Figma to after effects

Figma's Lottie export feature and Adobe After Effects are both tools that designers use to create web animations, but they serve different purposes and excel in distinct areas. Here's a comparison: Feature Figma to Lottie Adobe After Effects Primary Purpose Creating simple animations directly from Figma designs for web and app integration. Designing advanced motion graphics, compositing, and visual effects for video and multimedia. Best Suited For - Lightweight web animations (buttons, loaders, icons). - Exporting animations as JSON-based Lottie files for developers. - Quick prototyping of animated interactions. - High-quality motion graphics. - Advanced video animations. - Special effects for films, ads, or multimedia campaigns. Animation Style Basic animations using vector elements and transitions created in Figma. Layer-based animations with effects like motion tracking, particle systems, and 3D compositions. Interactivity Lottie animations exported from Figma can support interactivity, allowing developers to integrate user-triggered animations, such as hover effects or click-based motions. After Effects does not natively support interactivity. However, animations can be converted into Lottie files via plugins like Bodymovin to add interactivity using code. Looping Lottie files exported from Figma can be set to loop or not loop when embedded into a web page, making them versatile for various use cases. Animations created in After Effects can also be exported as Lottie files using plugins, enabling the same control over looping settings when integrated into web pages. Output Formats Lottie JSON files, which are lightweight and compatible with web and mobile apps. Video formats like MP4, MOV, and composited assets for further editing. Lottie JSON files can be exported using plugins like Bodymovin. Learning Curve Easy to learn, especially for those familiar with Figma’s interface. Requires minimal technical expertise. Steep learning curve due to its extensive feature set and complex tools. Complexity of Effects Limited to simple transitions, shape animations, and basic motion effects. Handles highly complex effects such as 3D camera movements, advanced masking, and dynamic simulations. Integration Seamlessly integrates with developer tools like Lottie for web and mobile animations. Works well with Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and other tools for video and post-production pipelines. Platform Support Optimized for web and mobile applications where lightweight animations are essential. Best for high-end systems and projects requiring professional-grade video editing and compositing. Example Uses - Animated app icons. - Loading screens. - Button hover effects. - Film title sequences. - Kinetic typography. - Special effects in ads and movies.

I love creating smooth transitions in Figma, both for concepts and final designs. But for extra finesse and control over easing types, you should export from Figma into Adobe After Effects and finish the job there—let me show you!Smooth(er) Transitions in Figma and Adobe After EffectsSmooth transitions in apps and websites are where motion design can really shine. They enhance communication while bringing a level of delight to the user’s experience.In a typical UX design workflow, as we close in on the deliverables stage, getting ready to hand files to developers, we refine and perfect the motion in our work. Figma will do a lot of this for us, and we can add labels and comments to communicate what our intentions are. But to create truly smooth transitions, and high fidelity prototypes, we can take our Figma files and move everything across into After Effects. UI/UX Kits on Envato ElementsBefore we dive in let me quickly tell you about ga-analytics#sendElementsClickEvent">Envato Elements; a library of creative assets all ready to use with simple commercial licensing. You’ll get unlimited access to UI kits, web templates, fonts, and other useful stuff for any designer.ga-analytics#sendElementsClickEvent">Interface Transition ExampleThe video above gives by far the best demonstration of the motion design in this tutorial, but here’s a quick text explanation too.To demonstrate the improved end result Figma and After Effects can give you we’re going to use this simple UI mockup. It’s a finance app, which shows a user’s balance, shows monthly activity, and has an off-canvas navigation for finding more options.What we’d like to do is build each element of the UI onto the screen one by one, to guide the user in terms of what to look at, and in what order. We also need the menu block to slide onscreen, and slide offscreen when the user chooses.Prototype in FigmaThe best way to do this in Figma is to work backwards from the end screen. So you can see here I’ve duplicated the screen once to the left, then moved the monthly activity block off screen. I’ve then duplicated that screen, and moved the welcome block off from there.We then click Prototype in Figma’s right sidebar menu, and start dragging arrows to link each screen up. For the first linkage you’ll see I’ve chosen for it to be triggered after a delay of 800ms. It’s an instant transition, so won’t need any user interaction to begin.Set up Navigation LinkThe first transitions we created are all triggered automatically, each with a delay to build the screen bit by bit.The navigation block, however, will transition onto the screen when the “hamburger” button is clicked. So we select On click and choose to Open overlay.We then set

