde key is a favorite of mine… and for dual monitors, tried that as well.
I am a script junky. I used to be a plugin junky, but now I really love tools that make tasks faster to complete. I have a ton of scripts, but there are only a few that I use regularly enough to find a home in my default layout. One thing that you may notice is that I often rename my script files so that they take up less room in the panel tab. With a smaller screen, I don’t like wasted space from long script names.
A couple of tools that you won’t see in my layout but are used on just about every project are a script called The Commander and a plugin called GM_Fold Layers.
The Commander - It’s an awesome free script that allows you to search for anything inside of AE, such as presets, scripts, effects, footage, comps, expressions, and more. I don’t run the Effects and Preset panel because The Commander is so much faster for me to use and it only appears when I need it. I applied the keyboard shortcut Shift +C so that it has the same shortcut as the command line found in Cinema 4d since they have similar functionality. http://www.davejacobson.com/
GM_Fold Layers is a great tool that allows the user to hide parts of a timeline when the stack is getting large. I love it because it’s simple and others can open your project file without any problems. The dividers are shape layers that designate sections of the timeline. You can see the shape layer dividers in my screen grab that I have all the layers hidden, but you can control how many layers are visible. https://vimeo.com/121569449
Scripts in my default layout:
True Comp Duplicator - By far one of my favorite scripts. It’s a must have if you are making copies of a comp that has nested comps. http://aescripts.com/true-comp-duplicator/
Duik - I don’t do a ton of character work, but the newest version has so many useful tools. http://duduf.net/index.php/products/after-effects/duik/
Sortie - Great for sorting layers based on several different criteria such as position, scale, name, label, etc. http://aescripts.com/sortie/
EaseCopy - Great for copying those curves to other keyframes. What a lifesaver it has been. http://aescripts.com/easecopy/
Ray Dynamic Color - Using a color palette in your project, this is a must. Looking forward to getting the new version. http://aescripts.com/ray-dynamic-color/
Focus V1 - Great for isolating layers in huge comps. http://www.mtmograph.com/focus/
AnimationPATTERNS Pro - I love this script because I can create my one animation presets to use in the current project or in any project. Since the presents are made by me they have the properties that make my animations unique. The curves that are created by the artist are applied to a set of keyframes using expressions, so you can change the timing of the keyframes without disrupting the curve shape. http://aescripts.com/animationpatternspro/
Motion V2 - What can I say…go get it! My favorite feature is the trash can icon to remove expressions from selected properties. http://www.mtmograph.com/motion/
Rift - I love this script. It is such a great tool to move individual parts of a layer or keyframes. http://aescripts.com/rift/
I can’t say enough about ft_toolbar. It is such a great way to access scripts, effects, and presets that I don’t want taking up a lot of real estate. I keep my multiple toolbar names short with original names such as 1,2,… I’m still working on custom icons for some of the buttons, but I like to see if they are used enough to make my default layout first.
ft_toolbar 1 (top to bottom):
Create Matte - Just a simple script that I modified to create a black solid the same length as the selected layer on the timeline. The default title of the new layer is “matte”. Unfortunately it doesn’t set it to be the matte of the selected layer.
Trimmed Adjustment Layers - Creates a trimmed adjustment layer for each of the selected layers in the timeline.
Align Layers - Does what the name states. It can align layers in all three coordinates. http://aescripts.com/alignlayers/
Distribute Layers - I love this script for moving layers randomly on the screen. http://aescripts.com/distributelayers/
pt_Shift Layers - Great fast way to sequence/stagger layers in the timeline. The same thing can be done with Rift, but sometimes it’s faster to just graph this simple script. http://aescripts.com/pt_shiftlayers/
Center Masks - Yup, it centers the mask on a layer. Comes in handy if you want a circle mask dead center on a layer. http://www.nabscripts.com/downloads_en.html
Decompose Text - This script is great for when you want to create text animations that are a bit tough to pull off with the text animation tools. Animate the entire word, make each letter a layer using Decompose Text, use Shift Layers to offset the layers… BOOM! http://aescripts.com/decomposetext/
Auto Crop - Crop layers based on masks. http://aescripts.com/auto-crop/
Butt Capper (3 icons) - Must have to quickly change the capping mode of shape layer strokes. http://www.battleaxe.co/buttcapper/
rd: Pre-compose - Great tool if you need more options for pre-comping or if you want to pre-compose multiple layers into separate comps. http://www.redefinery.com/index.php
pt_Auto Express - Need some commonly used expressions with slider control. This script can make it fast. http://aescripts.com/pt_autoexpress/
Good Parents - Love being able to keyframe parents. I wish it was built in to AE, but at least there is a work around. http://aescripts.com/good-parents/
Fast Blur - Need to update it to the new GPU accelerated Gaussian blur.
Curves - Over the years I have found that it is one of the most powerful color correction tools.
Separate Dimensions - Separates the X and Y values for position so that they can be keyframe independent of one another. https://bitbucket.org/snippets/kyletmartinez/
Obsessive Layers 2.0 - Quickly trim layers on that messy timeline with a number of different criteria. http://aescripts.com/obsessive-layers/
Simple Path - Great tool to create shape layer straight lines, curves, or waves quickly. https://gumroad.com/l/stOL#
Ramp - I seem to use those enough to place it on the toolbar.
Drop Shadow - Same as above.
Fade Out - Custom preset that will fade out a layer based on the outpoint. I created it using the preset from Prolost Boredo. I love just moving the outpoint and the fade automatically adjust itself…not keyframe moving needed. http://www.proloststore.com/products/boardo
ft_toolbar 2 (top to bottom):
Prism - Great tool to organize the timeline using layer colors. You can automatically color layers based on different criteria. http://aescripts.com/prism/
Global Renamer - The most powerful renamer of all. It can take a little time to get used to, but if you need to rename a ton of layers, this is your tool. http://aescripts.com/ae-global-renamer/
rd_Comp Setter - Change all those comp settings at once. http://www.redefinery.com/index.php
Arrange Project - Clean up that project panel with items that have the same naming criteria. http://aescripts.com/arrange-project-items-into-folders/
Folder Setup - Start your project right with all of your folders ready to go from the beginning.
We’ll, that’s the basic setup. I won’t go into the other scripts that I have waiting in the background. I hope there is a new tool in here that others can find useful.
- Kevin Snyder, freelance motion graphic designer
