Production tools for After Effects

JL Tools for After Effects

32 artist-built tools in one panel. Ease, rig, color, rename, render, design and organize, without leaving the timeline.

Get JL Tools See what's inside

After Effects 2020 and later Windows · macOS Automatic updates

Frame.io panel with comments and drawings

32Tools

1Panel, or one per tool

What's inside

Every part of your After Effects day,
covered.

Projects & delivery

Start projects from your own templates, version up, keep notes in the project, search every comp, reframe for new sizes, change many comps at once, clean up, render with naming presets, save screenshots and review on Frame.io with comments landing in your comp as markers.

Animation & timing

Ease curves in a click, reverse, stretch and loop keyframes, stagger layers in time, add markers on keyframes or audio beats, and save keyframes and expressions as one-click presets.

Layers, text & design

Block shapes with cut-outs and bridges in Shape Maker, layered gradient Ribbons, styled and animated Path Lines, Depth Lines, camera rigs with any lens, color palettes, layout and anchor points, nulls and parenting, batch renaming, text find & replace, Smart Select and Essential Graphics, and one-click layer buttons.

Explore the toolset

Find the tool for the job.

Project ManagerCreate, browse and version up projects

NotesChecklists and notes saved with the project

SearchFind layers, text and effects in every comp

ReframeLinked versions of a comp at new sizes

PrecompPrecompose, un-precompose in place, trim comps

Comp Batch SettingsChange size, frame rate or duration on many comps

Project CleanupSort, tidy and check the project

Render HelperQueue renders with your naming presets

ScreenshotsSave frames as PNG next to the project

Quick EaseEase, reverse, stretch and loop keyframes

Layer ShifterStagger, spread and color layers in time

MarkersMarkers at keyframes, or on the beats of audio

ExpressionsApply, copy, clear and save expressions

Keyframe PresetsSave keyframes as one-click buttons

SymbolsInsert symbols and emoji into text layers

LayoutScatter, grid and anchor point tools

ShapesExplode, merge, strokes, operators and masks

Shape MakerBlock shapes with cut-outs and bridges, rounded corners, gradient fills

Depth LinesRepeat a line into depth, or blend between two lines; taper and fade the ends

RibbonsLayered gradient ribbons along a curve, with twist and depth

Path LinesStyle a drawn path: gradient, taper, dots and dashes, glow and animation

Frame.ioReview comments and drawings in the panel, upload renders

CameraCamera rig, any lens, focus on a layer, camera moves

Null & ParentControl nulls and quick parenting

Batch RenameRename layers or project items in one go

TextFind & replace text, fonts, case and translations

SpinoffText versions of a comp in one click

CreatorOne-click buttons for solids, text, shapes and your saved layers

Smart SelectSelect layers by type, then link them to one control

PalettesColor swatches, sampled from images, in one click

ReplaceSwap layers for project items or a random pool

Split LettersSplit text or shapes into one layer per letter

Quick Ease · Animation

Ease curves without
the graph editor.

Pick a curve and it lands on the selected keyframes. Dial in your own, save it, and fix timing on the spot: reverse, stretch, freeze or loop in one click.

Six ready curves, plus custom ease in and out that update the keys live as you drag.
Read the ease from a key you like and save it as your own curve.
Reverse, stretch, nudge and freeze frame the selected keyframes.
Loop in and out (cycle, ping-pong or offset) in one click.

Frame.io · Client review

Frame.io review,
right inside After Effects.

Sign in with your Adobe ID and play the review in the panel with every comment and drawing on its frame. Click a note and your comp jumps to the same frame.

Comments land in your comp as markers and stay in sync as new notes come in.
Drawings shown on the frame: boxes, arrows, lines and pen strokes.
Mark your playhead, write a note, and it shows up in Frame.io on that frame.
Upload renders as new versions, check notes off and copy a review link.
Replies under each note, range comments with their in and out points, and the player stays in view while you read.

Shape Maker · Shape design

Build any shape
from blocks.

Add blocks and they merge into one smooth outline, add cuts to take holes out, and connect blocks that sit apart with a liquid bridge. Every corner is rounded, inside corners too.

Add block, Add cut (subtract) and Duplicate. Drag to move, corner dots to resize, snap to a grid size you choose.
Connect blocks with a stretchy bridge: Neck sets its thickness, Goo how it melts in, Attach where it leaves.
Per-corner radius, smoothing and stretch, a mirror and an angle dial, plus ready shapes like step, pill and arch.
Gradient fills with an on-canvas handle, colors picked from your comp, pasted, typed as hex codes or taken from your Palettes.
Soft edge, soft shadow and outline. Make it as a shape layer or a solid with masks, and keep editing it live.
Save your shapes to My shapes, and export or import them as files to share.

Palettes · Color

Your colors,
one click away.

Keep a palette for every client. A click colors the selected layers: shape fills, text, solids or fill effects, whichever you choose.

