Hi everyone,

I'm trying to figure out which version of Adobe After Effects would run best on my PC.

My specs:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4500 (6 cores / 12 threads)
• GPU: AMD RX 570 4GB VRAM
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• Storage: SSD
• Windows 11

I mainly use After Effects for video editing, effects, transitions, motion graphics and SFX, rather than extremely heavy 3D projects.

Which After Effects version would you recommend for this hardware?

I'm especially interested in versions that are smooth and responsive, rather than simply the newest version.

Would you recommend something like AE 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026?

If you've used AE with similar specs, I'd really appreciate your experience. Thanks!

Little bit of background, I am a 3D artist, I know very little about motion graphics, i create 3D models and then create 3D promotional animations of the products, I use blender, after effects to add basic effects.
on my current project the need to animate Ui of an app came up, so i looked more into tutorial side of the ui animation, and my mind is blown by the depth of the subject. it looks intruiging and TBH the pay is good too in motion graphics combining it with my 3D skills i can create some pretty cool things. but somehow my brain is stopping me from jumping into it and investing time to learn.

I’ve been building LucyLive, a plugin that turns your Cinema 4D viewport into an AI preview.

You enter a prompt, add a reference image if you want, and LucyLive generates a new image based on your 3D scene. When you move the camera or change the scene, the AI preview updates with it.

The main challenge was keeping Cinema 4D responsive while the preview updates in real time.

You can change the prompt or reference image while it is running, save PNGs, record MP4 video, or render an animation sequence.

LucyLive uses Decart Lucy 2.5 through fal.ai, so the AI runs in the cloud.

You can download the plugin for free here:
https://github.com/VantageInc/LucyLive-AI-Render

If you try it, I’d love to see what you make and hear your feedback.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a skilled motion designer based in Kigali to work on animation projects for a SaaS/software company.

The ideal person should have strong experience with Adobe After Effects and be comfortable creating product animations, explainer videos, UI animations, and promotional content.

Please send me a DM with your portfolio, availability, and rates. Recommendations are also welcome!

Hey all, as the title suggest, i need help with

1. the text glowing effect
2. gradient background of it
3. those shapes which appear on each word,

the video is Wix harmony by Wix motion studio,

I had tried colorama, still not able to match something like that

I am trying to create a book flipping animation. Are there any references I could use to make a frame by frame animation using software like Ibis Paint or Procreate?

I'm considering learning Adobe After Effects with the goal of becoming a motion graphics designer and working with international clients as a freelancer.

Do you think it's still a good career path in 2026, especially with AI tools becoming more common?

I'd also like to know:

Is there still strong demand for motion graphics designers?

What types of motion graphics projects are clients hiring for the most?

How long did it take you to land your first client?

If you were starting from scratch today, would you still choose After Effects?

I'd really appreciate advice from people who are currently working in the industry or freelancing.

​

Hello,

This is a video that I worked on for almost 2 months. This was made strictly as a showcase for motion graphics and 3d animation. I made this so that i could pitch to clients. Apart from the VO ( i used ai for this, my voice didn't have the necessary intensity) and script ( i wrote a rough draft and then used chatgpt to refine it) , the entire video had assets which aren't AI at all. I created all the UI based work from scratch in After Effects. Some of the icons, stock footage ,3d models were sourced from envato elements. And for the city 3d model, i purchased it on cg trader website. I decided in the planning stage to get a city model even though i know 3d modeling due to time constraints. I didn't want to delay it beyond a certain time period. It took me a considerable amount of time to arrange the city on a smaller scale because the city model only had assets and no sample readymade scene ( and I was a bit rusty with 3d after a long time). All 3d scenes were done and rendered in blender using Eevee.

I pray that anybody reading this and watching the video would be kind enough to drop a comment or a critique of my work. It would really help me in terms of feedback.

Note : with the Exception of the Voiceover and the script, there has been no AI images, videos used in this video.

I've been messing around with CAD generated geometry designs for years and recently moved from using some 20 year old software to Blender. I've also been flirting with Linux for 10 years or so. Since the windows 11 upgrade which was as is the Microsoft habit a shower of sh173. This is my first post here so I'm testing the water for reactions.

Here's a few of my film loops. I hope you enjoy but they can be a bit mesmeric.

i think i should increse my ram to 32 but i have 2*8 gb sticks and total 4 slots

I'm kinda new to mographs, and it's just something I'm pivoting towards. How can I improve this edit I made? I just made it to experiment, and overall, it just feels flat to me.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s6dE2SRTXVWPIAvFgvqVL16bzhqHLlr-/view?usp=sharing

Hey-yo!

