After Effects: Puppet Position Pin Tool

by | Dec 13, 2022 | Adobe After Effects, Tutorials

After Effects CC 2023: Puppet Position Pin Tool

Solids Folder Basics

Description:
This tutorial will show you how to use the Puppet Pin Tool in Adobe After Effects CC 2023. This tool works by adding ‘pins’ to animate or deform any object (shapes, graphics, text, etc).

Tip:
When adding pins to characters, a good starting point is to place pins at the joints or body parts that move (top of head, neck/chin, shoulders, elbows, wrists/hands, waist, knees, feet/ankles)

Keyboard Shortcuts:
Cmd + P: Puppet Pin Tool
U: Reveal all keyframes

Chapters:
00:00 Intro: About the Tutorial
00:11 Composition Settings
00:22 Puppet Tool Introduction
00:58 Click to add pins (what do pins do?)
01:14 Admin Tip: Puppet Tool is an ‘Effect’
01:40 Tap U To Reveal All Keyframes
02:28 How to delete pins?
03:15 How To Reset Pin Positions?
03:54 How To Animate Puppet Tool Pins?
04:20 How to get back to ‘Starting Point’ of animation

Software Used:
Adobe After Effects CC 2023 (Click To Try or Buy)

How To Create Highlighter Effect:

  1. Create New Composition (Cmd/Ctrl + N)
  2. Add Footage such as a PNG graphic (character, etc)
  3. Drag Playhead to the beginning of the Timeline
  4. Select the Puppet Pin Tool (Cmd/Ctrl + P)
  5. Click to Add Pins (top of head, neck/chin, shoulders, elbows, wrists/hands, waist, knees, feet/ankles)
  6. Tap ‘U’ to reveal keyframes
  7. Keyframes are added to ‘Position’ Property for each Puppet Pin added
  8. To Delete a Pin, select it from the Layers Panel to highlight pin, and tap ‘Delete/Backspace’ key
  9. To Reset Pin Positions after moving and deforming object, tap ‘Reset’ in the Layers Panel

How To Animate Puppet Tool Pins:

  1. Drag playhead to beginning of Timeline
  2. Select layer in the Layers Panel
  3. Add Puppet Tool Pins to object (a keyframe will be created for each pin)
  4. Drag Playhead forward in time
  5. Click and drag pins and move/deform object
  6. Move playhead forward in time and repeat moving pins
  7. Drag playhead to beginning of timeline
  8. Tap spacebar to preview animation

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