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How to Add Keyframes in After Effects

This How.com.vn teaches you how to add keyframes in After Effects. Keyframes are used in animation to change the properties of an object over time. Keyframes can be used to make objects move, rotate, change size, or change opacity. You can also apply keyframes to other effects you add in After Effects.

Steps

  1. How.com.vn English: Step 1 Open After Effects.
    After Effects has purple square-shaped icon that says "Ae" in the middle. Click on the After Effects icon on your Desktop, Dock. or Start Menu to open After Effects.
  2. How.com.vn English: Step 2 Open an After Effects project.
    Use the following steps to open an After Effects project.
    • Click File in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
    • Click Open in the "File" drop-down menu.
    • Click the project you want to open.
    • Click Open in the lower-right corner of the file browser.
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  3. How.com.vn English: Step 3 Drag the playhead to the start of the animation.
    The playhead is the line that scrolls through each frame of the animation in the Timeline panel at the bottom-right corner of the screen when you play an animation. You can move the playhead to any part of the animation by clicking and dragging it. Drag it to where you want the animation to begin.
  4. How.com.vn English: Step 4 Select the object you want to animate.
    You can either click the object you want to animate in the preview window, or select the layer that contains the object in the Layers panel in the lower-left corner.
  5. How.com.vn English: Step 5 Place the object where you want it to start.
    Place the object where you want the object to be at the start of the animation. You can click and drag the object anywhere you want it in the Preview panel in the center of the screen.
  6. How.com.vn English: Step 6 Click the triangle icon next to the object's layer.
    It's on the left side of the screen in the Layers panel in the lower-left corner. Clicking the triangle icon displays the "Transform" sub-layer below the layer.
  7. Step 7 Click the triangle icon next to "Transform".
    It's in the sublayer below the object you want to animate. This displays some additional sublayers that represent different types of motion.
  8. How.com.vn English: Step 8 Click the stopwatch icon next to the motion type you want to apply.
    The stopwatch icon is on the far left side of the Layers panel next to a motion type. Click the stopwatch icon next to all animations you want to apply. The basic motion types are as follows.
    • Position: This changes the position of an object over time.
    • Scale:'" This changes the size of an object over time.
    • Rotation: This rotates an object over time.
    • Anchor Point: This is the point where an object pivots as it rotates.
    • Opacity: This changes the visibility of an object over time.
  9. How.com.vn English: Step 9 Drag the play head to where you want the motion to end.
    Click and drag the playhead line in the Timeline panel forward however many frames you want the animation to last.
  10. How.com.vn English: Step 10 Place the object how you want it at the end of the animation.
    To change the position of an object, you can either click and drag it in the Preview panel or use the transform controls around the object to change its size or rotation. You can also click and drag the number values next to the motion sublayers in the Layers panel. This automatically applies a new keyframe to any motion type where the stopwatch icon is active in the Layers panel.[1]
    • You can apply as many keyframes as you need to an object throughout an animation.
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      About this article

      How.com.vn English: Travis Boylls
      Written by:
      How.com.vn Technology Writer
      This article was co-authored by How.com.vn staff writer, Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for How.com.vn. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College.
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      Co-authors: 2
      Updated: July 1, 2019
      Views: 946
      Article SummaryX

      1. Open a project in After Effects.
      2. Drag the playhead to where the animation starts in the Timeline panel.
      3. Place the object where you want it to start in the Preview panel.
      4. Click the triangle icon next to the object layer in the Layers panel.
      5. Click the triangle next to the Transform sublayer in the Layers panel.
      6. Click the stopwatch icon next to all motion types you want to apply.
      7. Drag the playhead to where you want the anmiation to end in the Timeline panel.
      8. Reposition the object to where you want it at the end of the animation in the Preview panel.

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