Image Credit: Skylum Luminar Neo is an AI-powered photo editing tool developed by Skylum. While Skylum has other alternative apps, Luminar Neo is the closest in comparison to Adobe’s Lightroom offerings. If AI editing impresses you, then Luminar Neo is the way to go. It offers an easy-to-learn interface and well-labeled editing tools to take your photos from bland to breathtaking. Skylum also offers an up-and-coming exclusive portrait editing software called Aperty which is available from November 2024. This, combined with Luminar Neo, gives you all the options you’ll need for producing the best photos you can. Luminar Neo 2 Figma The UI/UX industry’s best software It’s hardly even in competition with Adobe, and if you’re a UI/UX designer or hobbyist you likely already have this app on your PC, but Figma is the best Adobe alternative for digital interface design. Adobe XD never really took off in the design world, but if you’re an Adobe user you might have used it for the comfort of a similar interface. Figma is easy to learn though, and has quickly become the industry standard. It’s available on a freemium subscription, and you can download it as an app or use it directly in the browser. Figma 1 Blender Free and open-source animation and VFX tool While we have alternatives to Premiere Pro, Blender is the best After Effects alternative. With Blender, you can create animations, 3D motion, and VFX for use elsewhere. The best thing about comparing Blender to Adobe After Effects is that it’s free and open-source, allowing the community to build it into a great tool for everyone. Blender has a bigger focus on 3D creation than you might find in After Effects, but you can incorporate a number of effects into your 3D video results. Blender Let your PC run great Adobe alternatives Adobe does create very useful software for all kinds of creative ventures, whether it’s image editing and manipulation, or video and motion design, or anything in between. However, it’s good to have alternatives to work with. Most tools on the list are free, open-source tools which make them available for anyone with a computer to be able to use. The premium alternatives are common and popular to use, and I’d say are more than worth the monetary investment if you’re looking to move away from Adobe tools.

To Figma via the Plugins > Manage plugins.. menu. It isn’t yet available via the Figma Community, so once installed you’ll find it under Plugins > Development.With a couple of clicks you’ll be able to take your Figma file straight over to After Effects, and whilst you might notice some things are a little out of place (you can fix this by repositioning the guilty elements) everything will be neatly arranged in layers along the timeline.Animating in After EffectsThe elements we’ve brought into After Effects are all on their own layers, but none of the motion we created in Figma has been brought over. We have to do that ourselves by adding keyframes along the timeline for each object we want to animate. Let’s animate the welcome and the monthly activity blocks.Select the layers/elements you want to animate.Hit P for Position and then click the little stopwatch icons to lay down a keyframe wherever the playhead is sitting on the timeline.I add a keyframe at the beginning of the timeline, and a couple of seconds later.With 2 keyframes set for each block, move the playhead back to the first keyframes and move the elements offscreen.We now have some animation! You’ll notice, however, that the motion we have is a bit odd. By default AE has added linear easing, which looks very unnatural as we mentioned earlier.Easy Ease KeyframesTo fix this, select both keyframes from the first object, then hit F9 to turn them into “Easy Ease” keyframes.This will give our element an ease-in-out motion, but we can improve on that. Separate DimensionsThe little chart icon to the top left of the timeline gives us access to the curve which defines the easing type. But we can’t edit it from here because it’s referencing both the X and Y axes. So to get access to play around, we first need to right-click the layer name and go Separate Dimensions. Now, when we click on the X Position we can edit the curve to our liking.As a final improvement, stagger the monthly activity block so that it enters the screen a little after the welcome block (but before it’s finished moving) and you’ll have much more effective motion design to pass to the developers.Tip: Flow Plugin for After EffectsTo help things even more, I recommend you check out the Flow plugin for After Effects ($30). From the developer’s website:“Flow brings an easy interface to After Effects for customizing animation curves, without needing to venture into the ageing, confusing graph editor. Gone are the days of slow, heavy expressions, or fighting with speed and influence (what do those even mean?) - just make a curve, hit APPLY and you're gold!”With the extra tools