After Effects Layers and Layer Stack

Understand how layers work, how to create the most common layer types, and how to control their visibility and order. Here’s how to do it in After Effects on macOS, step by step — part of the free After Effects beginner curriculum.

Lesson 2 of the After Effects curriculum. Before this: Interface and Navigation. Next up: Keyframing and Animation.

What you’ll do

• Import footage with Cmd+I and drag it from the Project panel into the Timeline panel to create a Footage layer
• Create a Solid layer (Cmd+Y) with a custom color — understand that solids are used as background fills and effect hosts
• Create a Null Object layer (Cmd+Option+Shift+Y) — understand it is invisible in renders and used for parenting and control
• Create an Adjustment layer (Cmd+Option+Y) — understand it applies its effects to every layer below it in the Timeline
• Understand layer stacking: bottom layers render first; layers higher in the stack appear in front
• Toggle a layer’s visibility with the eye icon (Video switch) at the left of each layer row in the Timeline
• Lock a layer (Cmd+L) to prevent accidental edits; unlock all layers with Cmd+Shift+L
• Reveal a layer’s Transform properties: press P for Position, S for Scale, R for Rotation, T for Opacity, A for Anchor Point
• Use Cmd+D to duplicate a layer
• Split a layer at the current playhead position with Cmd+Shift+D
• Use [ and ] to set a layer’s In and Out points to the current time, trimming it in the Timeline

Do it hands-free with Skilly

Reading steps is one thing; doing them while the menus are in front of you is another. Skilly is a voice-first tutor for macOS: you ask out loud — “where’s the layers panel?” — and it answers while moving your cursor to the exact button, watching your actual After Effects window. It’s the same After Effects curriculum these lessons come from, taught live instead of read. Free to start.

Keep going

This is one stage of the full After Effects beginner curriculum. Previous: Interface and Navigation. Continue with Keyframing and Animation.