After effects scripts are a must-have for any motion designer. Without them, you’re either working too hard or you’re a glutton for punishment!
In this post I’ve put together a collection of 50 free after effects scripts that will improve your workflow, save you time, and generally make your AE life a lot easier.
Note: Although all the scripts below are "Free" a lot of them are available on a "Name your own price" basis. If you like a script then do try and help the developer by buying the script at the suggested price if you can.
With that in mind, here’s the list of 50 free after effects scripts:
1. Duik
The all in one solution for character rigging in after effects. Duik is a powerhouse when it comes to animating characters in after effects and should really be included in After Effects by default.
2. Buttcapper
An incredibly useful tool for quickly changing the cap and join style of shape layer strokes in After Effects.
3. Limber Lite
A free version of the wonderful Limber for After Effects. Limber is another great way to get started with character rigging in After Effects and perhaps less daunting than Duik. If you’re just starting out in the world of characters in After Effects then Limber is for you.
4. Create nulls from paths
OK so this one is actually included within After Effects itself, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s an incredibly useful free script right within After Effects! It’s incredibly useful for connecting objects with lines in AE and why you should stop using the beam effect to do this.
5. Paths from nulls
This free script is the exact opposite of the create nulls from paths script I just mentioned! Instead of starting with the paths and then creating the nulls, with this script you can start with the nulls and then create the paths.
6. Crosshair
Crosshair is a handy free script that creates vertical and horizontal guides at the centre of the selected layer. Try combining it with the limber lite or duik scripts mentioned above to make rigging a dream.
7. EaseCopy
Copy the easing of your keyframes without overwriting the values in After Effects. Perhaps one of the most popular free scripts there is, I’m suprised this functionality hasn’t been brought into After Effects by default.
8. pt_shiftLayers
This free after effects script shifts or staggers your layers in the timeline. The stagger option is a great way to create cascading animations in After effects.
9. Jiggle
One of my very own free scripts for After Effects. Jiggle is for when you need to wiggle a layer in one direction only. So let’s say you want to wiggle a layer’s position up and down, rather than messing around with expressions you can use the jiggle script to apply this for you.
10. Squash and Stretch
Dubbed as a smart keyframe assistant, this script helps you create squash and stretch animations right within after effects
11. Measuring Stick
This free script from kevin snyder a.k.a freshmograph gives you a tape measure right within after effects! Just hit the button and you’ll have two nulls and a line that act as your measuring tape, the distance between the two points is then displayed for you.
12. Sortie
A super useful script for sorting layers in the timeline based on various parameters such as position, opacity, and even distance from a point.
13. Key Cloner
Key Cloner is a free script that allows you to easily copy and reverse the selected keyframes of your layers. A great way to reverse your animation in After Effects.
14. FX Console
HeyWhatsupAndrewKramerHere…. Ah how that introduction is missed nowadays! Even so, the FX console from Videocopilot.net is a must-have workflow improvement tool for any motion designer. FX console is filled with a whole host of extra features that could take up an entire blog post themselves.
15. Layer Random Shifter
From the founder of AeScripts: Lloyd Alvarez, this free script is great for when you need to add some randomness to your layers. Just select the layers you want to move around in the timeline, choose how many frames you want to move them by, and hit the button! The script will randomise everything for you.
16. Selector
If you’re working in an after effects project that has a lot of layers then the selector script is definitely one for you. This script will automatically select all the layers above or below a selected layer in your composition. This means no more scrolling to the top or bottom of the timeline to select things manually, just click the button and the layers will be selected for you.
17. Version Raptor
If you’re useless at creating versions of your AE project files then this is definitely one for you. Not only will it help with versioning, it also includes a handy save reminder to keep you on your toes.
18. TrueComp Duplicator
Have you ever duplicated a comp only to find a bunch of other comps inside that you also need to duplicate? Annoying right? This script fixes that problem and duplicates everything for you.
19. InstaControl
This free script creates an effect controller for any layer parameter you choose. Want a controller that will appear in the effect controls panel for the trim paths option in a shape layer? Just select the trim paths option and hit the button, the script will add it for you.
20. Ouroboros 2
This is a wonderful free after effects script that makes it super easy to create multiple strokes on a shape layer. It really is a great way to create some wonderful shape animations in After Effects.
21. Tilda
This script turns any shape path into an animated wave within After Effects. A great option for adding some wavy effects to your animations
22. Trim to Comp Contents
This free script makes trimming your comps an absolute breeze. Plus it adds some extra features not included in the standard “Trim comp to work area” such as extending the comp beyond the outpoint if a layer overlaps the beginning or end of the comp.
23. Sociable
Another one of the Loop free scripts for after effects. This script allows you to easily create new compositions that are perfectly sized for different social media formats. No more having to remember all the different sizes. Just select the social network format you need and hit the go button.
