Easy - Manual

Introduction

Easy is a keyframe assistant for After Effects. It is a powerful tool hiding in a little panel that will help you build smooth animations in a few clicks. We believe that the key for good animation is in the right timing. However working with keyframes and the Graph Editor sometimes can be very time consuming. That’s why we wanted to create a tool which will speed up this process and give you the ability to create smooth animations almost instantly. Easy has a build-in collection with carefully crafted animation presets that will be applied almost to any property you want. Each preset is represented by a visual graph that will give you a better understanding of the motion that will be applied. If you are an advanced user you can use Shortcut Mode, which uses even less space. The result of applying a preset is a few keyframes which are completely editable. Easy doesn’t use Expressions which sometimes are hard to understand and edit. You can use Easy with multiple layers and properties at once.

We believe in the potential of Easy and hope you will adopt itis as an everyday tool.

Tihomir Trifonov a.k.a. Mastermind (programming)
Jelio Dimitrov a.k.a. Arsek (design)

Installation

To install Easy you simply need to follow these 2 steps:

1. After unpacking the archive of the script, copy and paste the files contained in it to this specific folder of After Effects:
   • On Windows this folder is located in:
     "(after_effects_install_path)/Support Files/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels"
   • On Macintosh this folder is located in:
     "(after_effects_install_path)/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels"
2. Allow Easy to access the network so your copy can be registered. This option is found under "Preferences > General" tab of After Effects
   • On Windows this option is located in:
     "Edit > Preferences > General...
   • On Macintosh this option is located in:
     "After Effects > Preferences > General...
   
3. Make sure the user that runs AE has permissions to read from and write to the ScriptUI Panels folder. If you have issues with your license file you can try to:
   • On Windows:
     run After Effects as administrator or change the permissions of that folder from Properties > Security > Edit..
   • On Macintosh:
     change the permissions of that folder from Get Info > Sharing & Permissions

User Interface

We did our best to blend in Easy's interface with your current After Effects Workspace. From the bumpy CS 5 design to the new flat version of CC 2015 we've got you covered! Also Easy has a shortcut mode that will take even less space and will fill Easy's window.

CC

Easy User Interface elements

1) Settings button

Opens Easy Settings window

2) Quick Influence

Controls in and out influence of the selected keyframes velocity.

3) Animation type

Controls the animation type. Select between Ease In, Ease Out, Ease In Out and Ease Out In.

4) Animation sub type

Controls the animation sub type. There are four main sub categories - normal ease, ease with back, ease with elastic effect and ease with bounce effect. Each sub category has three levels that control how strong the preset is.

5) Graph View

Shows representation of your current preset to be applied to your selected keyframes.

6) Previous / Next preset

Allows faster browse of the presets. Perfect when you need weaker or stronger preset.

7) Smooth Elastic and Back

Adds easing to presets with elastic and back. Best used when your objects are currently visible in the screen and require smooth start or end of the animation.

8) Easy it

Apply the selected preset to the selected keyframes. If only one keyframe is selected and the property has two keyframes the preset will be applied to these two keyframes.

Easy Settings window elements

1) Settings Tabs

Choose the desired settings category

2) Smooth Elastic and Back

Controls the default value of the additional smoothing for the Elastic and Back animation presets. Same as the Easy UI knob, but persistent between script restarts.

3) Hide fast influence controls

Hide controls when the shortcuts mode is turned on. See below.

4) Easy Shortcuts Mode

When enabled Easy transitions to more compact and floating UI that saves even more space.

5) Add shortcut

Select preset category and sub category and hit the Add shortcut button. New preset button is added at the top of the stack. Same order as the one that is currently visible will be used when Easy is in Shortcuts Mode.

6) Shortcut Preset name

Current preset Icon, Category and Sub Category.

7) Re-position buttons

Changes the position of the selected Preset.

8) Remove

Removes the selected Preset

9) Reset button

Resets all settings in the General Tab of the Settings window to their defaults and auto saves afterwards.

10) Save button

Saves all the current changes made to the General Tab of the Settings window.

11) Close button

Closes the Settings window. If any changes to the General Tab were made pop-up window will require your interaction in order to save or discard any changes made before closing the Settings window.

12) Social links

Opens our social pages in your browser.

Activation

After acquiring an Activation key for Easy from aesweets.com you simply need to enter your purchase e-mail and the received Activation key in the License tab at the Easy Settings window and then press the Activate button.

How to use Easy

This is short demonstration of how Easy works.

NOTE: Make sure that the Spatial Interpolation for the selected keyframes is set to Liner or you have explicitly set the bezier handlers else unwanted curves may occur.

Applying animation preset

1) Create new shape layer and add few keyframes.

2) Select the desired pairs of keyframes to apply new animation preset. You can select multiple keyframes from multiple properties.

3) Select the desired preset from the Easy's UI.

4) Press the Easy it button and the preset will be applied. New keyframes may be created if it's required by the animation.

Useful links