The Project Panel

Everything in After Effects starts in the Project panel. It’s where you’ll import and organize your assets, store your compositions, and view data on your items.

Importing Files

Before we start working, we have to bring the asset into After Effects. There are several ways to go about this:

  • Drag and drop from Finder/Explorer into the Project panel.
  • Select File > Import > File (⌘-I/Ctrl-I).
  • Double-click an empty area inside the Project panel.
  • Use the “Media Browser Panel” (page 157).
Importing Layered PSD and AI files

When importing a layered Photoshop or Illustrator file, After Effects can preserve the document’s layers. ...

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