𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚

𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀

Gen-AI tools are finally arriving for motion graphics. The question is whether they're solving the right problems, and whether they're built for professional workflows.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴

The tools showing up fall into two categories: AI-powered plugins for After Effects and standalone gen-AI platforms attempting hybrid workflows.

𝗔𝗜-𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁:

There are now 300+ AI-powered tools and plugins available on aescripts + aeplugins, as well as FOSSA Tether which is a game changer. These integrate into existing workflows, solving specific pain points without forcing you to abandon your pipeline.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀:

Combining traditional motion: AE+Weavy, C4D+ Mago/Runway Workflows. See link in comments for Jan's workflow.

The pattern: motion graphics has always been modular by nature. AI tools are following this same approach rather than trying to replace everything at once.

𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗯𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗼: 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻-𝗔𝗜 𝗻𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲

Adobe Project Neo is launching motion tools, positioned as part of their gen-AI pipeline. Combined with Project Graph (their aggregated AI node board), Neo appears to be a step in Adobe's broader gen-AI workflow rather than a replacement for AE or C4D.

The question remains: will these tools eventually connect properly with After Effects, or will they remain separate ecosystems?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

With AI features currently in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro, it's not a stretch to foresee these being translated into After Effects eventually.

More importantly: will they integrate properly? After Effects already has three different 3D systems, each with different limitations. Adding AI features piecemeal without unification just creates more fragmentation.

𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲

Artlist recently discussed changing the pipeline from linear to circular—one stage doesn't automatically block the next step. We need to rethink not just what tools we use or how we use them, but our entire pipeline.

Single-solution tools have never been the approach for motion graphics. By nature, it's modular, and it will likely continue that way with AI. The difference now: we're orchestrating AI-powered plugins, hybrid workflows, and traditional tools simultaneously.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀

The winners will be those who can orchestrate modular AI tools into coherent workflows—not those waiting for a single platform to solve everything. The ice is cracking, but we're not out of the cold yet.