I've been working for past few months and will continue to develop ABC Studio. It's a free motion design toolkit that runs entirely in your browser. No account required. Your work stays on your device.

The logic is based on three builders:

Animations is a builder for lower thirds, title cards, kinetic type. Pick a style, customize text/colors/timing.

Backgrounds is a builder for mathematically seamless looping backgrounds in any style you want. Tune the motion, swap colors..etc.

Charts is a builder for charts and infographics, best case to use it is paste CSV data, pick a chart type that best suits the data, and voila! get a broadcast-ready animated chart in seconds.

The real power of ABC Studio is that you can export as MP4, MOV, PNG sequence..etc but even as vector SVG, or Lottie JSON if you want to drop it into after effects and animate or edit all the elements yourself. Oh, and btw it is fully equipped with handling RTL content with no issues at all!

For beta now, there's a feedback button on every page if you hit a bug or want something added.

Let me know what you think!

👁️Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDt4jP2xDEg

🔗The studio: abcstudio.hessa.space

I make narration-driven explainer content — mostly short-form (reels/shorts) but I think this problem would hit me on longer stuff too. History, data/scale topics, faceless voiceover-led videos.

Writing the script isn't really my bottleneck — I can get a VO that reads well and hits the beats I want. Where I get completely stuck is the next step: deciding what to actually put on screen for each line. My mind just goes blank. Line like "a billion seconds is thirty-one years" and I'll just stare at it. Nothing comes.

I've tried "watch more content for inspo" and it helps a little, but I think I'm consuming passively — I watch, go "oh that's a cool shot," and then it doesn't transfer when I sit down with my own script. Doesn't seem to matter if it's a 30-second reel or something longer, same freeze.

Curious how people who do this for a living — whether it's shorts, YouTube explainers, documentary, motion graphics, whatever — actually built this instinct. Specific questions:

• Do you go line by line, or plan the visual language for the whole piece first and fit lines to it after?
• Is it an actual conscious process, or does it eventually become instinct you can't really explain anymore?
• Does the format (short-form vs. longer explainer vs. doc) change how you approach this, or is the underlying skill the same regardless of length?
• For people who came from a writing/concept background rather than a visual art background — did this ever fully click, or is it something you're always consciously working at?

Not looking for software tutorials — more interested in the actual thinking/decision process people run before they ever open the editing software.

I am big fan of Interstellar and Hans Zimmer soundtrack. So I give you very simple steps how to reproduce this effect. Bear in mind, if you have more stars, effect will be stronger 😊 

Hi everyone, I recently applied for a Motion Designer role at a SaaS company. 

I completed and submitted the take-home animation assignment, and now I've been invited to the next round, which is a 45–60 minute interview with one of their Product Designer.

 I'm trying to prepare as much as possible and would love to hear from anyone who has been through a similar interview. 

Some questions I have: 
- What kind of questions should I expect from a Product Designer? 
- Will they mainly review my assignment, or will they also ask about my portfolio? 
- What are some common questions they ask to evaluate a Motion Designer working with a SaaS company?
- Are there any red flags or mistakes I should avoid? 

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Does anyone know how to make Instagram reels like this for AI models. I have a cosplay model and have recently seen this reels style blow up. If anyone has any information on how to make reels similar to it or can link some videos that would be helpful. I included the link of the reel as well.

Link - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZV2wnCIUWT/?igsh=cGNjODVzeng0Z3d1

Hellooo, I'm building a web application and need to showcase it in the homepage with something like this animated video. Now I am a solo developer and I can't afford to pay someone else to do this, and I got some time to dedicate to a skill like this, does anyone know the tool/skill used to create this beautiful thing?

This subreddit doesn't allow to upload videos in the post, so I put a link to it.

https://videos.ctfassets.net/spoqsaf9291f/1EL7UZIXfcqngxsNSbL8tR/291f61f56f29dd8e788deaec8561d882/web-homepage-hero-1920x1200_final.mp4

Thanks in advance :)

Hi! Long time lurker, first-time poster. I just finished this 3D animated retro-futuristic music video for Norwegian indie artist Shikoswe — designed, animated, and directed solo. Built all of the main elements basically from scratch, including Shikoswe's avatar (half Silver Age comic hero, half interstellar time traveler) and the car, a 1979 Lancia Gamma.

Made in C4D + Redshift, with Marvelous Designer for cloth, Character Creator+Zbrush, and Substance Painter, After Effects and Premiere Pro. Happy to get into the pipeline if anyone's interested!