Best Rigging & Inverse Kinematics Plugins for After Effects

Joysticks 'n Sliders

freemium

Pose-based rigging system for character animation in After Effects

Limber

freemium

Rig and animate characters with IK, FK, and FreeK modes

PuppetTools 3

paid

Set up IK systems and create custom controllers for character rigging

BAO Bones

freemium

Setup and animate inverse kinematic rigs in 3 clicks

BAO Joint

paid

Rig a layer to two parents with automatic distortion and squash & stretch

Power Null

paid

Add null objects with one click, live snapping, and instant parenting

Faux Parent

paid

Advanced parenting with per-property control and custom influence

Good Parents

freemium

Keyframe parenting relationships and switch parents in After Effects

iExpressions 3

freemium

Build expression-based rigs and templates with a visual interface

Overlap

freemium

Create overlapping follow-through animations from a single keyframe

Delay Motion Pro

paid

Build transform delays that stay stable with parenting

Multi Parent Rigging

paid

Parent layers to up to 10 targets with modular control over transform

AutoSway

freemium

Create swaying animations for layers using puppet pins or layer linking

Carousel XPress

freemium

Creates linear, circular, exponential, or path-based carousels with one click

Property Effector

paid

Link multiple layer properties to one set of animation controls