Catalog / Adobe After Effects Cheatsheet
Adobe After Effects Cheatsheet
A quick reference guide to Adobe After Effects, covering essential tools, shortcuts, effects, and expressions to enhance your motion graphics and video editing workflow.
Interface & Basic Navigation
Workspace Basics
Project Panel:
Composition Panel:
Timeline Panel:
Tools Panel:
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Navigation Shortcuts
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Cycle through open panels. |
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Preview composition (RAM Preview). |
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Start/stop RAM preview at current time. |
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Zoom in/out in the Composition panel. |
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Show/hide guides. |
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Show/hide layer controls. |
Composition Settings
Access: Key Settings:
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Keyframing & Animation
Basic Keyframing
After Effects automatically interpolates between keyframes, creating the animation. |
Keyframe Types
Linear Keyframes: |
Value changes at a constant rate. |
Easy Ease Keyframes: |
Smooth acceleration and deceleration. |
Easy Ease In Keyframes: |
Slows down as it approaches the keyframe. |
Easy Ease Out Keyframes: |
Speeds up as it leaves the keyframe. |
Hold Keyframes: |
Value remains constant until the next keyframe. Right-click > Keyframe Assistant > Hold. |
Graph Editor
The Graph Editor allows you to fine-tune animation curves for more precise control. Value Graph: Adjust the value of a property over time. Use handles on the curves to modify the interpolation between keyframes. |
Animation Shortcuts
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Show all keyframed properties. |
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Add Time Remapping. |
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Trim Layer start/end to current time. |
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Go to start/end of the Composition. |
Effects & Presets
Applying Effects
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Common Effects
Blur & Sharpen: |
Gaussian Blur, Unsharp Mask. |
Color Correction: |
Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance. |
Distort: |
Warp, Twirl, Wave Warp. |
Generate: |
Gradient Ramp, Fill, Stroke. |
Keying: |
Keylight (for green screen), Color Key. |
Stylize: |
Glow, Find Edges, Mosaic. |
Effect Presets
Effect Presets are pre-configured combinations of effects that can be applied to layers. Applying Presets:
Creating Presets:
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Expressions
Basic Expressions
Expressions are snippets of code that can be used to automate and link properties in After Effects. Accessing Expressions:
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Common Expression Examples
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Returns the current composition time in seconds. Useful for creating continuously changing values. |
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Generates a random number between |
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Loops the animation. |
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Randomly shakes the property value. |
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Refers to the rotation property of the layer. You can link properties between layers using this. |
Linking Properties with Expressions
You can link properties of different layers using expressions.
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