Sample colors straight from an image: drop it on the panel and click.
Drag in .ase, .txt, .hex, .csv or .gpl swatch files and they become palettes.
Grab the colors of the selected layers with From selection.
Click a swatch to copy its hex code; Shape Maker uses your palettes for its fills.
Colors linked with Smart Select change everywhere at once.

Depth Lines · Motion graphics

Lines that run
into the distance.

Draw or pick a path and repeat it into depth, or blend between two lines. Thickness, color and opacity ramp from front to back.

Depth mode with a vanishing point you drag in the preview.
Blend two lines into a field of in-betweens.
Thickness, color and opacity ramps with their own curves.
Taper the ends of every line, and fade either end out with a strength control.
Live editing: change the count or the colors and the layer follows.

Ribbons · Abstract design

Layered ribbons,
one live layer.

Draw or pick a curve and fan it into layered, see-through ribbons with gradients that follow every bend. The whole set is one light shape layer you keep editing from the panel.

Ribbons along one curve, or filling the space between two, with bends, waves, a 3D twist and depth.
Gradients across or along each ribbon, your own color stops, light edges and soft shadows.
Fade either end, flip it horizontally or vertically, and scroll to zoom and middle-drag to pan around the curve.
Keep it in its own precomp if you like, and choose Light, Balanced or Smooth detail to keep it fast.

Path Lines · Lines & strokes

Any path, styled
and animated.

Draw a path with the Pen tool and turn it into a finished line: thickness, rounded or flat ends, taper, and a gradient that follows every bend.

Solid, dashed, dotted or dash-dot, with your own dash and gap. Dots shrink with the taper and take the gradient, and the pattern can march along the line.
Feather and glow on sliders, and fade either end at full thickness with a strength control.
Draw on, draw on and off, or a travelling stroke, plus a glowing sweep and a flowing gradient. The taper and the fades ride the moving ends.
Animations are expressions: they play and loop with no keyframes to manage.
The path stays editable: reshape it with the Pen tool and the whole line follows.

Project Manager · Project setup

Every project starts
the same, every time.

Create new projects with your folder structure, comps and file naming already in place, then version up with one click.

Folder templates for footage, renders, references and more.
Comp presets for broadcast, social and cinema sizes.
File names from your own pattern: client, project, step, date, version.
Version up and import new files from the project folder in one click.

Camera · 3D

Camera rigs and moves,
ready in a click.

Build a camera rig on a 3D null, set any lens, rack focus onto a layer, and add eased camera moves without keyframing by hand.

A camera rig that orbits, pans and dollies from one null.
Any lens in mm, with quick picks from 15 to 200 mm, and change the lens of a camera you already have.
Depth of field with focus locked onto the layer you pick.
Push in, pull out, pan and orbit: two eased keyframes, over the work area or a time you choose.

The JL Tools toolbar docked in After Effects: every tool in a grid, some colored on the button and some on the icon

Toolbar · Workflow

Every tool, one click
from anywhere.

Dock the JL Tools Toolbar anywhere in your workspace: every tool is a button, and a click opens it in the main panel or in its own.

Dock it wide along the timeline or tall beside the viewer: an even grid that reflows to fit.
Right-click a tool to color it, on the whole button or just its icon, so your go-to tools stand out. It's After Effects' own menu, so it never hides behind your other panels.
Show or hide the names, pick small, medium or large icons, and keep a few colors of your own.
Shows which tool is open, and can always open tools in their own panels.

Built for how you work

One panel. Every tool.

Switch tools from the menu, or press Ctrl K and type what you want to do. Dock a tool on its own when you use it all day.

Command palette

Every action in every tool, a few keystrokes away. Type "loop", "ease" or "rename" and press Enter.

Dock any tool

Each tool also opens as its own panel under Window › Extensions, so your favorites stay one click away.

Your presets, everywhere

Curves, palettes, keyframe presets and buttons are saved on your computer and show up in every project and every panel.

Batch everything

Rename dozens of layers, change the size or frame rate of many comps, and queue whole sets of renders in one go.

Automatic updates

New versions download in the background and install when you quit After Effects. No reinstalling.

Windows & macOS

One license, a native installer for each system, and a clean uninstaller if you ever need it.

Toolbar

Dock a strip with every tool as a button, wide or tall. Right-click a button to give it a color of your own, on the whole button or just its icon.

One color picker

Every color swatch in every tool has an eyedropper that samples anywhere on screen, picks from your comp, takes a color you copied, or uses your Palettes and recent colors.

Stays editable

Ribbons, Path Lines, Depth Lines and Shape Maker stay live: select the layer later and keep changing it from the panel.

Up and running in minutes

1

Install

Download the installer for Windows or macOS from your account and run it.

2

Open the panel

In After Effects, choose Window › Extensions › JL Tools.

3

Sign in & create

Sign in with your jltools.xyz account once, and every tool is ready.