What It Does
Carousel XPress builds animated carousels inside After Effects with a single click. Select your layers, pick a carousel type, and the script generates a control rig that handles the positioning, rotation, and looping. It works with five carousel modes: Linear (side-scrolling), Circular 2D (flat rotation), Circular 3D (depth rotation), Exponential (scaling), and Path (custom motion path).
Each carousel is controlled through a dedicated Control Layer with adjustable parameters. Animate the control properties to change speed, spacing, rotation, or scale. Every layer in the rig also includes a local offset parameter for fine-tuning individual positions without breaking the system.
Key Features
Five carousel types. Linear carousels work for horizontal or vertical scrolling. Circular 2D creates flat rotations, while Circular 3D adds depth. Exponential mode scales layers as they move. Path mode follows a custom bezier path you draw.
Null-based rigging. Hold Shift when creating a carousel to build it on nulls instead of applying expressions directly to your layers. This leaves position and rotation properties free for custom animations like entrance or exit effects. Parent layers to the nulls and animate them independently.
Control Layer parameters. Once built, the carousel is driven by a single Control Layer. Adjust spacing, rotation speed, item count, or other settings from this layer. All items update together. The interface is responsive and fits different workspace layouts.
Trial mode. The trial version works for seven days and limits carousels to five layers. Three carousel types are disabled in the trial. No separate download needed if you purchase, just enter the license code.
Who It’s For
Useful for product showcases where items rotate on screen, looping backgrounds with repeating elements, or kinetic text layouts. The null-based option is helpful for title sequences where individual letters need custom timing while still following a circular or linear path.
Pricing
This is a pay-what-you-want plugin. Set your own price when downloading. The suggested price is $35 for a single user license, with floating server licenses available for teams. A trial version is available with limited features and a seven-day license.