24. Void
Sick of all those unnecessary layers clogging up the Solids folder in After Effects? Void is the answer to that! Another belter of a tool from the team at BattleAxe.
25. Timer
This free after effects script will create a simple animated timer for you, complete with adjustable speed and start time.
26. Render Layers
Have you ever needed to render out different layers of your compositon separately? Well this free script from Jeffrey Almasol (aka redefinery) allows you to easily do exactly that.
27. Triangular
By default you can’t create a triangle shape in just one click in After Effects, you can create a square and a circle but when it comes to triangles there’s no dedicated button. That’s where the triangular script comes in! You can now create a triangle shape or mask in just one click.
28. Matchrate
Matchrate is a neat little script from Blastframe that can calculate the rate of change between two keyframes. It can then use this rate to extend your animation at the same rate and generate new keyframes at the same rate.
29. rd_CompSetter
With this free script you can easily change the size, ratio, duration… and all manner of other options of the selected compositions. You can even have the script change the values of all the nested comps as well! A great bulk action script for changing comp values.
30. Null Centre Group
This handy free script will create a new null object that’s perfectly positioned right at the centre of a group of layers in after effects.
31. Zero Tangents
A great free script from Paul Conigliaro that will zero out tangent handles on your position keyframes so that your animation isn’t affected by rogue tangents.
32. TextEvo2
This script allows you to easily create delayed text animation in After Effects. Includes the ability to animate by character, word, or line to create some lovely looking text animation.
33. Shape Repeater Baker
The shape repeater baker script supercharges shape repeaters. It allows you to take any repeater on a shape layer and turn each repeated instance into its very own shape within your layers. This can then be combined with the paid script: explode shape layers to separate out each shape into its own layer.
34. Sprite-o-matic
For the animators out there who need to create animations from sprite sheets, this free script is the one you’ve been looking for.
35. ASCII Generator
This is a really fun free script for after effects that generates ascii art based on the text layers you select in your composition! Great for those retro sci-fi projects.
36. Layer Repeater
This script is great for offsetting layers in space and time within After Effects, just select the number of layers repetitions you want to create and hit the go button.
37. Reposition Anchorpoint
This script keeps your layer positioned in the same place and allows you to align the anchorpoint to the edges or centre of your layer.
38. ToonFlare
Another free script from animatable, this time Toonflare! This one creates a stylized cartoon lens flare at the touch of a button. You just know that if J.J. Abrams was making a cartoon he’d be using this free script.
39. RasterFast
This is a great free script for quickly applying the “continuous rasterization” option to your layers in After Effects.
40. Bendy Nulls
Bendy Nulls from shortsandtales is a great little free script for after effects that makes it incredibly easy to bend layers in after effects. Super useful for adding a bit of life to those inanimate objects.
41. Neat Freak
NeatFreak is a handy free script for quickly hiding or showing different UI elements like the different timeline buttons within After Effects.
42. Maintain Stroke
This is a really handy free script that will ensure the width of your stroke is kept the same even if you scale up your shape layers! There’s a tool built in to illustrator that does this, it really should be an option directly in After Effects. Until then, check out this script.
43. Align3D
Have you ever clicked the align buttons in After Effects only to get that annoying popup saying you can’t align 3D layers? Well this free script makes that a thing of the past, you can now align in 3D til your heart’s content.
44. The Loop Maker
Another one from Lloyd Alvarez, this time it’s a way to loop footage, comps, or layers with a single click! Such a handy one and considering it has loop in the title it’s definitely one for us.
45.Project Item Labels
This free script from Zack Lovatt allows you to quickly and easily apply a specific label colour to your project items. Apply to all layers, or apply based on they type of layer too.
46. Laundrette
Another one of the Loop free scripts! Pasting text from other programs like adobe illustrator can sometimes bring with it unwanted formatting. Laundrette is a free script for after effects that strips out this formatting for you.
47. Create 3D shapes
Does exactly what it says, in just a couple of clicks you can create 3D shapes right within After Effects.
48. Wordsmith
Ever needed placeholder text in After effects only to find you have to browse to some advert covered website to generate and copy the lorem ipsum text you need? Well that’s where this free after effects script comes in. It’s a lorem ipsum generator right within after effects.
49. Advanced composition grids
Advanced composition grids is a free script that creates interesting grids and guides to help you in your compositions. Need an isometric grid? Just choose the isometric option and hit go.
50. Hylian
Another great freebie from the team at battleaxe, Hylian duplicates a selected layer and then links all the animated properties of the duplicate back to the original layer. Super useful if you want to drive multiple animations from one layer.
And there we have it!
There’s 50 free after effects scripts to improve your workflow and save you some time in After Effects.
Again, if you can spare the cash then do donate some to the developers of these scripts. You can also help them out by sharing the scripts you find useful with your friends and network.
If you’re looking for even more scripts, then check out some of the Loop Pro after effects scripts.
